bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nordic and World Economic-Political Cooperation: Competition, Adaptation or Participation?
Authors: Sjöstedt Gunnar
Published: March 2007

The world economic-political system seems to be in a process of structural change. To some observers these developments are producing an increasing need for an expanded Nordic cooperation in the area of trade and international economic affairs. One manifestation of this has been the calls for the establishment of a true home market for Scandinavian exporting firms. The desirable, or predicted, future changes in forms and contents of Nordic cooperation should, however, not be considered in isolation. They have to be systematically inter-related to the modifications which are expected to occur in the systems for economic-political cooperation in Western Europe, as well as at the global level, in which Scandinavian countries participate: the EC, EFTA, OECD, GATT, etc. This comprehensive perspective is all the more important because institutionalized economic-political cooperation seems to have entered into a process of structural reform with possible far-reaching consequences. In order to pave the way for a strategic and comprehensive cost/benefit evaluation of Nordic cooperation in the future, a tentative model has been developed for the definition and assessment of the various types of relationships that may exist between Nordic cooperation and other forms of inter-related systems for economic-political collaboration. This "linkage analysis" is undertaken within two contexts: First, a number of theoretical propositions concerning the "anatomy" of institutionalized economic-political cooperation. Secondly, for the sake of empirical illustration, a concrete case: the demand for international cooperation pertaining to the formulation and conduct of Swedish trade policy.
Models of Neutrality: The Traditional and Modern
Authors: Joenniemi Pertti
Published: March 2007

In contemporary international relations neutrality is not disappearing, nor is it fully its old self. It is loaded with both problems and promises. This duality calls for a discussion on the space available for neutrality on two different levels: the policies of the main actors and the structural developments of international relations and the level of understanding. It appears, in broad terms, that the latter is a constraint on the former. Neutrality appears to be rich and promising in terms of its history and existing reality, but an underdeveloped, fragmented and too dependent concept of dominant international relations theory. It is therefore the constitutive aspects of neutrality and the space delineated to it in the ordinary discourse that deserve the prime attention in the on-going debate.
The Democratic Victory: What Will Happen to Foreign Policy?
Authors: Holm Hans-Henrik
Published: March 2007

Democracy in its liberal form is sweeping across the political landscape both in the East and in the South. With it has come fundamental changes in international relations towards a more peaceful international system. The article critically reviews the linkage between democracy and peace. It examines the relationship between democracy and the conduct of foreign policy and it concludes that the changes being introduced in the East and South are insufficient to create a democratic control of foreign policy. Democratizing foreign policy is a challenge to all states, also those in the West.
A Quarter Century of Court Psychiatry
Authors: Messinger Emanuel , Apfelberg Benjamin
Published: March 2007

This study surveys a quarter of a century of continuous opera tion of the Psychiatric Clinic of the Court of General Sessions of New York County.

The statistical findings are based on some 71,000 examinations of approximately 57,000 persons involved in felonies.

Most of these persons are not significantly psychotic, neurotic, or even intellectually deficient in the ordinary clinical sense. Approximately 1.5 per cent are psychotic; less than 1 per cent are significantly neurotic; about 2.5 per cent are mental defec tives. Thus, only about 5 per cent of all persons convicted of felonies need to be considered for special treatment for psychotic, neurotic, or mentally deficient states. The remaining 95 per cent of serious offenders—at least in our jurisdiction—tend to show more or less severe character disorders.

Over the 26-year period of this study, the only significant fluc tuation in incidence of major character disorders occurs in the group psychiatrically designated as pathologic (or sociopathic) personalities. The percentage of pathologic personalities appre hended for felonious crimes tends to fluctuate in accordance with sociologic, economic, and legal factors, rather than as a result of any significant variation in the personality configuration of the delinquency-prone population.

The personality classifications developed by the Clinic are listed and described in two categories: Major Character and Behavior Disorders (seven subgroups), and Lesser Character and Behavior Disorders (twelve subgroups).

1 Walter Bromberg and Charles B. Thomp son, "The Relation of Psychosis, Mental Defect and Personality Types to Crime," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, May-June, 1937, pp. 70-89.

2 John H. Cassity, "Personality Study of 200 Murderers," Journal of Criminal Psycho pathology, Jan., 1941, pp. 296-304.

3 The words psychoneurosis and neurosis are used interchangeably—a standard psychi atric practice. They refer to degrees of nerv

ous disorder which do not significantly im pair an individual's contact with, or appre ciation of, reality.
The Value of Life
Authors: Smith Gerald W.
Published: March 2007

The use of the death penalty in modern civilized nations is unnecessary and destructive of the social order. A careful review of the evidence indicates that, even when the risk of execution has been relatively high, the death penalty has not been shown to provide better protection for society than available alternatives. The use of the death penalty has, in fact, encouraged murder, and innocent people have been executed. The death penalty has been discriminatorily applied to racial and ethnic minorities and will continue to be, despite the current Supreme Court guidelines. The death penalty has few economic advantages, and systematic use of restitution and recoupment would make the death penalty a decided economic disadvantage for society. Setting a poor model for the community, the death penalty reduces respect for the law and places a low value on human life.
Runaways in History
Authors: Lipschutz Mark R.
Published: March 2007

Although running away is a glorified part of American folk tradition, today's runaway runs afoul of a host of laws, including those which make the act itself illegal. The changes in the social and legal status of youth which contributed to this situation originated in the nineteenth century. In the seventeenth century, the concept of childhood came to be recog nized. Childhood was followed by "youth"—the period when the young ster left home to learn a trade. With the coming of the industrial revolution, however, employment opportunities for youths declined. They began to stay at home and in school longer; at the same time youth was perceived as a stage in life rather than a point on a continuum. Against this background G. Stanley Hall, at the turn of the twentieth century, created the concept of adolescence, which has since been firmly established as a stage of life peculiar to Western society.

Runaways and vagrants were largely responsible for the birth of the child-saving movement, which paralleled these changes in social status. Runaway youths drew the attention of Charles Loring Brace, founder of the child-saving movement. Brace's revolutionary notion-that bad youths could be reformed—brought about legal reforms, including reformatories, child welfare laws, and juvenile courts.

Despite the barriers resulting from this redefined legal and social thought, there have been three great Periods of running away in this century: the Great Depression, World War II, and the recent "flower child" era. Studies of the youths during and between these periods indicated a recurring theme: rupture in the nuclear family. If family pressure is the most common "push" encouraging a youth to leave, there may at the same time be a strong "pull": an enticing support group of runaway youths. When the peer-support system reaches a "take-off" point, the lure of running is so great that little "push" is required.
Police Personality: A Jungian Perspective
Authors: Hanewicz Wayne B.
Published: March 2007

Analyses of the "police personality" have often blurred a useful distinc tion between exclusivity and commonality-between traits possessed only by police, on the one hand, and traits possessed by people who become police officers but who may become something else, on the other. There is persuasive evidence that the police officer does share with other police -and other specific groups-traits ranging through several dimensions of personality.

The Jungian conceptual framework, as reflected in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), provides a synthesizing, explanatory, and predic tive scheme for the common traits identified by other, independent ("non- Jungian") investigators. An analysis of other research on the police per sonality shows it to be remarkably similar to MBTI theoretical statements. The MBTI may be a useful tool in training, counseling, and organizational change, but it is limited as an exclusive instrument for selection.
Organizational Influence on Value Systems
Authors: Hodgkinson Christopher
Published: March 2007

Values, which supposedly are of the essence in the administrative process, are examined as correlates of social perceptions in organizations. Some technical criticisms are raised against the OCDQ as a means of climate assessment and some evidence adduced for a shift in value orientation with promotion in the hierarchy. Dr. Hodgkinson is Assistant Professor of Educational Administration at the University of Victoria.
Barriers to the Innovation Process: Four Case Studies of Differentiated Staffing
Authors: Charters W.W. , Pellegrin Roland J.
Published: March 2007

Researchers at the Center for the Advanced Study of Educational Administration spent the 1970-71 school year conducting on-site observa tional studies of four schools in their first year of implementing Differenti ated Staffing. This article describes the characteristic course of events in the schools during that year and summarizes the chronic problems of change revealed by the observations. In addition to their association with CASEA, W. W. Charters, Jr., is Professor of Educational Administration and Roland J. Pellegrin is Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon.
Educational Interest Group Leaders and State Legislators: Perceptions of the Educational Policy-Making Process
Authors: Milstein Mike M. , Jennings Robert E.
Published: March 2007

The educational policy-making process at the state level was examined in New York. One central interest was the extent of perceptual congruence between educational interest group leaders and state legislators concern ing influence strategies in the policy-making process. Results of the study indicate that there are important perceptual differences and that educa tional interest group leaders may have to consider modifications in in fluencing strategies. Mr. Milstein and Mr. Jennings are Associate and Assistant Professor, respectively, in the Department of Educational Ad ministration, State University of New York at Buffalo.
The Improvement of Aggregate Teaching Effectiveness In a School District
Authors: Coleman Peter
Published: March 2007

This article proposes a teacher evaluation scheme utilizing dimensions of teacher behavior which have been shown to be directly related to high levels of positive achievement and attitudes in students.
The Administrator-Observer as Policy Maker
Authors: Ramsey Margaret A.
Published: March 2007

Administrators daily face the problem of attempting to mesh the role of decision maker with the role of processor. Often the infor mation is insufficient, unavailable, or over-looked. Therefore, the dangerous tendency of administrators is to rely too heavily on one's experience, (i.e., the "Old Sage Approach"), or to attempt to synthesize information in a scattered and selective fashion. The anthropological approach of participant-observation, with its subse quent methods, offers a reasonable middle ground for administrators to more effectively organize activities that revolve around decision making. Margaret A. Ramsey is currently serving as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Educational Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is also an adjunct professor of educational ad ministration at the Pennsylvania State University.
Dynamic Information Systems in an Educational Environment
Authors: Mellor Warren L.
Published: March 2007

An educational information system can support the administra tive function and facilitate the process of educational change by provid ing information on alternative courses of action and their conse quences. Such a system will store and produce the kinds of information perceived to be of most use by administrators. Should an educational information system fail to be responsive and adaptive to the fact that the characteristics and needs of its client environment are constantly changing, its impact will be minimal and its effective life short. The Oregon Total Information System has examined its users and found some apparent discrepancy between services offered and the informa tion needs of its administrative users. Such systems need to establish procedures for constantly researching and monitoring the changing patterns in their user environment.
Tri-Offer Arbitration as a Bargaining Dispute Resolution Technique
Authors: Gallagher Daniel G.
Published: March 2007

In the past decade, a considerable amount of attention has been focused on the development of bargaining impasse resolution proceduresfor public education. This study examines the use of the novel approach to tri-offer, final offer arbitratian (FOA) as a dispute resolution device as opera tionalized in the State of Iowa. The research methodology involves an analysis of salary dispute outcomes in teacher association-school board negotiations under the Iowa statutory impasse procedure. The study summarizes the benefits, inherent limitations, and outcomes associated with the legislative or voluntary adoption of tri-offer FOA in public education bargaining.
The German Image of America, as Conveyed by Various Mass Media
Authors: Turksma L.
Published: March 2007

The data for this contribution are taken largely from the materials, compiled for the World Association for Public Opinion Research by the Instituut voor Perswetenschap aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam, under the so-called Poll Index Project. Of course WAPOR cannot be held responsible for the interpretation of the data. The source for the present items were the surveys held for the U.S. High Commissioner in Germany by DIVO, Frankfurt/Bad Godesberg.
The Effect of Position and Layout On the Readership of News Items
Authors: Knapper Chris , Warr Peter B.
Published: March 2007

In an experiment using four systematically varied versions of a news paper page, the authors find evidence to show how readership of an item is related to size of headline, size and layout of item, and the item's position on the page.
Media education and computer literacy in India: The need for an integrated 'compunication education'
Authors: Kumar Keval J.
Published: March 2007

Access and exposure to the mass media and to computers are still very limited in India, even in urban areas. Some experiments in Media Education have been conducted outside the school curriculum. The Central Government has launched a pilot project in Computer Literacy and Studies in School (CLASS) in 248 higher secondary schools and an evaluation of it has been commissioned. This paper sketches the media and computer scene in India, the policies of the Central (Federal) Government on media, computers and school education and computer literacy. Some preliminary findings of a media survey in Bombay's secondary schools suggest a wide interest among students, teachers and parents in media education and computer education. The paper concludes with a plea for a bringing together of the two areas of study because of the intimate connections between them - as reflected in the terms 'compunications' or 'telematics' — not as vocational professional subjects but to promote critical thinking about the new media, especially about their role and influence in our society and the international context in which they function.
The role of media in insurgent terrorism: Issues and perspectives
Authors: Tan Zoe C.W.
Published: March 2007

This essay discusses the promises and problems of several major approaches to studying the role of mass media in the evolution of insurgent terrorism. The question of how the coverage of media is related to attention-seeking attempts by insurgent terrorists and their subsequent response has been approached primarily within two major traditions in the literature. In the tradition of Media Determinism, media are suggested to have determined the outcome of terrorism either by legitimizing terrorism, which, in turn, results in the prevalence of terrorist violence, or by regressing toward the established norms, which discredits adversaries. The tradition of News Sociology, on the other hand, emphasizes the reality-responsive quality of news and deemphasizes the ideologically-directed nature of news selection process. It is suggested in this paper that a third, Social-Cultural, perspective is much in need, in which mass communication is viewed as both the means for stimulating change and contributing to the climate of terrorism reality, and as disseminating information in response to terrorist situations. Furthermore, the likelihood that terrorist violence is an interlocking behavior must also receive attention in order to uncover how else terrorism may persist in addition to the possible contribution of mass media.
"Media access in the Third World": A case study of a Jordanian radio program
Authors: Ayish Muhammad Ibrahim
Published: March 2007

Although access to channels of communication has been an important issue in national and international communication, it has rarely been addressed as such in an exclusively Third World context. Research about media in the Third World seems to perpetuate a mostly obsolete image regarding the current situations of communication systems in those countries. With respect to the question of access, the dominant notion governing our thinking of Third World media reflects an elitist public institutional control over access to those media. Such notion is usually criticized for being wholistic and incapable of accounting for the specific differences characterizing different media systems around the world.

Taking the daily Jordanian call-in radio program "Direct Broadcasting (DB)" as a case study, the author sought to examine how public access to this program seems to reverse some of our conventional perceptions of Third World media. Although the results of the study showed a good number of DB segments to be dominated by actors associated with public institutions, private citizens were also involved in the program. While the involve ment of public sector actors was receptive (as targets of phone calls), private citizens accessed the program as initiators of information.

The study also found that the majority of calls broadcast over the program was on developmental subjects pertaining to the daily needs of citizens. The study also revealed that the role of DB broadcasters has been either facilitative or inactive in a good number of cases rather than active or interrogative.

The main conclusion of this study is that, while broadcasting structures in the Third World remain institutionally affiliated with governments, access to the airwaves by actors not associated with the public sector is possible, though on a controlled basis.
Contraceptive social marketing in the third world: A case of multiple transfer
Authors: Luthra Rashmi
Published: March 2007

The major research question was, "What are the social implications of transferring marketing methods and principles from a first world, commercial context, to a third world, social context?" A case study of the Family Planning Social Marketing Project of Bangladesh was done to address the question, with project documentation and interviews constituting the major sources of evidence. An interpretive-critical approach was taken. Overall, it was found that the formulation and modification of communication strategy was consistently influenced by either marketing convention or the practical needs of the marketing organization. Further, it was found that the dominance of these considerations created contradictory social implications within the project.
Popular theatre and the media: The empowerment of culture in development communication
Authors: Epskamp Kees P. , Swart Jaap R.
Published: March 2007

For three decades popular theatre has been used in processes of development communication as part of adult education programmes. From these initiatives grew a special type of popular theatre, called 'theatre for development.' In workshops training people in the use of popular theatre techniques an inventory of local problems is made for later use in the plays. In each play one problem theme is explored by and for the local community. At the other end of the scale is television, still to be regarded as a powerful and far-reaching medium for information and entertainment in developing countries. Unlike popular theatre, television provides a continuous flow of information from the top-down, from the city to the countryside, from the rulers to the people. This top-down flow is produced by the broadcast ing organizations. Video, which is television, is part of this flow. But it is not necessarily so. Video as a small audience medium in developing countries is fast gaining ground.
EC policymaking: The case of the “Television Without Frontiers” directive
Authors: Dupagne Michel
Published: March 2007

On October 3, 1989, after a 3-year itinerary fraught with political hurdles, the Council of the European Communities adopted the “Television Without Frontiers” directive whose purpose was to harmonize national laws for transnational broadcasting. This paper reviews chronologically the policymaking process of the directive from the Green Paper to the incorporation of the directive into national legislation. The directive represents an illuminating case study in EC decisionmaking because it highlights how the cooperation procedure, a significant feature of the 1987 Single European Act, altered the relationships among EC institutions and how political compromise enabled the Member States to reconcile their differences and ultimately adopt the legislation.
Upsetting the agenda: media and the 1991 Singapore election
Authors: Holaday Duncan , Kuo Eddie C.Y
Published: March 2007

This attempt to apply an agenda setting design to the 1991 Singapore election reveals a pattern of voter awareness different from that reported for US studies. The aim of agenda setting research has been to prove that the media agenda determines what voters think about. This study concludes that in Singapore there is a relation between what is not in the media and what Singaporean voters think about. Time frame and voter's critical ability are taken into account.
From Third World to First World: new roles and challenges for development communication
Authors: Melkote Srinivas R.
Published: March 2007

The terms development and development communication have been, almost always, synonymous with the needs and problems of developing nations or the Third World. In the First World, these terms have not been readily used or easily recognized. The reasoning behind this has been that an industrially advanced country does not have significant problems dealing with development. This may not always be true. An advanced country has pockets of underdevelopment. Second, an industrially advanced country may have other unique problems that have arisen after development. These problems of "overdevelopment" that have occurred during the post-industrial stage may prove to be as dysfunctional as the problems of underdevelopment.

This study will review the problems of underdevelopment and overdevelopment in the First World using mostly the United States of America as a case study. The role and challenges for communication will be discussed with specific reference to the above mentioned problems using the knowledge gained from research in the Third World.
Transnational public relations: De Lesseps promotes the Panama Canal
Authors: Spellman Robert L.
Published: March 2007

Much public and political opinion opposed construction of a waterway across Panama by the French Panama Canal Co. Using techniques of public relations and political lobbying, the company headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps successfully neutralized American opposition to a French-built canal. A study of the company's campaign demonstrates that many techniques of modern public and political relations are not new.
Thematic coverage of population and family planning efforts of India in the New York Times
Authors: Nandy Bikash R. , Ramaprasad Jyotika
Published: March 2007

It is alleged that the Western press coverage of developing nations is largely negative; it ignores the cultural, social and development activities and initiatives of disadvantaged countries. This study was undertaken to see how India's population control and family planning efforts were covered in the New York Times [ NYT] between 1951 and 1990. The research method used was content analysis. The NYT was selected as the sample American newspaper. During the 40-year period under study, NYT published 249 population and family planning stories on India. Each of these news stories in the NYT was categorized into different themes. The study identified 11 themes which were then classified into themes more or less likely to get covered based on Westem news values. NYT, by and large, covered India's family planning efforts when they were associated with themes such as politics, civil unrest and religious differences (in line with Western news values) and not as part of the process of national development.
Access to the media and the multiparty system in Serbia
Authors: Bacevic Ljiljana J.
Published: March 2007

The paper describes continual conflicts between the ruling party and the opposition in regard to the media access in contemporary Serbia. The conflicts that have emerged with the introduction of a multiparty system have not stopped ever since. The author perceives the essence of the conflicts in a complete unwillingness of the ruling party to renounce its dominant post in the media, inherited from its communist predecessor from the one-party period. Besides this, the author detects some other advantages of the ruling party out of the sphere of media. These advantages also explain the remaining of the ruling party in power despite the pro-opposition orientation of the majority of Serbian citizens.
Democratization of communication as a utopia
Authors: Hujanen Taisto
Published: March 2007

This article is a case-study of the Finnish radio reform in the middle of the 1980's which resulted in the introduction of commercial radio in the country after 50 years of public monopoly. The study considers the radio reform as a discursive formation and focuses on a specific form of utopian discourse which is termed as democratization of communication. The author links his analysis of utopian discourse with Mannheim's classic sociology of knowledge and adopts from him the idea of the concreteness of utopias, i.e. the emphasis on situationality and social conditioning of utopias. What makes utopian discourse a relevant object of study, according to the author, is the way the utopias and utopians challenge the taken for granted character of a given social order, reproduced and maintained, for instance, by the practices of everyday knowledge.

As to the discursive construction of the Finnish radio reform, the author's main conclusion is that the democratic utopia of communication was used to break the historical dichotomy between public and commercial broadcasting. Only the re-articulation of this dichotomy made it possible for the advocates of deregulation to gain wide popular and political support for their intentions.
Young people, transport and risk: comparing access and independent mobility in urban, suburban and rural environments
Authors: Jones Linda , Davis Adrian , Eyers Tim
Published: March 2007

A sample of 349 young people, aged 13 or 14, in three locations in the English Midlands participated in this study, which examines how young people perceive and handle risk in relation to travel and locality. The findings, drawn from survey and focus-group research, highlight differences between the three locations in terms of young people's perceptions of levels of safety, access, traffic danger and noise. In the high-density (urban) area, young people were less likely to travel unaccompanied even in their local areas, whereas in sub urban and rural areas, lone travel, even after dark, was more common. In all locations, young people gave rich accounts of managing risk and responding to parental concerns about safety, through evasion and collusion with peers. They had many ideas to make local environments safer, but thought that their voices remained unheard by policy makers and other adults.
Mental health, resistance and social movements: The collective-confrontational dimension
Authors: Crossley Nick
Published: March 2007

This paper discusses social movement opposition to medical inter vention, focusing specifically upon the anti-psychiatry and psychiatric survivor movements. The sociological properties and dynamics of movements are briefly outlined, as are their normative implications in relation to health matters.
Action research in health promotion
Authors: Whitehead Dean , Taket Ann , Smith Pam
Published: March 2007

Objectives This article aims to define what is action research and where it fits in with health promotion practice, through drawing upon associated literature and personal action research experience. It also seeks to investigate the possible reasons why it is that health promotion researchers have not readily taken on the processes of action research strategies.

Rationale The place of action research in health promotion programmes is an important yet relatively unacknowledged and understated activity. It has proven to be very popular with other professional groups, such as in the education, management and social sciences. In terms of health service activity, it is widely established in the fields of nursing and mental health and is beginning to establish itself in medicine. While there are a few health promotion examples to draw upon, they tend to be isolated, dated and often lie outside of the mainstream literature. It is suggested that this continuing state of affairs denies many health promotion researchers a valuable resource for managing effective change in practice. Conclusion The authors suggest that action research is both a valid and

important research method for health promotion researchers, who are advised to further consider its merits in future studies. This article draws attention to the National Health Service (NHS) South West Regional Office-commissioned Our Healthier Nation: Improving the Competence of the Workforce in Health Promotion participatory action research project, as a means of promoting and validating action research strategy. The authors were all actively involved in this project.
Talking about baby walkers: Insights about health education from the field
Authors: Woods Amanda , Hapgood Rhydian , Bentley Elaine , Kendrick Denise , Dyas Jane
Published: March 2007

Objective To explore the perceptions and experiences of health visitors and parents of health education approaches to baby walker use.

Design An exploratory focus group study to inform the development of an educational intervention to reduce baby walker use. Five groups were conducted. One group consisted solely of health visitors, one of antenatal parents and three of parents of children under 5 years of age.

Setting Focus groups took place in the East Midlands area of the UK. Deprived and nondeprived areas were chosen by their 'Jarman' score and parent and toddler groups at local community facilities in these areas were invited to take part. Health visitors working within these areas were asked to participate, as were parents from these areas attending a hospital antenatal group.

Method A purposive sampling strategy was used to recruit 43 professional and parent participants so that there was a mixture of baby walker users and nonusers, living and working in deprived and nondeprived areas. The five focus group interviews lasted for approximately one hour, were facilitated by the authors (AW, RH) tape recorded and transcribed and the transcriptions analysed by extracting the themes which emerged using the data management package NUD*IST.

Results A number of common themes emerged including the dilemmas which arise in the health education consultation; how markets drive parental choices and the literature available; how parents and health visitors perceive each other in the consultation and the difficulties of explaining risks in a way which is understandable.

Conclusion There are difficulties in the health education consultation which arise between parents and health visitors that need to be aired and addressed. There is a need for more training and support for health visitors and for them to be provided with evidence-based information which can be used in their daily practice. More research is required which looks at the respective experiences of parents and health visitors in the health education consultation.
Research education in postgraduate health promotion: Does one size fit all?
Authors: Tilford Sylvia , South Jane
Published: March 2007

It has been customary in health promotion courses to prepare students to complete masters level research based dissertations and to be able to undertake research and evaluation in the context of professional practice. Given the changing nature of health promotion practice and the place of research and evaluation within it, it is timely to review the preparation that courses offer. This paper examines current research education in the UK, drawing on a recent survey of postgraduate health promotion courses. Consideration is given to the question of whether current models of provision, although meeting academic requirements, offer insufficient preparation for the specifics of research and evaluation activity within current UK practice. The strengths and limitations of the traditional dissertation are discussed. In response to the challenges of incorporating collaborative and participatory research into masters level study and increasing dissemination of students' work, alternative models for the dissertation phase are presented. Overall the paper is designed to stimulate debate on the possibilities of a better fit between postgraduate research education and research practice.
Developing an e-based postgraduate programme in public health and health promotion: Masters in Population Health Evidence, MPHe
Authors: Heller Richard F
Published: March 2007

The Masters in Population Health Evidence (MPHe: www.mphe.man.ac.uk) is the first fully web based Masters course in Public Health in the UK.

The programme aims to develop skills and competencies in population health underpinned by an evidence-based approach through active, self-directed and problem-based learning methods.

The course is aimed at a range of health professionals and covers a range of core and optional units including health promotion and the basic sciences for population health.
National survey of the new smoking cessation services in England
Authors: Pound Elspeth , Coleman Tim , Cheater Francine , McNeill Ann
Published: March 2007

Objective To examine the early implementation of the new National Health Service (NHS) smoking cessation services and assess implications for their future.

Design Quantitative study.

Setting NHS smoking cessation services in England, spring 2001. Method Postal survey of all smoking cessation coordinators (managers) in England.

Results The response rate was 69 per cent. Three quarters of the coordinators reported that no prior smoking cessation services had existed in their area, 42 per cent had no experience of running clinical services for patients, and one in five reported employing very few or no smoking cessation advisors with previous clinical experience in smoking cessation or any other field. Some coordinators were experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, the most common reasons being short-term funding or the lack of appropriate experience. Nevertheless, almost 60 per cent of the coordinators reported that the smoking cessation services were working at full capacity at the time of the survey. Services were offering a range of smoking cessation interventions that were mostly in line with the evidence base.

Conclusion Evidence based smoking cessation services were set up across England within a short period of time. The majority of staff employed initially had little or no previous experience relevant to their posts and large numbers have been trained in smoking cessation skills. As ring- fenced funding of smoking cessation services came to an end in March 2003, it is important not to lose this substantive investment in skills and infrastructure and ensure that the services are incorporated into mainstream funding, with a proper career structure for smoking cessation service staff.
Health indicators in a prison population: Asking prisoners
Authors: Lester Carolyn , Hamilton-Kirkwood Laurence , Jones Nicholas K.
Published: March 2007

Objective To collect information on health determinants directly from prisoners, complementary to a needs assessment.

Design Self-completion multiple-choice questionnaire to a sample based on alternate cells.

" Setting Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Cardiff.

Method Three hundred men received questionnaires with an offer of confidential help, which was accepted by two. Questions included qualifications, previous occupation, drug, alcohol and medical history, smoking, perceived threats, worries, diet, exercise, drugs in prison, access to services, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. Results Of 133 (44 per cent) who responded, more than half had left school prematurely. Thirty-three (25 per cent) drank 90 alcohol units or more weekly before prison and 91 (68 per cent) used illegal drugs, with 44 (33 per cent) using in prison. Of the 112 (84 per cent) who smoked, 89 (79 per cent) wished to quit. Ninety-one (68 per cent) never took vigorous exercise, and 83 (62 per cent) ate less than three portions of fruit and/or vegetables daily. Only 41 (35 per cent) were within the normal HAD range for both anxiety and depression.

Conclusion This study highlights concurrent high levels of adverse health determinants in prisoners. Targeting these determinants should improve health and decrease the chance of returning to criminality on release.
Improving children's problem eating and mealtime behaviours: An evaluative study of a single session parent education programme
Authors: Fraser Kim , Wallis Marianne , John Winsome St
Published: March 2007

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a 'single session' group, early intervention, multidisciplinary, education programme (entitled the Fun not Fuss with Food group programme) designed to improve children's problem eating and mealtime behaviours.

Design A quasi-experimental time-series design incorporating data collection, twice before and twice following the intervention.

Setting A health district within the southeast region of Queensland, Australia.

Method Data were collected using the Children's Eating and Mealtime Behaviour Inventory - Revised (CEBI-R) and the Family Demographic Questionnaire.

Results Parents who attended the Fun not Fuss with Food group programme reported significant improvements in their child's problem eating and mealtime behaviours and reported reductions in parental concerns regarding their child's eating and mealtime behaviours. Conclusion A single session, early intervention, group education programme for families with children with problem eating and mealtime behaviours is appropriate and effective. Therefore, early intervention group education programmes should be considered as a strategy for this client group.
An exploratory study to investigate cognitive-motivational variables as predictors of health behaviours in adolescents
Authors: Tyc Vida L , Nuttbrock-Allen Deanna , Klosky James L , Ey Sydney
Published: March 2007

Objective This study examines the relation between cognitive-motivational variables and self-reported health behaviours among adolescents.

Design Cross-sectional survey of adolescents via questionnaires delivered in classrooms.

Setting One large junior high school and two senior high schools located in the Memphis area.

Method Data from 257 7th to 12th graders were used to determine their practice of health behaviours as well as their perceptions of health status and vulnerability, optimism and rebelliousness/risk taking.

Results Adolescent males and females who were less rebellious and had better health perceptions reported healthier behavioural practices. A stronger significant inverse relationship between perceived vulnerability and health behaviour scores was found for females. Optimism was significantly and positively correlated with health behaviour scores only among females. Adolescents in lower grades obtained higher health behaviour scores than adolescents in higher grades. Males had higher rebelliousness scores than females. Demographic and cognitive- motivational variables accounted for 26 per cent of the variance in health behaviour scores.

Conclusion Cognitive-motivational factors should be considered when designing health promotion programmes for adolescents.
Learning to be interdisciplinary: An action research approach to boundary spanning
Authors: Muñoz Karen , Jeris Laurel
Published: March 2007

Objective This study explored challenges and barriers that need to be addressed in a preprofessional educational setting to provide opportunities for boundary spanning that leads to family-centred interdisciplinary service provision.

Design The design employed in this study was participatory action research, an inductive approach.

Setting The study took place during a semester-long, one-credit elective graduate seminar course.

Method The study included five faculty members and eight graduate students from the fields of audiology, speech-language pathology, and rehabilitation counselling. Data gathering techniques used included observation, dialogue, and reflection.

Results Three themes were identified as important in providing an environment conducive to collaboration between professionals and families, namely:

1 the need for acceptance of differing perspectives,

2 empowerment and its contribution to the process of inquiry, and

3 self-awareness in the learning process and the resultant increase in awareness of others.

Conclusion While all participants confirmed the importance of trust, empowerment, low risk, and clear definition of process goals, both faculty and students found it extremely difficult to break out of their familiar routines. Given how difficult it was to surface and test assumptions in this context, these findings provided insight into the challenges interdisciplinary teams will face when they try to work with families as equals in the treatment decision-making process.
Theory and management in health education
Authors: Kay John E.
Published: March 2007

HEALTH education per se is subject to many vicissitudes, not least that every person having concern with it, be it on five minutes or fifty years acquaintance, immediately develops a "theory" about it. Indeed, the subject is so nebulous in many ways that almost anyone, given just the title, can gather up a few random thoughts and put them together in an apparently reasoned exposition in a few minutes. In a nutshell "health education" is similar to "religion" or "politics". Everyone has a view, often quite intractable. Discussion and argument is inexhaustable and usually—as with the other two debatable subjects—ultimately sterile.
The role of the District Nurse in mental health education
Authors: Mitchell A.R.K.
Published: March 2007

HEALTH has an ephemeral quality when we try to define it. Like salt, it is something we notice when it is not there. Most of us take our health for granted, and only notice when we are sick. Most definitions of health therefore, tend either to be so vague as to be meaningless, or so all embracing as to be equally meaningless.
Response to rubella immunisation education in health authority family planning clinics: A controlled clinical trial
Authors: Black N.A.
Published: March 2007

The response of women attend ing family planning clinics run by the Area Health Authority pro viding health education on pro tection against rubella (cases), was compared with those attending clinics with no specific educational provision (controls). The effectiveness of the in tervention was determined by studying the number of women approaching their General Prac titioner in the ensuing four months for serological testing to determine their immune-status. Of 174 cases and 170 controls registered with a General Practi tioner, follow-up information was obtained on 164 (94%) cases and 155 (91%) controls. General Practitioners' records revealed pre-existing knowledge of sero logically confirmed immunity or previous rubella immunisation in only 35 (21%) cases and 29 (19%) controls. In response to health education, 12 (7%) cases approached their GP on the sub ject compared with 3 (2%) con trols - a small but significant difference (P<0.05) which was confined to women aged 25-29 years. This suggests that such a programme would fail to make a significant contribution to the prevention of congenital rubella.
Prevalence of smoking among school children in Sheffield — planning for prevention
Authors: Wilcox Brian , Gillies Pam
Published: March 2007

THIS study describes the prevalence of regular smoking amongst 4,398 school children aged 9-18 years within one local education authority, and considers the results in relation to national findings. Regular smoking in Sheffield primary school children was infrequent but increased with pupil age, and by 15-16 years one in every four girls were smokers compared to one in every seven boys. The sex differences in smoking prevalence recorded in the local study were not observed in the national one. This result highlights the need for local studies if a comprehensive picture of prevalence is to be obtained, and effective preventive action planned.
Prevention of smoking among school children: recommendations for policy development
Authors: Reid Donald
Published: March 2007

THIS paper reviews the evidence concerning strate gies for reducing the prevalence of smoking among British teenagers, in the light of the decline among boys and increase among girls since 1966. Successful policies require consideration of all relevant factors. In order of priority, these include: parents, peers, smoking by teachers, cigarette advertising, and illegal sales by tobacconists - in addition to ignorance of the risks. Suggestions for improving current research designs and recommendations for action by district health authorities (DHAs) schools and local education authorities (LEAs) are also included. For DHAs, adults rather than children are recommended as the priority target group. Schools should be encouraged to conduct regular prevalence studies, develop appropriate curricula, ban smoking on the premises and involve parents fully. Educational programmes should begin by about age 8-10, with a high priority for the 11-13 age group. Programmes based on education for personal growth are probably preferable to purely information giving approaches, but both can be effective if the learner is actively involved.