bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Self-Report Depression Scales in the Elderly: The Relationship between the CES-D and ZUNG
Authors: Deforge Bruce R. , Sobal Jeffery
Published: May 2005

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems in the elderly, but there is little consensus about the best way to assess depression in the aged. The relationship between the CES-D and the ZUNG self-report depression scales was investigated in seventy-eight elderly people with osteoarthritis (mean age 71). The correlation between the scales was r = .69, with the CES-D classifying 15 percent of the participants as depressed, as compared to 6 percent by the ZUNG. Psychological symptoms had the strongest relationship with overall depression scores on both scales. No sex differences were found on psychological items on either scale, but females reported more somatic symptoms on the ZUNG. People over age seventy-four reported more psychological symptoms than their younger counterparts.
Perceiving Hierarchical Structures in Nonrepresentational Paintings
Authors: Avital Tsion , Cupchik Gerald C.
Published: May 2005

A series of four experiments were conducted to examine viewer perceptions of three sets of five nonrepresentational paintings. Increased complexity was embedded in the hierarchical structure of each set by carefully selecting colors and ordering them in each successive painting according to certain rules of transformation which created hierarchies. Experiment 1 supported the hypothesis that subjects would discern the hierarchical complexity underlying the sets of paintings. In Experiment 2 viewers rated the paintings on collative (complexity, disorder) and affective (pleasing, interesting, tension, and power) scales, and a factor analysis revealed that affective ratings were tied to complexity (Factor 1) but not to disorder (Factor 2). In Experiment 3, a measure of exploratory activity (free looking time) was correlated with complexity (Factor 1) but not with disorder (Factor 2). Multidimensional scaling was used in Experiment 4 to examine perceptions of the paintings seen in pairs. Dimension 1 contrasted Soft with Hard-Edged paintings, while Dimension 2 reflected the relative separation of figure from ground in these paintings. Together these results show that untrained viewers can discern hierarchical complexity in paintings and that this quality stimulates affective responses and exploratory activity.
Complicated Dual Diagnosis: A Case for Physician Involvement in Addictions Treatment
Authors: Bobo William V. , Miller Shannon C.
Published: May 2005

Despite the high prevalence of substance use disorders, the prevention and treatment of such illnesses seem to receive little attention during physician training. This provides cause for concern, as physician involvement in addiction treatment has been relatively sparse. We present the case of a patient whose successful treatment likely relied upon her physicians' intensive training in each of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of her clinical presentation. The case illustrates the need for added emphasis on the assessment and treatment of addictive disorders during medical training, and for more active physician involvement in addictions treatment.
A Clinic Succeeds Kern's in Rhode Island
Authors: Celenza Jim
Published: May 2005

A new Occupational and Environmental Health Center has opened in Providence, Rhode Island, the successor to the one operated by Dr. David Kern until 1997 when he published research that identified a new occupational respiratory disease among patients there and thereby drew a storm of controversy involving his program, Memorial Hospital, and Brown Medical School. The new independent clinic is the result of cooperative work among a number of medical and occupational organizations in the state.
Accommodating Rapid Growth in Physician Supply: Lessons from Israel, Warnings for Canada
Authors: Barer Morris L. , Gafni Amiram , Lomas Jonathan
Published: May 2005

Most developing countries find themselves grappling with the implications of rapid growth in physician supply. The purpose of this article is to search for lessons or warnings for Canada (and, ultimately, elsewhere) in the manner in which Israel has chosen to accommodate its huge supply of physicians. Under extremely conservative assumptions about immigration, and assuming rates of domestic training of physicians at levels somewhat lower than at present, Canada's physician supply will continue to grow at rates in excess of general population growth for at least the next 45 years. In this article we describe the Israeli health care system from a perspective of identifying the consequences of accommodating a physician supply about 50 percent higher than that in Canada. A number of key “accommodation attributes” (low physician incomes, restricted access to hospitals for general practitioners, intramedical-professional conflicts over income and authority, a flourishing black market) are argued to be more than simply products of a unique cultural and political system, but also symptoms of a system vastly oversupplied with physicians. Early signs in Canada of similar “products” of a growing physician supply are noted. While a two-country comparison makes drawing lessons somewhat speculative, the coincidence of events suggests that these trends in Canada warrant, if not immediate action, at least careful monitoring.
Stage, Sex, and Suffering: Images of Women in American Films
Authors: Levy Emanuel
Published: May 2005

This article systematically examines the portrayal of women in the American cinema over the last sixty years, from 1927. More specifically, it addresses itself to the following issues: the main attributes of screen women in terms of age, marital status, and occupation; the guidelines prescribed by American films for structuring women's lifestyles; the degree of rigidity of these normative prescriptions and proscriptions; and recent changes in the portrayal of women. The research is based on content analysis, quantitative and qualitative, of 218 screen roles, male and female, which have won the Academy Award, bestowed annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the best achievements in film acting. The study demonstrates the differential treatment of gender in American films and the durability of specific screen stereotypes for men and for women. The prevalence of rigid conventions in the portrayal of women for half a century is explained in relation to male economic and ideological dominance in Hollywood and in American society at large.
Psychosocial Predictors of Death Prognosis
Authors: Pattison E. Mansell
Published: May 2005

This study examines the interaction between physiological, psychological, and sociological variables as factors in the short term prognosis of death. The basic physiological processes of disease are inexorable, but psychosocial variables may influence short term prognosis. In this anterospective study, 12 male subjects with a 50% short term mortality risk due to chronic lung disease were evaluated and followed for 18 months. Neither initial basic physiologic status nor basic psychological measures were predictive. However measures of functional social abilities was predictive, as the presence of an intact positive network of social relations. In the short run, the importance of having something or someone to live for is demonstrated.
Teaching Family Psychodynamics in a Family Practice Center: One Experience
Authors: Guttman Herta A. , Sigal John J.
Published: May 2005

This paper describes a method of teaching family psychodynamics in a new family practice center. Initially, there were difficulties in engaging staff because of inappropriate teaching methods and personal and professional identity conflicts. Ultimately, a sequential program of video playbacks, live interviews and case conferences was developed. The residents' four-month rotation in psychiatry proved essential for developing comfort with psychological and familial aspects of physical illness.
Producing Good Technical Communications Requires Two Types of Editing
Authors: Boomhower E. F.
Published: May 2005

This paper points out that producing good technical documents requires two types of editing. It discusses the differences between literary and technical editing, and defines the facets of editing that are of primary concern to the literary editor and to the technical editor. It emphasizes the need for both types of editing at different stages of manuscript development, regardless of whether each type is done by different people or by the same person at different times. In short, the literary editor is primarily concerned with things involving the language and mechanics of writing and producing a document, while the technical editor is primarily concerned with the document's technical content and how well it is presented to the intended audience.
The Untold Story: How the Health Care Systems in Developing Countries Contribute to Maternal Mortality
Authors: Sundari T. K.
Published: May 2005

This article attempts to put together evidence from maternal mortality studies in developing countries of how an inadequate health care system characterized by misplaced priorities contributes to high maternal mortality rates. Inaccessibility of essential health information to the women most affected, and the physical as well as economic and sociocultural distance separating health services from the vast majority of women, are only part of the problem. Even when the woman reaches a health facility, there are a number of obstacles to her receiving adequate and appropriate care. These are a result of failures in the health services delivery system: the lack of minimal life-saving equipment at the first referral level; the lack of equipment, personnel, and know-how even in referral hospitals; and worst of all, faulty patient management. Prevention of maternal deaths requires fundamental changes not only in resource allocation, but in the very structures of health services delivery. These will have to be fought for as part of a wider struggle for equity and social justice.
Academically Successful Drug Users: An Oxymoron?
Authors: Evans William P. , Skager Rodney
Published: May 2005

The present study examines substance use among academically successful students. The data were collected in two discrete anonymous surveys of 2,288 ninth-grade and 2,653 eleventh-grade California students, and 1,043 ninth-grade and 862 eleventh-grade students from a large suburban county. Over 70 percent of the academically successful students from both samples reported some type of drug use. These successful students were divided for comparison into three groups according to their involvement with drugs: abstainers, conventional users, and high-risk users. The analyses indicated that the negative association between drug use and academic achievement may be counterbalanced by mediating factors identified in the study. These factors included high “educational aspiration,” “parent educational level,” and “emotional stability.”
Affective and Anxiety Disorders in the Long-Term Follow-up of Anorexia Nervosa
Authors: Toner Brenda B. , Garfinkel Paul E. , Garner David M.
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the incidence and onset of affective and anxiety disorders in women who were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa five to fourteen years earlier. Based on the clinical outcome of anorexia nervosa, patients were classified as asymptomatic, improved or symptomatic. Affective and anxiety disorders were assessed by a structured psychiatric interview (Diagnostic Interview Schedule). Results indicated that affective and anxiety disorders developed frequently, regardless of outcome of anorexia nervosa. Major depression and anxiety disorders developed before the eating disorder in one-half and three-quarters of these cases respectively. The symptomatic group had a significantly higher incidence of anxiety disorders prior to the development of their eating disorder compared with the asymptomatic group.
Using Social Learning Theory to Assess the Exercise Related Health Education Needs of Post-Retirement Adults
Authors: Schuster Catherine , Petosa Rick
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to determine the exercise related health education needs of post-retirement adults. Social Learning Theory (SLT) was used as the conceptual framework. The target population for this study was post-retirement adults aged sixty years and over living in Columbus, Ohio. Results revealed a serious lack of knowledge regarding the benefits and attributes of exercise. Overall it appeared that few older adults received social support for exercise. Approximately one-half of the sample reported high levels of exercise self-efficacy. Over 50 percent of the sample reported to exercise for health-related benefits. Based on the results, specific recommendations for the promotion of exercise in post-retirement adults are offered.
Computer-Assisted Instruction in Health Professions Education: A Review of the Published Literature
Authors: Hmelo Cindy E.
Published: May 2005

CAI has been used for more than twenty years in the education of health professionals. A variety of different hardware and software systems have been used in the implementation of CAI for this population. While early CAI was written for mainframe computers, later courseware has been developed for microcomputers. Later applications have also focused on higher order skills such as problem solving and synthesis through the use of simulation. Despite the numerous reports of CAI use, there has not been a lot of research on the effectiveness of CAI in medical, nursing, and allied health education, nor has there been much work on those features of CAI that lead to improved learning. While CAI has a good deal to offer, these issues must be addressed if we are to prepare health professionals who can adapt to a constantly changing body of medical knowledge.
Television, Science, and Children: Formative Evaluation for 3-2-1 Contact
Authors: Chen Milton
Published: May 2005

Over fifty formative research studies with more than 10,000 eight- to twelve-year olds were conducted during the two-year pre-broadcast period for the new PBS series on science and technology, 3-2-1 Contact. Questions addressed included the types of programming most popular with the target audience, techniques for maximizing the appeal and comprehensibility of science material on TV, and children's attitudes towards science. New technologies were employed in the methodologies, including a microcomputer-based viewer response system and interactive cable. Research results, communicated in close working relationship with TV producers, guided development of the series to motivate children's interest in science and technology.
Technical Writing is Different
Authors: Hische Gerard
Published: May 2005

Most technically orientated students are never exposed to lessons in effective technical writing skills. Yet, knowing how to express oneself properly is a necessity in today's technical world. The technical writer must use correct grammar and exact language in his descriptions of precise, technical subjects. He must learn how to adapt his personal style to the impact he wants to make. In addition, he must also learn how to communicate to various levels of audiences, for not all of his readers will possess the same knowledge about a subject. Also, he must learn to use graphic aids in the presentation of an article.
Imagery, Ego Development, and Nuclear Attitudes
Authors: Kaplan Frances Fisher
Published: May 2005

Variables that differentiate those who oppose the nuclear arms race were investigated. Thirty-eight employees of an industrial research facility were asked to respond to: 1) a demographic data form; 2) a measure of ego development; 3) a nuclear attitudes and information questionnaire; and 4) two imagery questions – one about the consequences of nuclear war and one about images of anger. Data were analyzed by dividing participants into three nuclear attitude groups – supporters of the status quo, fence sitters, and antinuclear protesters – and statistically comparing group responses. Results showed that protesters were better educated and more likely to be female. With fence sitters, they shared a tendency to be better informed about nuclear issues and with supporters, a belief that nuclear war is imminent. They displayed a trend toward greater production of concrete images of nuclear war – a finding that provides tentative validation for previous research. Finally, protesters did not obtain ego-development scores that differed significantly from the scores of the other two groups; they did, however, produce more vivid images of anger.
Anxiety and Functional Status in Older Primary Care Patients
Authors: Upadhyaya Ajaya K. , Lyness Jeffrey M. , Cox Christopher , Seidlitz Larry , Caine Eric D.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that anxiety in older primary care patients is associated with functional impairment after controlling for depression and medical comorbidity.

Method:

Primary care patients ( n = 303), aged sixty or older were interviewed with a series of instruments designed to measure psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, medical illness burden, and both examiner-rated and self-reported functional status. Anxiety was measured by the anxiety item of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the anxiety items of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form SF-36. Multiple regression techniques were used to examine the association of anxiety with functional status after controlling for age, gender, education, medical burden, and depression.

Results:

When controlled for depression and medical morbidity, increased anxiety predicted poorer social function. Anxiety was not independently associated with more basic activities of daily living.

Conclusions:

Further studies with more comprehensive measures of anxiety are warranted to clarify the relationships between anxiety and functional status.
The Learning Alliance and its Relation to Psychiatric Teaching
Authors: Lazerson Alan M.
Published: May 2005

The concept of the learning alliance is useful in understanding the teaching-learning process in general and the doctor-patient relationship specifically. The alliance is that relationship between student and teacher characterized by mutual respect and joint dedication to a task of learning. It enables the student to maximize his mastery of a new and difficult experience. This paper outlines the stresses on the alliance throughout the teaching process, and illustrates these in examples of psychiatric teaching.

Aspects of the learning alliance as encountered in the teaching of psychiatry have equal relevance to the teaching of medical students, practicing physicians, and other clinical workers.

Similarities and differences are explored in both the teaching and the therapeutic models of helping relationships.
The Profitization of Health Promotion
Authors: Milio Nancy
Published: May 2005

In this article the author argues that not only is the marketplace an ineffective arena for health development, it is currently generating decision-making paths that obscure more effective perspectives and directions to promote Americans' health. To illustrate this premise, available evidence is presented that suggests that the use of “health promotion” by the proprietary sector, as well as the commercialization of health promotion, is creating decision-making processes that are not accountable to those whom they affect. This emerging infrastructure is characterized by organizations, programs, delivery channels, and evaluative criteria that do not give people's health priority over organizational interests. These developments require critical examination and work on alternatives if the promotion of health is to result in more health than hype.
Developmental and Task Factors in Logo Programming
Authors: Johnson Janice , Kane Kelly
Published: May 2005

Ninety children (7 to 12 years) were taught simplified Logo programming commands, which they used to solve computer mazes. Mazes were solved under conditions of either immediate—each command entered had an immediate, visible effect on the movement of the turtle—or delayed-feedback—the invisible turtle moved with each command, but showed its current position only after every six commands. These conditions were designed to model programming interactively versus in the editor. All children solved a final maze with no-feedback (i.e., the turtle moved invisibly, but never showed its position). It was hypothesized that experience in immediate mode would facilitate learning in younger children, but that experience in delayed mode would lead to equal or better learning in older children. Performance was scored for programming errors. Older children performed better than younger children on all mazes; performance with immediate feedback was better than that with delayed; and more difficult mazes tended to elicit higher error rates or longer latencies. On the final no-feedback maze, prior experience in delayed mode led to poor performance for seven-eight-year olds, but not for older children. Near transfer of programming performance was examined with two off-computer tasks (i.e., command generation and command interpretation). In correlational analyses measures of mental capacity (i.e., working memory) and analytical-ability/field-independence were found to relate to programming performance. Findings have implications for the timing of introduction of the editor in the Logo curriculum.
Is Alexithymia Distinct from Health Locus of Control?
Authors: Wise Thomas N. , Mann Lee S.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Both locus of control and alexithymia have been considered personality factors fostering health concerns and behaviors. This study investigates the relationship between the health locus of control and alexithymia.

Method:

Seventy-eight psychiatric outpatients were administered the Wallston Health Locus of Control Scale (HLC), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (HLC), and the Five Factor Inventory, which measures neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Depressive and anxious affect was also measured. Regression models were developed to assess the influence of the above variables upon alexithymia.

Results:

Although there was a significant bivariant correlation between an external locus of control and increased alexithymia, regression models found that HLC did not significantly predict TAS. Neuroticism, however, provided the most significant contribution to predict increased alexithymia.

Conclusion:

Neuroticism may link HLC and TAS due to the face validity of each construct. A sense of vulnerability is stated in each measure. This may foster somatic preoccupation. The data suggest HLC and TAS to be separate phenomena and further support the validity of alexithymia as a unique personality trait.
Early Clinical Responsibility for Medical Students
Authors: Adler Gerald
Published: May 2005

Trends in medical education point to accelerated training in medical schools and postgraduate medical education. In a shortened curriculum, opportunities for major clinical responsibility may decrease, though it is generally acknowledged that medical students learn most effectively when given such responsibility. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire evaluating the experience of third- and fourth-year medical students who assumed major clinical responsibility on a short-term psychiatric inpatient service in a general hospital. An open-ended questionnaire was sent to the twenty-seven medical students who were on the service during the 1968–69 academic year. All but one student in each year described a positive experience in assuming major clinical responsibility. An important finding was that much anxiety and depression were present in both years, particularly in the third year. One of the implications of this study is the possibility that major patient responsibility for medical students can be successful even earlier than the third year in psychiatry and other clinical areas provided that the staff can anticipate and supportively help the students with their probably even greater anxiety and depression.
The Influence of Television on Children's Fantasy Styles: A Secondary Analysis
Authors: Valkenburg Patti M. , Vooijs Marcel W. , van der Voort Tom H. A. , Wiegman Oene
Published: May 2005

In a secondary analysis applied to longitudinal data obtained from a panel survey, the authors established how violent and nonviolent television program types were related to three fantasy styles: a positive-intense, aggressive-heroic, and a dysphoric fantasy style. A sample of Dutch children ( N = 354) was surveyed when they were in Grades 2 and 4, and resurveyed two years later. Results indicated that children's fantasy styles in Year 1 did not affect their television viewing in Year 3. However, children's viewing frequency in Year 1 did influence their fantasy styles in Year 3. The longitudinal effects of television were dependent on the types of programs watched. Watching nonviolent children's programs encouraged a positive-intense fantasy style, whereas violent programs encouraged an aggressive-heroic fantasy style. Television viewing was unrelated to dysphoric fantasy.
Michael Balint and Medical Students
Authors: Tredgold R. F.
Published: May 2005

Several lessons can be learned from Michael Balint's use of seminars for groups of medical students in their first clinical year to act on the concept of “patient-centered medicine.” These groups had considerable impact on the students, but support eventually diminished, and Dr. Balint gave up this leadership in some disappointment. The reasons for this were several: probably the greatest being that, by then, interested students had other opportunities for learning this approach. But it is recommended that Balint's ideas could well be still applied, if such groups were linked with a parallel system of tutorials, in which additional help for students would be available if needed.
The Assessment of Communication Skills
Authors: Bratchell D. F. , Mitchell G. A.
Published: May 2005

The inclusion of communication skills in courses for the training of technical teachers. The problem of assessment and the limitations of traditional methods based on the essay. Consideration of the use of objective tests, and the introduction of a course journal as a feature in a British course for the training of technical teachers. The advantages of the course journal and its value as a communication exercise in training technical teachers, thereby encouraging constructive attitudes to communication at all levels in industry.
Psychogenic Cough: A Profile of 32 Cases
Authors: Bhatia Manjeet S. , Chandra Ramesh , Vaid Laxmi
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Psychogenic or nervous cough has generally been viewed as a clinical oddity and largely ignored. Though it is not rare, its clinical profile is not yet well known.

Method:

In the present study, a series of 32 cases of psychogenic cough is reported.

Results:

Of 32 cases, there were 19 females (59.4 percent) and 13 males (40.6 percent). A majority of patients had cough for more than one month. School phobia (in children) and fear of rejection and need for attention were the most common precipitating or perpetuating factors. Twenty patients (62.5 percent) had a psychiatric disorder, the most common being conversion disorder (21.9 percent) followed by mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (12.5 percent). Drug therapy and/or psychotherapy were used as treatment with 12 cases (37.5 percent) showing remission, 16 cases (50.0 percent) having improvement, and 4 cases (12.5 percent) continuing with the complaint.

Conclusion:

Further studies are warranted to study the treatment and outcome of this important psychiatric disorder.
The Improvement of Learning in Computer Assisted Instruction
Authors: Reid John C. , Mitchell Joyce A.
Published: May 2005

The most important factor in learning is to find out what the learner already knows, and to make the instruction meaningful at that level. Meaningfulness is particularly important in computer assisted instruction, where instructors do not have feedback from students from questions or from body language. We discuss four methods of making computer assisted instruction material more meaningful that were incorporated in the design of AI/LEARN: formative evaluation, computer response tracking, student ratings, and organization techniques. Since the theoretical support for formative evaluation to enhance meaningfulness is rarely presented, we cite references from the cognitive psychology literature in support of the importance of meaningfulness and the benefits of organizers.
Death, Women and History
Authors: Maurer Adah
Published: May 2005

Most of history has been written and sanctioned by men, about men, and for men. What do we know about the social history of women? Nothing and everything The nothing shows itself in the credits. The everything shows itself in the crucial role of women and what they, and only they, must have learned through their daily lives. Their wisdom came from direct experiences with the facts of life. They cared for the children, the sick, the aging, the injured, and from this came to learn about death differently from their male counterparts. For men, death was related to food for the tribe or a victory over an adversary, in short, something to be carried out. For women, death was presented, not as a killing, but as something taken away, thereby inducing them to contemplate mortality. Only now, in the upsurge of interest in the history of women so long neglected are we beginning to realize their impact on the discoveries in life and death.
Family, Community and Government: The Value and the Limits of Local Caregiving
Authors: Pilisuk Marc
Published: May 2005

More frail elderly, more seriously disabled infants, and more chronically ill persons are part of the contemporary health delivery scene than in times past. Their prime caregivers are family members, most frequently women, whose contribution is limited by the facts of geographic distance, competing pressures, and smaller families to share the burden. Added to the caregiving task are the special needs of individuals at stressful points, which, if unmet, increase the incidence of breakdowns. The support of families is often augmented by local services and by mutual help groups, but the need has far surpassed the resources now, and this has resulted in some unhealthy local competition. The caregiving issue is a matter of national priorities that cannot be solved without a shift from military to domestic spending.
Overt and Covert Pacing of Suggestions to Phases of the Breathing Cycle to Enhance Hypnotic Responding
Authors: Dougherty John E. , Payne Paul A.
Published: May 2005

This study tested the hypothesis that the pacing of suggestions to phases of the breathing cycle can enhance responding in hypnosis. Ninety-six subjects at three levels of hypnotizability responded to suggestions for coolness/numbness and arm lightness/levitation both paced and counter-paced to the phase of breathing (inhalation) claimed to enhance responding to them. As a test of pacing as a technique for indirect hypnosis, the covert pacing of such suggestions was compared to overt pacing. Results failed to demonstrate a relationship between the pacing of the phases of breathing and its hypothesized effects. Responding to suggestions was related to level of hypnotizability and an interaction was noted between overtness/covertness of pacing and level of hypnotizability.
Process Evaluation in the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT)
Authors: Corbett Kitty , Thompson Beti , White Norman , Taylor Martin ,   For the COMMIT Research Group
Published: May 2005

The reach and complexity of the multi-site Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) project call for an extensive, comprehensive evaluation plan. This article reports on the objectives, methods, and data sets of the part of the plan designed for process evaluation. We describe the systems developed for: monitoring progress in the sites, the quality of local intervention activities and data collection, and compliance with the trial-wide protocol; disseminating information for formative purposes; and generating and using process data for outcome evaluation. The process evaluation approach includes both quantitative and qualitative methods. We provide examples from community mobilization and intervention in different communities.
A Community Organizing Case Study: An Analysis of Cap-It's Strategy to Prevent the Location of a Toxic Waste Incinerator in Their Community
Authors: Jacobs Jeffrey
Published: May 2005

With the great proliferation of chemical manufacturing in the past half-century, the dilemma of dealing with the waste produced has become an increasing problem facing communities. One method that is gaining increased acceptance by both government and industry is incineration. Many citizens have formed groups to protest these facilities because of their concerns about health risks, especially exposure to carcinogens. This case study profiles one such group, CAP-IT, a collection of middle-class residents living in a small working-class town and their successful battle to prevent the siting of a hazardous waste incinerator. CAP-IT's strategy will be critiqued using methods advanced by Lee Staples, Nicholas Freudenburg and Kurt Lewin to demonstrate the power of community organizing activities.
Promoting Foreign Culture Acquisition via the Internet in a Sociocultural Context
Authors: Osuna Maritza
Published: May 2005

The integration of technology in education is generally assumed to aid learning. The primary purpose of this study was to capture the complexity of the process of incorporating the use of new technologies in an advanced foreign language (FL) course. The study provides a detailed description of the activity in which the participants engaged to acquire cultural knowledge through the use of the Internet. It also examines how the instructional context advanced learning. Findings of this study seem to suggest that learning can indeed be assisted by computers when the use of these tools is supported by appropriate theories of learning and careful orchestration of the curriculum.
Technologies Use with ESL Learners in New York State: Preliminary Report
Authors: Meskill Carla , Mossop Jonathan
Published: May 2005

This report presents preliminary research concerning a specific population of learners: learners whose native language is not English and who attend school in the state of New York. Our research focused on how English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in the state view and use technologies to help develop their students' literacy skills. Data from a statewide survey and from initial interviews with fifty-six ESL teachers who use technologies in their teaching are discussed.
Experimentally Elicited Judgments of Color Harmony
Authors: Rapoport Aviva
Published: May 2005

Eight variants of each of four different geometrical forms were constructed by varying the proportions of six different colors. All possible pairs of the resulting colored pictures were presented to subjects who were asked to determine 1) which of the two pictures is more harmonious, and 2) by how much one picture is more harmonious than the other. Scaling of both individual and group data shows that subjects can produce consistent judgments of harmony which are measurable by a ratio scale. Two models of color harmony based on the work of Munsell and Itten yield similar predictions of color proportions, which are not supported by the data. The failure of the models is attributed in part to their disregard of color composition.
Restructuring Health Care: The Social Geography of Public and Private Health Care under the British Conservative Government
Authors: Mohan John , Woods Kevin J.
Published: May 2005

The 1979 election of the Conservative Government in Britain was not followed by the demolition of the welfare state. However, a variety of policy initiatives were introduced both to restructure National Health Service (NHS) expenditure, and to facilitate private provision of health services. This article considers the effects of such policies on the existing and future distribution of health care resources. A historical introduction discusses the main thrusts of conservative welfare policy. This is followed by an examination of the current financial situation of NHS authorities, at the regional and sub-regional scales; the political response to the 1983 manpower reductions is also considered. Events in the NHS are then contrasted with the deregulation of the private sector. The emergence and distribution of commercial acute hospitals are examined, as are other initiatives designed to transfer some of the financial burden of welfare provision away from the state. A concluding section compares and contrasts these developments and considers prospects for the future form of health care provision in Britain.
Factitious Apraxia
Authors: Ballard R. Scott , Stoudemire Alan
Published: May 2005

A case is described in which a patient had pseudoneurological symptoms that were present only upon direct observation or when the patient was in clinical test situations. The differential diagnosis of apraxia is discussed as well as clinical suggestions for evaluating patients with suspected factitious apraxia.
Sterilization among American Indian and Chicano Mothers
Authors: Hunter Kathleen I. , Linn Margaret W. , Stein Shayna R.
Published: May 2005

In a large study concerning family size and birth control among women from five cultures in the Miami, Florida, area, it was noted that 60 percent of the Miccosukee and Seminole Indians having five or more children were surgically sterile. Compared with the incidence for whites (30%) and a similar socio-economic group of Chicanos (20%), the incidence among Indian women seemed highly inflated. To examine why this should be so and whether or not there were negative effects of such sterilization, analyses examined both pre- and post-operative differences between the Indians and a comparison group of Chicanos. Though there were significant cultural differences found for the women, these differences did not interact significantly in predicting sterilization. However, sterilized women reported significantly more pregnancy complications. Factors which may have contributed to the greater incidence of tubal ligation among Indian women are explored.
Teaching English with Audio Visual Technology
Authors: Kundu Mahima Ranjan
Published: May 2005

Audio visual media techniques for helping in the teaching of English are discussed in this article under the headings of Transparencies, Filmstrips, and Motion Picture Film. A sample study unit for Shakespeare is given to illustrate the important role educational media can play in reinforcing learning. Several specific teaching/learning techniques using filmstrips, Super 8mm movies, slides and transparencies are given. The point that various educational media are techniques for involving students fully in the learning process is stressed.
Resistance to Home Dialysis
Authors: De-Nour A. Kaplan , Czaczkes J. W.
Published: May 2005

This report on the difficulties of training patients for home dialysis is based on two years of experience with eight patients. In that period only one patient has gone on home dialysis; another is on his way, and the other six patients are still in various stages of resistance to home dialysis.

Clinical psychiatric observations carried out during these two years helped to identify five factors that influence the patient's and the family's attitudes to home dialysis. In the present report two of these factors were briefly described: the financial situation and what we called the “set-up” as well as the “normal” apprehension and fear of dialysis. More attention was given to the other three factors: the attitude of the medical team, which in our unit was strongly anti-home dialysis and was attributed to overprotectiveness, possessiveness and injury to the professional image; the personality of the patient as it influenced his attitude to home dialysis and especially the patient's dependency needs; and the patient's family emphasizing the family's aggression and methods of handling it.

Towards the end of the report some suggestions for avoiding the extreme resistance to home dialysis were brought up.
Hypochondriacal Beliefs and Attitudes in Family Practice and Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Kellner Robert , Abbott Patrick , Pathak Dorothy , Winslow Walter W. , Umland Berthold E.
Published: May 2005

Beliefs and attitudes which can be responsible for hypochondriacal behavior were explored by administering the Illness Attitude Scales and two distress scales to patients attending a family practice clinic, nonpsychotic psychiatric outpatients and a random group of employees. Family practice patients were more distressed, had more hypochondriacal concerns and had more bodily preoccupations than employees and took more precautions about their health. Psychiatric patients were more distressed and had more fears about illness and death than family practice patients, yet took fewer precautions about their health. The findings appear to have implications for treatment.
Evaluating the Extent of Ill-Structured Problem Solving Process among Pre-Service Teachers in an Asynchronous Online Discussion and Reflection Log Learning Environment
Authors: Cheung Wing Sum , Hew Khe Foon
Published: May 2005

Most educators increasingly regard ill-structured problem solving as an important objective of learning and have sought various means to achieve it. In this article, we describe a learning environment to help pre-service teachers in Singapore solve ill-structured problems. There are four key dimensions in our learning environment: tutor-led face-to-face tutorial, face-to-face discussion among participants, asynchronous online discussion, and a reflection log. The goal of this study was to investigate the roles of asynchronous online discussion and reflection logs in supporting ill-structured problem solving. Findings indicated that the use of asynchronous online discussion in an Asian context appears to mainly support two types of ill-structured problem solving processes, “Articulate the problem space” and “Generate possible problem solutions,” while the reflection log seems to facilitate the processes of “Assessing the viability of alternative solutions” and “Monitor the problem space and solution options.” The pre-service teachers' perceptions on using the asynchronous online discussion and reflection log were also reported.
Suicide Tendency in Cancer Patients
Authors: Gilbar Ora , Eden Arnona
Published: May 2005

The aim of the study was to discover whether there are differences in suicide tendency in cancer patients during the various stages of the illness, i.e., diagnosis, adjuvant chemotherapy, and recurrence. The patients were being treated at two oncological medical centers in northern Israel. No statistical differences were found between 30 newly diagnosed cancer patients, 51 cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, and 33 cancer patients with recurrence receiving chemotherapy, as measured by the Israeli Index of Potential Suicide (IIPS). The main findings show a correlation between suicide tendency and depression, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), although not between suicide tendency and hopelessness, as measured by the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). The findings also indicate statistical differences between the groups in hopelessness and social support: newly diagnosed patients have more symptoms of hopelessness, while patients in recurrence receive more social support than the other two groups.
Medical Care in Three Societies
Authors: Fry J.
Published: May 2005

The availability and accessibility of medical care in order to achieve and maintain health is now accepted as a human and civic right.

The provision of medical care is full of problems and dilemmas that are common to all nations and to all systems. There is an insoluble equation of wants, needs, and resources. The common goal and challenge facing all nations is how to make the best use of available resources.

Faced as we are with common problems and common goals, it is useful to examine and compare the ways in which three societies, Soviet, American, and British, have gone about organizing their medical services. The author, a British general practitioner, has carried out a comparative study based on a series of visits to the three nations.

Although the detailed form and structure of the services depends on national characters and on local social, economic, political, and geographic factors, there are within each and every system recognizable levels of care and administration and it is possible therefore to compare and contrast the three systems at these levels.

The findings reveal that there are many more similarities than differences, but what does emerge is the need to examine some of the differences to see, if they are successful in one system, whether they might be more widely applied.

There is a need, for example, to examine the ways in which the medical assistants ( feldshers) are used in the U.S.S.R. There is a need to reexamine the needs at the first-contact primary level of care, and in particular the place of the “specialoid” or generalist physician.

This paper is more a plea for further studies and exchanges in comparative international studies than a definitive statement.
Age Differences in Patterns of Attempted Suicide
Authors: Lester David , Beck Aaron T.
Published: May 2005

The suicidal attempts of persons of different ages were examined and a number of differences found. Older suicidal persons were less likely to be black, less likely to have made previous suicidal attempts and threats, and more intent on dying (though they did not make more lethal attempts). The older suicidal persons abused alcohol more while the younger suicidal persons abused other drugs more. In common with nonsuicidal older persons, the suicidal older persons were in poorer physical health and more often lived alone. Psychological variables such as depression and hopelessness and the severity of psychiatic disturbance did not change significantly with the age of the suicidal persons.
Predicting Adolescent Blood Pressure: Implications for Health Education Practice
Authors: Adeyanju Matthew
Published: May 2005

The study was set up to potentially determine if a stepwise multiple regression model composed of such factors as sociodemographics, attitudes, and behaviors in combination with selected biomedical measures can be used to predict adolescent at risk health conditions such as hypertension and to examine the implications for health education practice. The study population consisted of 650 ninth grade (14–16-year-old) students in the baseline survey (1981) and 606 twelfth grade students in the final survey of 1985. Data collected included clinical measures of height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), resting pulse, and percent ideal body weight (PIBW). Self-reported health behaviors, attitudes, and sociodemographic variables were also assessed. Principal factor analysis with varimax rotation was employed to determine the grouping of the behavioral/attitudinal test items. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to determine the variables' potentials as predictors of blood pressure in adolescents. Significant potential predictors of male diastolic blood pressure included smoking, alcohol intake habits, obesity, pulse, race, age and parents' socioeconomic status; while predictors for the females focused on smoking, alcohol intake habits, stress, obesity, pulse and race. Potential indicators for male systolic blood pressure were smoking, alcohol habits, weight, height, race, parent's socioeconomic status; while smoking, alcohol habits, stress, obesity, pulse and race for the females. Community health promotion, prevention and educational programs directed at these potential predictors need to be implemented to encourage healthful lifestyles in the younger generation.