bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A new method for delivering a taste without fluids to preterm and term infants
Authors: Maone Teresa R. , Mattes Richard D. , Bernbaum Judith C. , Beauchamp Gary K.
Published: January 2005

A new method for administering a taste to preterm and term infants has been developed that does not necessitate the delivery of sapid solutions. Sucrose, a sugar that in solution was shown to potentiate sucking behavior, was embedded in gelatin‐based nipples that continuously release sweet taste when mouthed or sucked. The gelatin nipple and comparable latex nipples were adapted to measure sucking behavior and were tested in a within‐subject design. The gelatin nipples potentiated sucking in preterm and term infants by increasing the frequency and strength of the responses. Few sucking measures varied significantly for preterm and term infants. Those that did vary might be attributable to differences in physical stamina, rather than to orosensory orhedonic factors. It was concluded that the flavored gelatin nipple provides an effective method for studying taste in infants and offers the possibility of routine chemosensory stimulation for research and clinical applications.
Activity level and auditory responsiveness in neonatal chickens
Authors: Gray Lincoln
Published: January 2005

The effects of prestimulus activity levels on auditory responsiveness were evaluated in newborn chickens. Rates of peeping were used as measures of prestimulus activity, and delays in the otherwise ongoing vocalizations were used as measures of responsiveness. Results show increased responsiveness to pure tones at intermediate levels of prestimulus activity. Responsiveness is reduced during periods of high and low activity. The effect is strongest just prior to the stimulus. Similar analyses could be useful in other studies that depend on the changing rate of repetitive responses, such as gross body movements, head turning, heart rate, and perhaps neural potentials. Some of the variability in the responses of young subjects can be controlled by measuring the subject's activity at the time a stimulus is presented.
Endocrine responses to mother‐infant separation in developing rats
Authors: Kuhn Cynthia M. , Pauk John , Schanberg Saul M.
Published: January 2005

Separation of neonatal rat pups from the dam have been reported to elicit two endocrine responses in the pup: a fall in growth hormone secretion and a rise in corticosterone secretion. However, the temporal, ontogenetic, and behavioral determinants of these responses have not been compared. In the present study, we report that these two responses can be differentiated on each of these criteria. Growth hormone secretion falls repidly immediately upon separation of pups from the dam, while robust rises in corticosterone secretion are delayed for many hours. In addition, growth hormone responses are observed earlier in ontogeny. Finally, active maternal behavior is required for normal growth hormone secretion in 10‐day‐old rat pups, while passive sensory stimuli associated with the dam can significantly reduce the corticosterone response to separation.
The effect of multiple reminders on long‐term retention in human infants
Authors: Hayne Harlene
Published: January 2005

The present series of experiments compared the effects of single‐ and multiple‐reminder procedures on the long‐term memory of 3‐month‐old human infants. Subjects were trained in the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm, and the reminder treatment was a brief, noncontingent exposure to the moving mobile. In Experiment I, independent groups received one or two reminder treatments during the 3 weeks following the conclusion of training. Independent groups were tested 1, 3, 7, 14, or 22 days following the last (or only) reminder (i.e., 21–42 days after the end of training). Although retention was equivalent 1 day after one or two reminder treatments, subsequent retention was significantly prolonged by the second reminder treatment; infants receiving a single reminder treatment demonstrated no evidence of retention 7 days after the reminder, but infants receiving two reminder treatment demonstrated perfect retention as long as 14 days later. In Experiment 2, retention was observed 14 days after two reminder treatments irrespective of whether the treatments were presented during the first and second or the third and fourth weeks following the conclusion of training. In Experiment 3, the effect of three reminder treatments on retention was examined. Although retention was excellent when infants were tested 1 day after the third reminder, retention after longer intervals was no better than that observed after a single reminder treatment.
Communicating about communicating: When innate is not enough
Authors: West Meredith J. , King Andrew P. , Duff Michele A.
Published: January 2005

The cowbird is a brood parasite, providing no parental care to its offspring. The species has often been cited as a model of the usefulness of the construct of innate behavior, as an explanation of how young cowbirds develop species‐typical behavior. Here we evaluate the adequacy of this perspective. We show that although it is difficult to explain ontogenetic beginnings without recourse to the concept of innate behaviors, ontogenetic outcomes are less easily accommodated. Constraints on the explanatory power of innateness as an ontogenetic concept are demonstrated with data from the development of singing in cowbirds and the development of babbling in human infants.
Innateness and maturation in linguistic development
Authors: Wexler Kenneth
Published: January 2005

Language is species‐specific, species‐wide, and highly structured. Its principles (Universal Grammar) are innate (genetically determined) in the child, although some linguistic capacity is subject to a maturational schedule, examples of which are given. Some particular aspects of language are learned, in a way driven by Universal Grammar. However, empiricist “learning theories” of all types are far too weak to be useful in explaining either the final adult language or the precise timing of developmental processes. The assumption of Universal Grammar is, in fact, crucial in explaining what kind of learning actually takes place.
Voluntary and involuntary maternal separation in guinea pig pups with mothers required to forage
Authors: Hennessy Michael B. , Sharp Kevin
Published: January 2005

Lactating guinea pigs required to leave a nest box to obtai food were observed to be separated from their pups almost 10% of the time on Days 13–15 postpartum. The duration of separation was greater in the dark than in the light, and was not different for mother/litters exposed to low (LFD) versus high (HFD) foraging demand. Subsequently, LFD and HFD pups as well as pups reared under standard laboratory conditions (SLC) all exhibited vocalization and plasma cortisol responses to involuntary maternal separation. However, several effects of rearing were also observed. HFD pups vocalized less during separation and had higher resting cortisol levels than did SLC pups: LFD and HFD males spent less time in contact with the mother in a test cage than did SLC males. These effects are discussed in terms of the importance of the physical environment in shaping infant‐mother interactions and the infant's perception of control.
Infant rats depleted of brain dopamine as neonates exhibit normal independent ingestion
Authors: Potter Beth M. , Bruno John P.
Published: January 2005

Weanling or adult rats that have sustained near‐total depletions of striatal dopamine (DA) on postnatal Day 3 do not exhibit the severe ingestive deficits seen in comparably depleted adults. The present experiments demonstrated that these animals are capable of ingesting independently, via an intraoral cannula, as early as three days after the depletion. Both activational and ingestive responses to maternal deprivation and intracellular dehydration were virtually identical to the responses of control pups. However, these responses may not be entirely dopaminergically mediated at Day 6 since administration of haloperidol failed to attenuate these behaviors in normal pups. When tested on Day 12, DA‐depleted pups continued to exhibit normal ingestive and activational behaviors, despite the fact that haloperidol now suppressed these behaviors in both groups of 12‐day‐old pups. These findings demonstrate that there is a developmental progression of dopaminergic involvement in the control of independent ingestion and the associated activational responses, yet a near‐total depletion of striatal DA is not sufficient to impair the expression of these behaviors.
The properties of V̂ in newborns across repeated measures
Authors: Arendt Robert E. , Halpern Leslie F. , MaClean William E. , Youngquist Grant A.
Published: January 2005

It has been argued that a recently developed measure, vagal tone (V̂), is a significant advancement over other existing methods of assessing the periodic variation in heart rate associated with respiration (respiratory sinus arrhythmia). It has been further suggested that, as a noninvasive measure of vagal nerve efferent activity, V̂ may facilitate the early identification of infants at risk for developmental disabilities. This study addressed the relationship between V̂ and other measures of cardiac activity and behaviroal state and the stability of V̂ across repeated measures. Twelve samples of cardiac activity were collected from each of 20 full term infants, 6 samples on each of two consecutive days. V̂ values were derived using a spectral analysis program comparable to Porges' patented MXedit process. Measures of behavioral states were collected by continuous observation. Heart period and heart period variability were highly correlated with V̂. Variation in V̂ between behavioral states was also detected. Repeated assessments revealed that average V̂ values collected in the same state were not significantly correlated across successive days. This short‐term variability both between and within individuals does not support the notion that a single assessment of V̂ can, by itself, be used to identify at‐risk infants or predict developmental outcome.
Multiple functions of context during conditioning: A developmental analysis
Authors: Carew Maura B. , Rudy Jerry W.
Published: January 2005

Contextual stimuli may influence conditioned behavior in at least two ways (e.g. Bouton & Bolles, 1985). By becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus (US), context cues can acquire excitatory strength that facilitates responding to a phasic conditioned stimulus (CS). The context also function to clarify the meaning of an ambiguous CS. Data obtained with an appetitive Pavlovian conditioning paradigm suggest that the processes mediating these two influences of context are dissoci‐ during development. Evidence of context‐US associations was observed in rats that began training Postnatal Day 17, but no evidence for a disambiguation function was found until pups were 20‐ to days‐old. Evidence for a context‐US association was obtained by demonstrating that US alone presentations in the training context restored conditioned responding to an extinguished CS. Evidence disambiguation function was obtained by demonstrating that a context shift, concurrent with extinction of responding to a phasic CS, preserved responding to the CS when the subjects were subsequently tested in the training context. These findings were discussed in relation to (a) the development of the rat's ability to use relational representations, and (b) Nadel and Zola‐Morgan's (1984) hypothesis linking hippocampal maturation to the role of context during development.
Cross‐modal associative transfer of response sensitization in infants
Authors: Kaplan Peter S. , Fox Karen B.
Published: January 2005

The effects on visual fixation of a forward pairing relation between a visual stimulus and a tone were investigated. Forward pairings of an adult female smiling face and the 1000 Hz 75 dB tone resulted in increases in the attentional response to the face, while Backward pairings of face and tone led to response decrements. Forward pairings of the face and the 75 dB tone elicited more fixation than did Forward pairings of the face and a 1000 Hz, 65 dB tone, and also more fixation than that elicited by the face alone. These findings demonstrate rapid associative learning in human infants, possibly mediated by the transfer of response sensitizing properties from tone to visual stimulus.
Development of stress‐induced responses in preweanling rats
Authors: Takahashi Lorey K. , Turner Joel G. , Kalin Ned H.
Published: January 2005

This study examined in postnatal Days 7, 14, and 21 male rats the effects of social isolation and social isolation with administration of brief foot shocks on the development of stress‐induced behavioral and pituitary‐adrenal hormone responses. Day 21 rats appeared similar to adult rats in their responses to the two test conditions. That is, exposure to either isolation or to shock increased both pituitaryadrenal hormone secretion and tail‐flick latencies but only administration of shock potentiated freezing and ultrasonic vocalizations. Younger rats differed from Day 21 rats in their responses to the two test conditions. In both tests, Day 7 rats produced the highest number of ultrasounds, which may be due to a significant decrease in body temperature. In contrast, in Day 14 pups, exposure to shock significantly reduced isolation‐induced ultrasonic vocalizations. Additional age‐dependent differences were found in the analgesic responses of Days 7 and 14 rats. Day 7 rats exposed to stress became consistently hyperalgesic whereas Day 14 rats showed only a short‐lasting analgesic response. Although in Days 7 and 14 rats exposure to the two stress conditions produced significant elevations in pituitary‐adrenal hormone concentrations, plasma levels were lower than those measured in Day 21 rats. To summarize, preweanling rats exhibit varied age‐dependent responses when exposed to different stress environments.
The effects of intrauterine position on the degree of corpus callosum deficiency in two substrains of BALB/c mice
Authors: Bulman‐Fleming Barbara , Wahlsten Douglas
Published: January 2005

Measures of several intrauterine position variables as well as an index of abnormality of fetal commissure development (z score) were obtained for fetuses of two substrains of BALB mice, BALB/c Wah 1 and BALB/c Wah2, known to differ as adults in the proportion of animals exhibiting deficient corpus callosum (about 55% & 20% respectively). The extent of midline commissure development at embryonic Day 17.5 for most strain 1 fetuses was significantly reduced compared to strain 2 fetuses of the same chronological age. The two substrains also differed with respect to mean litter size and mean body weight (strain 2 > strain 1 for both measures). The ovarian and cervical positions for strain 2 uteri were found to be the most favorable for body and placental growth; no such differences were evident in strain 1. In strain 2, fetuses in the left uterine horns showed lower z scores (more retardation) than littermates on the right side, but this difference was not evident in strain 1; no other right/left differences were found in strain 2 which could help to explain the right side advantage. None of the other position variables either separately or in combination was found to be important in predicting the z score index. Tests for randomness failed to provide evidence for nonrandom distribution of severely affected fetuses. We suggest that nongenetic variability resulting from stochastic events early in development and intrinsic to the fetus may be responsible for only certain BALB fetuses within a litter exhibiting the callosal anomaly.
Anxiety in rhesus monkey infants in relation to interactions with their mother and other social companions
Authors: Maestripieri D. , Martel F. L. , Nevison C. M. , Simpson M. J. A. , Keverne E. B.
Published: January 2005

In this study the anxiety‐related components of rhesus monkey infant behavior at an early stage of social development were examined. Eight rhesus infants (age 30‐40 weeks) belonging to 3 captive groups were administered with an anxiogenic drug (β‐CCE;0.2 mg/kg) and an anxiolytic drug (midazolam; 0.2 mg/kg). Saline solution was used as placebo. All infants were tested twice with each drug (four times with placebo) and their behavioral interactions with their mother and other social companions were recorded in 1‐hr observation sessions. No convulsant or sedative effects of the drugs were observed. β‐CCE was associated with an increase in time spent by the infant with its mother and a concomitant reduction in proximity with other individuals and in social play. Midazolam did not affect the mother‐infant interaction but increased the infant's locomotor activity away from the mother and its proximity and social play with juveniles and subadults when compared to peers. These results suggest that, although infant anxiety can be experimentally induced, it is not a major component of the mother‐infant relationship. Infant anxiety, however, might affect the formation of other social bonds and play a part in the development of avoidance responses toward other individuals.
Development of antipredator responses in snakes: V. Species differences in ontogenetic trajectories
Authors: Herzog Harold A. , Bowers Bonnie B. , Burghardt Gordon M.
Published: January 2005

The ontogeny of antipredator responses in five species of Natricine snakes was examined. In a split‐litter experiment, neonates were given a standardized defensive behavior test at 1 and/or 20 days of age. Thamnophis sirtalis and Thamnophis melanogaster showed a significant increase in both striking and fleeing from a threatening stimulus. Thamnophis butleri was not reactive in terms of striking at either age but did flee frequently at both ages. Thamnophis radix showed low rates of striking and high rates of fleeing; only fleeing increased significantly between the two tests. Nerodia rhombifer exhibited moderate rates of both striking and fleeing at both ages with no developmental effects. Subsets of most of these species tested at 40 or 60 days of age found no further developmental changes. © 1992 Wiley & sons. Inc.
Development of the ability to detect visual motion in infant macaque monkeys
Authors: Mikami Akichika , Fujita Kazuo
Published: January 2005

A preferential looking technique was used to measure detection of visual motion by 12 infant macaque monkeys (10 Macaca fuscatta and 2 Macaca mulatta at ages between 1 and 100 days). A 0.25 cycles/deg square‐wave grating was presented at speeds from 40 to 0.4 deg/s. The threshold was determined by a two‐alternative forced‐choice preferential looking method, in conjunction with a staircase procedure. The threshold for detection of visual motion decreased exponentially with age over the first 100 days of life. At each age there was substantial variability among the individual infants tested, but each monkey's ability to detect visual motion improved with age © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Prenatal stress exposure alters postnatal behavioral expression under conditions of novelty challenge in rhesus monkey infants
Authors: Schneider Mary L.
Published: January 2005

This prospective study investigated whether mild maternal stress during pregnancy could alter the behavioral and affective responses in rhesus monkey infants in a complex, novel environment. Twenty‐four rhesus monkey infants were tested on three occasions at 6 months of age in a novel environment. Twelve infants were derived from mothers exposed to a daily 10‐min mild stressor from Day 90 to Day 145 postconception, while 12 were derived from mothers undisturbed during pregnancy. Prenatally stressed infants demonstrated more disturbance behavior, and lower levels of gross motor/exploratory behavior. Moreover, half of the prenatally stresed infants showed an abnormal response, falling asleep, while none of the control infants displayed this behavior. Males exhibited more clinging to surrogates, while females spent more time in gross motor/exploratory behaviors, with prenatally stressed males tending to spend the least time in gross motor/exploratory activity. © 1992 Wiley & sons. Inc.
Effects of early and delayed visual experience on intersensory development in bobwhite quail chicks
Authors: Banker Heather , Lickliter Robert
Published: January 2005

The relative impact of early versus delayed visual experience on intersensory development was studied by manipulating the timing of visual experience of bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) embryos and hatchlings. Previous studies with quail chicks have revealed that: (1) Socially reared chicks require only maternal auditory cues to direct their social preferences in the first 2 days following hatching; (2) by 3 days following hatching chicks require both auditory and visual maternal cues to direct their social preferences; (3) chicks which have received unusually early visual experience as embryos require both auditory and visual cues by 24 hr following hatching, indicating an accelerated pattern of the emergence of intersensory functioning; and (4) chicks reared under conditions of attenuated social and visual experience continue to rely on matenal auditory cues alone at 4 days following hatching, indicating a decelerated pattern of early intersensory functioning. In the present study, quail chicks that received both early visual experience as embryos and delayed visual experience as hatchlings exhibited a pattern of both auditory and visual responsiveness like that seen in normally reared chicks. These results indicate that, at least under the present experimental conditions, the influence of early and delayed visual experience on perinatal perceptual development appears to be relatively comparable in effect © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Social grouping tendencies and separation‐induced distress in juvenile sheep and goats
Authors: Lyons David M. , Price Edward O. , Moberg Gary P.
Published: January 2005

Social affinities in juvenile sheep and goats were compared by measuring grouping tendencies and separation‐induced distress during experimental encounters with a person in either the presence or the absence of juvenile pen‐mates. When tested with pen‐mates, sheep spent more time near penmates than did goats. When separated from pen‐mates, locomotor activity and plasma corticosteroid titers were higher in sheep, whereas vocal rates were higher in goats. Proximity to pen‐mate scores were not correlated with either vocal rates, r = 0.20, or locomotion scores, r = 0.21, recorded when juveniles were tested alone. Proximity to pen‐mate scores were correlated with posttest corticosteroid titers, r = 0.70; juvenile sheep spent more time near pen‐mates and showed greater adrenocortical responses when temporarily separated from juvenile pen‐mates. These findings support the possibility that interspecies differences in emotional reactivity contribute to the differences in grouping tendencies these ungulates display in natural or relatively unrestricted social groups. © 1993 Wiley & sons. Inc.
Spontaneous motility in premature infants: Features of behavioral activity and rhythmic organization
Authors: Hayes Marie J. , Plante Lonnie , Kumar Savitri P. , Delivoria‐Papadopoulos Maria
Published: January 2005

The spontaneous motor activity of clinically stable premature infants, 26–36 weeks gestational age, was investigated. Movements were recorded using a pressure‐sensitive transducer positioned below the infant's head and torso. Behavior samples were digitized every 0.5 s during 2 and 3‐hr continuous recording sessions. Time‐series analyses revealed prominent motility cycles of circa 80 min and circa 30 min. These results are consistent with periodicities in motility and REM activation observed in full‐term neonates. The longer rhythms of 70–100 min of motility found in this study establish that these periods are present at this stage of development independent of maternal zeitgebers. Developmental changes in motility rhythms and movement burst durations were also observed. Bout durations became somewhat longer in older ( > 30 weeks) infants, but the relative time devoted to movement per session was comparable in older and younger (≤ 30 weeks) infants. © 1993 Wiley & sons. Inc.
The orienting response to brief auditory stimuli in preweanling and adult rats
Authors: Richardson Rick , Hess Maureen , Campbell Byron A.
Published: January 2005

The cardiac orienting response to brief auditory stimuli was measured in preweanling and adult rats. The eliciting stimulus varied in duration (2 or 10 s) and complexity (continuous or pulsing). Stimulus complexity affected response magnitude with the pulsing stimulus eliciting a larger response than the continuous stimulus. Stimulus duration affected response persistence but only when a pulsing stimulus was used. In contrast to recent research with stimuli of much longer duration, age did not significantly affect any aspect of the cardiac response to the novel auditory stimuli in the present study. These results are discussed in terms of (1) the effects of stimulus duration on the heart‐rate component of the orienting response and (2) two‐stage models of attention.© 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Specific postnatal auditory stimulation interferes with species‐typical visual responsiveness in bobwhite quail chicks
Authors: McBride Thomas , Lickliter Robert
Published: January 2005

The effects that a manipulation of sensory experience may have on perceptual development are likely to depend on a number of factors, including the amount and the type of stimulation provided. To examine the relative influence of these stimulation factors on early perceptual organization, this study exposed bobwhite quail hatchlings to augmented amounts of bobwhite chick distress calls, bobwhite chick contentment calls, domestic chicken distress calls, or no additional auditory stimulation during the first 72 hr following hatching. Results showed that bobwhite hatchlings exposed to bobwhite chick distress calls do not exhibit species‐typical visual responsiveness to maternal cues. In contrast, bobwhite hatchlings exposed to bobwhite chick contentment calls, domestic chicken hatchling distress calls, or no agumented auditory stimulation exhibited species‐typical auditory and visual responsiveness to maternal cues. These results demonstrate intermodal effects of postnatal sensory stimulation and suggest that specific types of postnatal auditory stimulation, rather than simply increased amount of stimulation, are necessary to interfere with species‐typical intersensory functioning.© 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Using evaluation to monitor educational change
Authors: Lundgren Ulf P.
Published: January 2005

History teaches us that monitoring educational change requires attention and adjustment at all levels, and educational evaluation must take account of the various contexts in which teaching takes place.
Ethical standards and data archives
Authors: Robbin Alice
Published: January 2005

As the traditional keeper of a society's records, the data archivist has the difficult responsibility of protecting the individual's right to privacy and at the same time valuing society's need for knowledge.
An illustrative project on secondary analysis
Authors: Boruch Robert F. , Wortman Paul M.
Published: January 2005

Through quantitative and qualitative analyses of program evaluations, the Project on Secondary Analysis, Northwestern University, seeks to advance understanding of program effects and improve evaluation methodology.
What do we know about knowledge utilization?
Authors: Caplan Nathan
Published: January 2005

Utilization has gained attention in recent years, but not all utilization is good and not all nonutilization is bad. Ethical issues, organizational arrangements, and roles and skills of the researcher must be considered if the government is to more widely apply research findings for public good.
Measurement of mental health program outcomes
Authors: McPheeters Harold L.
Published: January 2005

There is still considerable inertia, even resistance, regarding outcome evaluation among clinicians. Outcome measures must be credible and simple to gain clinician support.
Sociocognitive biases in the evaluation process
Authors: Perloff Richard M. , Padgett Vernon R. , Brock Timothy C.
Published: January 2005

Recent social‐psychological research suggests that evaluators may be susceptible to subtle biases in judgment. This chapter discusses the potential intrusive influences on evaluators of a variety of social and cognitive biases and suggests ways of counteracting such biases.
Barriers and values in the measurement of program benefits
Authors: Spiro Michael H. , Sussna Edward
Published: January 2005

Both theory and practice in measuring benefits of social programs are weak and are likely to remain so, because such normative matters as value of life and income distribution are vital elements in social programs.
Qualifications of evaluators: A federal perspective
Authors: Lohr William
Published: January 2005

Training programs should produce professionals who can fulfill the expectations of federal consumers of evaluation research services.
Conclusions
Authors: Sechrest Lee
Published: January 2005

Key concepts of the volume are summarized in the editor's concluding chapter.
The role of the evaluation research broker
Authors: Doty Pamela
Published: January 2005

In its role as a broker between the scientific community and Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment evaluates the soundness of scientific conclusions for policy makers and ensures that research findings are included in formative policy analysis.
Metaevaluation
Authors: Nilsson Neil , Hogben Donald
Published: January 2005

Metaevaluation is not necessarily the evaluation of evaluation at all. What is really necessary is a defensible metatheory of evaluation.
Improving mailed questionnaires: Analysis of a 96 percent return rate
Authors: Altschuld James W. , Lower Michael A.
Published: January 2005

The procedures used in a successful mailed evaluation questionnaire effort are described in this chapter and guidance is given to those who are unfamiliar with the methodology.
Recent research on mailed questionnaire response rates
Authors: Baumgartner Robert M. , Heberlein Thomas A.
Published: January 2005

Three regression approaches are compared and the authors review the literature on return rates.
Advances in statistical methods for meta‐analysis
Authors: Hedges Larry V.
Published: January 2005

Recent advances in statistical methods for meta‐analysis help reviewers to identify systematic variation in research results.
International and domestic evaluation: Comparisons and insights
Authors: Conner Ross F.
Published: January 2005

We expect to need heightened cultural sensitivity in designing international evaluations, but we may actually need to work harder at recognizing cultural variations in domestic evaluations, because we often are blind to cultural effects in our own familiar domestic settings.
Choosing between retraining and job placement strategies for displaced auto workers: An economic analysis
Authors: Kulik Jane , Smith D. Alton , Stromsdorfer Ernst W.
Published: January 2005

What resulted from our efforts to retrain and reemploy workers whose jobs were lost through reorganization of the American automobile industry during a recent recession?
State‐level evaluation uses of cost analysis: A national descriptive survey
Authors: Smith Nick L. , Smith Jana K.
Published: January 2005

Cost‐benefit analysis and cost‐effectiveness analysis are powerful decision‐making tools, but they are seldom practiced by evaluators. This recent survey suggests some of the reasons why.
Qualitative research and evaluation: Triangulation and multimethods reconsidered
Authors: Smith Louis M. , Kleine Paul F.
Published: January 2005

The coherent use of historical analysis, life history, and ethnographic observation is illustrated.
On your own with naturalistic evaluation
Authors: Biklen Sari Knopp , Bogdan Robert
Published: January 2005

If one undertakes naturalistic evaluation without formal training, there are some important considerations and sources of information to keep in mind.
An exploratory analysis of variations in performance among U.S. national parks
Authors: Rhodes Eduardo L.
Published: January 2005

Data envelopment analysis and related techniques are applied in an evaluation of the performance efficiency of various classifications of national parks.
Program micro‐ and macrotheories: A guide for social change
Authors: Shadish, Jr. William R.
Published: January 2005

Program theory helps link evaluative information to the creation of important change in social programs.
No‐difference research
Authors: Yeaton William H. , Sechrest Lee
Published: January 2005

Because no‐difference research has been relatively unexplored by evaluators, a series of empirical studies was conducted. In this chapter distinguishing characteristics of no‐difference research are examined, its acceptance by the research community is probed, and possible strategies for conducting no‐difference studies are discussed. The centrality of no‐difference findings within the experimental and non‐experimental paradigms is also discussed.
Qualitative and quantitative methods: When stories converge
Authors: Kidder Louise H. , Fine Michelle
Published: January 2005

The use of qualitative measures in a quantitative framework results in a reasonable likelihood of triangulation; in contrast, the independent conduct of qualitative and quantitative evaluations is a greater challenge for triangulation, but it also holds promise for greater discovery.
State evaluation in an executive environment: Policy research meets political reality
Authors: Mahone John A. , Corbin‐Howerton Lin
Published: January 2005

The Virginia Department of Planning and Budget's evaluation section was created in 1983 to conduct program evaluations and special studies for the governor, the governor's secretaries, and the legislature. Consisting of nine evaluation analysts, an assistant, and a manager, the section functioned on a budget of approximately $450,000 in fiscal year 1986–87. By the close of that year, the section had completed more than thirty reports that influenced major decisions about program funding, staffing, and policy direction within each of the state government's functional areas.
Evaluation utilization revisited
Authors: Smith M. F.
Published: January 2005

While much is known about the form and practice of evaluation across the public and private sectors of our community, there remains a need to clarify the forces for and against utilization of the results of program evaluation. This chapter examines the reasons why evaluation use is of interest and defines some of the many dimensions of use as well as factors that influence planning for and measuring use.
Business perspectives on internal/external evaluation
Authors: Cummings Oliver W. , Nowakowski Jeri R. , Schwandt Thomas A. , Eichelberger R. Tony , Kleist Kimball C. , Larson Colleen L. , Knott Tara D.
Published: January 2005

The role of internal evaluators in large organizations continues to expand. Several difficult and complex issues related to evaluator functions are emerging. In this chapter these issues are reflected on by evaluators who represent multiple perspectives along the continuum of external to internal evaluation.
Using quality circles to evaluate the efficacy of primary health care
Authors: Schillemans Leo , Grande Lieve De , Remmen Roy
Published: January 2005

The patient has a lot to say about the quality of primary health care if the structure allows the patient to speak freely.
Observer‐as‐participant method of data gathering
Authors: Horayangkura Vimolsiddhi
Published: January 2005

Not only did the Project Evaluation Team present itself without subterfuge, it was also perceived by the residents as highly useful for the assistance that it provided.
Giving feedback in formative evaluation: A nondirective strategy
Authors: Joyce Laraine
Published: January 2005

Nondirective methods of giving feedback in formative evaluation can provide an effective stimulus for behavioral change in program personnel.
Estimates of AIDS incubation periods from convenience samples
Authors: Abramson Paul R. , Berk Richard A.
Published: January 2005

In this chapter, the authors question current estimates of the AIDS incubation period drawn from convenience samples, citing potential difficulties with generalizability and selection bias.
Promoting evaluations with management
Authors: Tate Debra L. , Cummings Oliver W.
Published: January 2005

Promoting evaluations with management requires not only technical competence in evaluation, but outstanding persuasion skills as well.
The program review team approach and multisite experiments: The spouse assault replication program
Authors: Reiss Albert J. , Boruch Robert
Published: January 2005

Coordination and oversight of multisite experiments for evaluation of criminal and civil justice projects can be improved through a Program Review Team approach.
Using multiple sites in mental health evaluations: Focus on program theory and implementation issues
Authors: Mowbray Carol T. , Herman Sandra E.
Published: January 2005

Multisite evaluations permit testing of contextual effects and allow for positive adaptations to local circumstances. But they can result in a lack of fidelity to the implementation model, a possibility that must be addressed in evaluation design and measurement.
Designing outcome evaluations for children's mental health services: Improving internal validity
Authors: Bickman Leonard
Published: January 2005

Studies of children's mental health services have suffered from low internal validity. Suggestions are provided on ways to improve the design of future evaluations.
Transmittal letter: Program evaluation issues
Authors: Bowsher Charles A.
Published: January 2005

In November 1988, the comptroller general of the United States, Charles A. Bowsher, issued the report Program Evaluation Issues, which documented a serious decline in program evaluation capacity in the federal government. Reproduced below is his letter transmitting the report to the executive and legislative branches of government. The letter is significant because it is an unusually clear and forceful—and rare—statement of the essential role of program evaluation in government.
The erosion of federal program evaluation
Authors: Havens Harry S.
Published: January 2005

Program evaluation has been all but eliminated from government as a normal part of program management and needs to be rebuilt. Although early evaluation efforts can be criticized as costly, time‐consuming, and in need of clearer focus, critics overlook the fact that evaluation is a relatively new profession and will require time to develop a solid place in public management.
The evolution of federal personnel management evaluation
Authors: Jordan Deborah
Published: January 2005

The Office of Personnel Management is responsible for overseeing the government's personnel management operations. Over the years it has searched for a workable balance between centralization and decentralization, oversight and encouragement, and subjective and objective approaches to management.
Theory as method: Small theories of treatments
Authors: Lipsey Mark W.
Published: January 2005

An overview of the critical issues in theory‐driven applied research is presented.
An advanced evaluation design issue: Beyond validity
Authors: Scriven Michael
Published: January 2005

This short chapter addresses the issue of the credibility and utility of evaluations, considerations which go beyond validity.
Strengthening causal interpretations of nonexperimental data: The role of meta‐analysis
Authors: Cordray David S.
Published: January 2005

The validity of results generated within any individual study are likely to be equivocal because of many threats to validity that cannot be tested directly. Using meta‐analysis, this chapter shows how it is possible to examine, empirically, the influence of between‐study differences in research designs, measures, intervention strategies, and contextual factors on various forms of validity of study results.
The war between the quals and the quants: Is a lasting peace possible?
Authors: Rossi Peter H.
Published: January 2005

The historical roots and current sources of the conflict between quantitative and qualitative evaluation styles is explored in this chapter, and a proposal for reconciliation is advanced that marks out separate turfs for the contending parties.
Alternative models for the structuring of professional preparation programs
Authors: Fitzpatrick Jody L.
Published: January 2005

The author views the main purpose of evaluation training programs as preparing practitioners. She suggests that evaluation training programs could consider the model provided by professional schools.
Issues in implementing a randomized experiment in a field setting
Authors: Devine Joel A. , Wright James D. , Joyner Laurie M.
Published: January 2005

Because of the differential perspectives, needs, and interests that undergird clinical and research objectives, program staff may wittingly or unwittingly sabotage randomization. A case study of the New Orleans Homeless Substance Abusers Program amply documents this process.
Astrocytes in the guinea pig, horse, and monkey retina: Their occurrence coincides with the presence of blood vessels
Authors: Schnitzer Jutta
Published: January 2005

In the present study the distribution of astrocytes in the nerve fiber layer (NFL) has been studied in the sparsely vascularized retinae of the guinea pig and horse and in the richly vascularized retina of the Old World monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) using immunocytochemical methods. In the guinea pig retina glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)‐positive astrocytes could not be detected. They were found, however, in the myelinated region of the optic nerve. The optic nerve head and a small retinal region immediately adjacent to it contained few vimentin‐positive astrocytes. Histological sections confirmed the restriction of astrocytes to a small retinal region and showed that this is also the only retinal area that is vascularized. Astrocytes showing GFAP and vimentin immunoreactivity were absent from most of the horse retina. They were found only in a narrow zone close to the optic disc, which is also the only region of the horse retina that is vascularized. Thus, as in the rabbit retina (Schnitzer: J. Comp. Neurol. 240:128–142, 1985), in the guinea pig and horse retina astrocytes are not present ubiquitously in the NFL but coexist with blood vessels. In the monkey retina, GFAP‐positive astrocytes were found ubiquitously in the NFL. Astrocytes were absent from the avascular foveal region only. It is suggested that the concurrence of retinal astrocytes and intraretinal vascularization may be a feature common to many, if not all, mammalian species.
Growth factors for human glial cells in culture
Authors: Yong Voon Wee , Kim Seung U. , Kim Myong W. , Shin Doo H.
Published: January 2005

Using a new double‐labeling immunofluorescence technique, we assessed various growth factors on their ability to promote proliferation of cultured human glial cells. Cells studied were fetal astrocytes, fetal Schwann cells, adult astrocytes, and adult oligodendrocytes. Effective agents for fetal astrocytes were glial growth factor from the bovine pituitary, platelet‐derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and 4β‐phorbol 12, 13‐dibutyrate. For fetal Schwann cells, mitogens were glial growth factor from the bovine pituitary, platelet‐derived growth factor, nerve growth factor, and 4β‐phorbol 12, 13‐dibutyrate. Adult astrocytes and oligodendrocytes did not normally divide in culture, and none of the agents tested were effective in inducing their proliferation. The report that interleukin‐2 was a mitogen for oligodendrocytes could not be replicated in the present study on any of the glial cell types.
Tetanus toxin binding to isolated and cultured rat retinal glial cells
Authors: Huba Reiner , Hofmann Hans‐Dieter
Published: January 2005

The presence of immunocytochemically detectable membrane receptors for tetanus toxin, supposedly composed of higher gangliosides, is widely accepted as a marker of neuronal cells. We now demonstrate that Müller cells, a unique glial cell type of the vertebrate retina, possess specific tetanus toxin (TT)‐binding sites. Single cell suspensions were prepared from adult rat retina by a gentle dissociation method, and the Müller cells, unequivocally identified by their morphology, could be immunocytochemically double‐labeled by antisera to vimentin and to TT. The expression of complex gangliosides by identified Müller cells was also demonstrated by immunofluorescence labeling with the monoclonal antibody A2B5. Using the double‐immunolabeling method for the identification of Müller cells we show that specific tetanus toxin binding is acquired by these cells during postnatal maturation both in vivo and in vitro. In vivo the percentage of tetanus toxin‐positive Müller cells increases from 0% in 4‐day‐old animals to 10% on postnatal day 8, reaching the adult level of about 95–100% around day 30. In retinal monolayer cultures prepared from newborn rats, the majority (65%) of vimentin‐positive non‐neuronal cells became TT‐positive during a 2‐week culture period, indicating that this population of non‐neuronal cells represents differentiating Müller cells. Again, comparable results were obtained with A2B5, supporting the conclusion that Müllerian glia expresses surface molecules, which are normally regarded as neuronal markers.
Optical recording of electrical activity from axons and glia of frog optic nerve: Potentiometric dye responses and morphometrics
Authors: Konnerth A. , Orkand P. M. , Orkand R. K.
Published: January 2005

Voltage‐sensitive dyes were used to study the changes in membrane potential in axons and glial cells of the frog optic nerve following electrical stimulation. The lack of a signal in the unstained nerve and the multiphasic action spectra after staining indicated that the optical responses were from the extrinsic dyes. Changes in dye absorption and fluorescence had rapid and slow phases. The rapid phases resulted from action potentials in myelinated and unmyelinated axons. The kinetics of the slow phase of the optical response were similar to the depolarization recorded from the glial cells with intracellular electrodes. The ratio of the amplitudes of the fast and slow phases was characteristic for each type of dye. Pharmacological analysis of the action potential of the unmyelinated axons revealed tetrodotoxin‐sensitive sodium channels and 4‐aminopyridine‐sensitive potassium channels. Repeated exposure of the stained preparation to light led to photodynamic damage as shown by a block of recovery of the glial depolarization. An electron microscopic morphometric study of the nerve was carried out in an effort to understand the contribution of the various anatomical elements to the compound optical response. The ratio of unmyelinated axon membrane to glial membrane was much greater than was the ratio of the fast and slow components of the signal, suggesting that the dyes either had a higher affinity for glial membrane or did not penetrate the nerve uniformly.
Lactate release from cultured astrocytes and neurons: A comparison
Authors: Walz Wolfgang , Mukerji Srimathie
Published: January 2005

Lactate released into the surrounding salt solution as well as the cellular lactate content were measured in cerebral primary cultures of mouse astrocytes and of mouse neurons. Any newly produced lactate was immediately released as lactic acid into the extracellular compartment via a lactate/proton cotransport. The astrocytic release was about 2,000 nmol × mg−1 × hr−1; the neuronal release was about 300 nmol × mg−1 × hr−1. However, if election transport was blocked with dinitrophenol, the neuronal lactate release was as high as the astrocytic one under normal conditions. High glucose (30 mM) and K+ (60 mM) increased lactate release of astrocytes but not of neurons. In contrast it was found that insulin (1 μM) exposure mainly stimulated neuronal lactate release rather than glial release. Adenosine stimulated both neuronal and glial release. Neither intracellular lactate content nor concentration changed significantly in either cell type under any conditions tested. The pathophysiological implications of these measurements are discussed.