bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Investigation of the Stages of Bereavement
Authors: Hardt Dale Vincent
Published: May 2005

A sample population of 692 individuals (age thirteen through twenty-six) was utilized to investigate the stages of bereavement. The Thurston Equal-Appearing Interval Attitude scale designed to measure attitudes toward death was used. The mean death attitude score was studied with respect to recency of death experience (i.e., How long has it been since an emotionally close friend or relative of yours has died?). Plotting the means for each month up to twelve months yielded a series of five stages the mourner passes through. The stages, which indicate final acceptance for mourners as occurring around the eighth month after death, were resolved as normal. While the time element is significant, the fluctuations in death attitudes of mourners is more so for purposes of counseling and understanding.
Can Death be Postponed?—The Death-Dip Phenomenon in Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Greiner Teresa , Pokorny Alex D.
Published: May 2005

The authors explored the “death-dip phenomenon,” the previously-reported decrease in deaths occurring before significant dates, with a cohort of 4800 psychiatric patients. The dates of death were compared with each individual's birthday, with Christmas, and with New Year's Day. These comparisons were done for the total group of deaths and separately for suicide, homicide, accidental deaths, deaths from circulatory diseases, and deaths from all other causes. In general, the findings were negative. No death-dip phenomenon was identified in any group, with any grouping of cause by date. There was a significant increase in accidental death preceding birthdays. There was a suggestion that suicide deaths increased just before Christmas. Total deaths increased during the winter quarter; all other findings were negative.
Subclinical Hypothyroidism: A Review of Neuropsychiatric Aspects
Authors: Haggerty John J. , Garbutt J. C. , Evans Dwight L. , Golden Robert N. , Pedersen Cort , Simon Jeffrey S. , Nemeroff Charles B.
Published: May 2005

The authors review current information about the prevalence, causes, course, and consequences of subclinical hypothyroidism. There is evidence that subclinical hypothyroidism may be associated with cognitive dysfunction, mood disturbance, and diminished response to standard psychiatric treatments. Recommendations are presented for the screening, evaluation and treatment of patients in whom subclinical hypothyroidism may be contributing to neuropsychiatric dysfunction.
Reference to Psychiatric Consultation in the Discharge Letter of General Hospital Inpatients
Authors: Schnyder Ulrich , Feld Corina , Leuthold Axel , Buddeberg Claus
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The consultation-liaison psychiatrist is frequently confronted with the consultees' lack of adherence to the consultants' recommendations. The aim of this study was to investigate the question if and how the C-L psychiatrist's diagnoses and recommendations are mentioned in the consultee's final medical report and thus communicated to the physician responsible for the aftercare.

Method:

Psychiatric consult reports of a consecutive sample of 144 patients of the departments of neurology, internal medicine, and gynecology and obstetrics at the University Hospital of Zurich were compared to the content of the respective discharge letters.

Results:

Some kind of information about the psychiatric consultation was found in 84 percent of the discharge letters (consultation as such: 71.5%; psychiatric diagnosis: 66.7%; recommendations: 76.2%). Length of stay, timing of the consultation, length of the consult report and type of recommendation correlated significantly with the mention of psychiatric aspects in the final medical report. Psychotropic medication and psychiatric hospitalization were the recommendations most reliably mentioned.

Conclusions:

Psychiatric consultation seems to be taken seriously by attending physicians and is communicated in a high percentage to the physicians responsible for the aftercare. Nevertheless, in patients where active post-discharge management is needed the C-L psychiatrist should actively manage referral to outpatient settings and/or instruct primary care providers.
A Comparison of Cohort and Non-Cohort Graduate Student Perceptions of the Ethical Climate and its Importance in Retention
Authors: Schulte Laura E.
Published: May 2005

This quantitative study compared 19 cohort and 27 non-cohort graduate students' perceptions of the ethical climate of an educational administration program at a midwestern metropolitan university using the Ethical Climate Index (ECI). In addition, the study investigated graduate student perceptions of the importance of the ethical climate in the retention of students within academic programs. The results of the study indicated that cohort students rated the ethical climate significantly more positive than non-cohort students on two of the three ECI subscales: student to faculty and student to student. Both cohort and non-cohort students perceived the ethical climate as an important factor in the retention of students within academic programs.
“In-Determinacy” in Science and Discourse: A Rhetoric of Disciplinary Levels
Authors: Valletta Clement L. , Paoletti Robert A.
Published: May 2005

Research and writing often begin with a play of determinacy and indeterminacy, or “in-determinacy” Do. Other disciplinary levels include invention and presuppositions D1, formal findings D2, and technical and media products D3. This rhetorical approach leads, here, to identifying levels and relationships; tracing cross-disciplinary information and dominant influences; applying the results to specific cases in science, literary criticism, ethics, and technical writing; thus, suggesting a typology for furthering such dialogue.
Are Black Boxes Transparent?— High School Students' Strategies of Using Abstract Data Types
Authors: Haberman Bruria , Shapiro Ehud , Scherz Zahava
Published: May 2005

For the last ten years the concept of abstract data types (ADTs) has been introduced to Israeli high school students who take the courses “Logic Programming” and “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” as part of their Computer Science (CS) curriculum. We developed an instructional model designed to introduce ADT as a formal CS concept and as a tool for developing computer programs. To implement the abstract data types, we used “black boxes.” Here we describe our research whose aim was to assess the cognitive aspects of using ADTs as tools for knowledge representation and problem solving by different student populations. Our research findings indicated that many students' perceptions of the ADT concept were compatible to its formal CS definition, and they used black boxes transparently to develop Prolog programs. However, there were also students who adopted their own strategies for using ADTs: a) using ADTs only as a graphical description to organize data and knowledge; and b) using “ADT black boxes” in alternative ways, while violating the principle of information hiding—duplication, rewriting, and externalization. The findings also indicated that “ADT black boxes” were beneficial in helping beginners to develop correctly written Prolog programs.
Education in the Medical Care Setting: Needs Assessment for Nursing Services
Authors: Sutherland Mary
Published: May 2005

This case study is designed to demonstrate examples of various procedures necessary for the establishment, implementation, and evaluation of a formal patient education program that meets the standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Standards on Patient Care Evaluation. Presented are some “real world” strategies necessary for task accomplishment.
Interactive Video Technology in Education: Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Chen Lin Ching
Published: May 2005

Interactive video (IV) technology, with the combination of computers and video, represents a powerful tool in the field of instructional technology. This article first reviews the historical development of interactive technology. Then three major areas of current developments and future directions of IV technology are discussed: features of hardware and software, material design, and applications in education. Related issues like learner control, intelligent tutoring systems, material design strategies, and obstacles to educational applications are examined as well.
Death and the Discourse of the Body
Authors: Chatterjee Suhita Chopra
Published: May 2005

A meaningful discourse on death needs to take into account the various ways in which the body is “constructed” in different cultures. Biomedicine, which is rooted in western culture, places a great deal of importance on the body and this creates an anxiety over death. In contrast, the Indian science of medicine draws heavily from an ancient philosophical tradition in which metaphysical ideas about the soul have contributed to the relative insignificance of the body. Both disease and death have been understood in meta-body terms and there is a cultural embrace of death rather than its denial. The article concludes by suggesting the need to move away from sheer biological essentialism in understanding the human dimension of death in different cultures.
Augmenting Print-Based Distance Learning with other Technologies Can Enhance its Effectiveness for Adult Learners
Authors: Franklin Godfrey
Published: May 2005

Distance education is becoming an increasingly common method for delivering courses to postsecondary students. Presently, most course offerings are still primarily print-based. This author hypothesizes that augmenting print-based distance courses with other technologies enhances the effectiveness of student learning. The use of videotape, television, one- and two-way audio/videoconferencing is explored, as well as the use of the Internet. Strategies for integrating these technologies are presented, as well as some advantages and disadvantages of each.
Psychological Interventions in the Pre-Surgical Period
Authors: Alberts Michael S. , Lyons John S. , Moretti Robert J. , Erickson James C.
Published: May 2005

The literature on pre-surgical psychological interventions designed to improve psychological adjustment to and recovery from surgery, as well as increase cost-effectiveness, is reviewed. Three broad classifications of interventions (information-based interventions, behaviorally-oriented interventions, and insight-oriented interventions) are discussed based on previous studies aimed at demonstrating the utility of each approach. Limitations of the research in this area are presented and recommendations are made for effective implementation of pre-surgical interventions.
Atypical Angina in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Suggests Panic Disorder
Authors: Basha Imad , Mukerji Vaskar , Langevin Paul , Kushner Matt , Alpert Martin , Beitman Bernard D.
Published: May 2005

The occurrence of psychiatric disorders in patients with “medical” problems is not only possible but maybe even facilitated by these problems. This article examines the relationship between the type of chest pain and the diagnosis of panic disorder among coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Forty-nine such cardiology patients were interviewed using a structured instrument. Forty percent of patients with atypical angina met DSM-III-R criteria for current panic disorder while no panic disorder was identified in the typical angina group. This finding should have great implications for the care of CAD patients. At least many of the atypical angina patients could benefit from standard effective treatment for panic disorder. This would likely improve their functioning and decrease the financial burden on them and the health care system.
Political Action Committees: How Much Influence Will $7.7 Million Buy?
Authors: Brightbill Tim
Published: May 2005

The influence of health-related political action committees (PACs) continued to grow during the 1990 election campaign. During the first 18 months of the election cycle, contributions from medical and health care PACs to congressional candidates reached a total of $7.7 million. Among the leading PACs were the American Medical Association, American Dental Association, and American Hospital Association, which contributed a total of $3.3 million to congressional races through September 1990. For its study, HealthWeek monitored the contributions and Federal Election Commission reports of 52 leading health care PACs, including professional and trade associations, drug companies, insurers, and other groups. Trade groups made up about two-thirds of all PAC dollars spent, and several of these groups increased their spending significantly in the 1990 election cycle. Key lawmakers on health-related congressional committees received nearly $1.5 million from health care PACs, the study found. In all, 16 senators and representatives received more than $30,000 each from health care PACs. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (Democrat, West Virginia) and Representative Thomas Tauke (Republican, Iowa) led the Senate and House, respectively, in total PAC receipts.
Community Action for Health Promotion: A Strategy to Empower Individuals and Communities
Authors: Brown E. Richard
Published: May 2005

Health status is directly affected by environmental conditions and by personal health-related behaviors, and it is indirectly affected by environmental conditions that themselves influence health behaviors. A comprehensive approach to health promotion, therefore, should encourage individuals to adopt and maintain personal behaviors that would prevent disease and promote health; discourage health-damaging personal behaviors by individuals and facilitate people engaging in health-promoting behaviors; and eliminate health hazards from the physical and social environment and make that environment more health-promoting. This comprehensive approach would require social and community action to change environmental conditions as well as efforts to change individual behavior. A model of health promotion interventions is developed within which community action plays a central role. The author then presents a model of community organization to influence public policy to achieve health promotion goals. The community organization model, previously tested in comparative case-study research, is illustrated with examples drawn from appropriate health promotion programs.
Happy with Health Care?
Authors: Teixeira Ruy
Published: May 2005

The American Association of Health Plans (the main HMO trade association), in making the case against patients' rights legislation, points to polling data that show Americans are basically satisfied with managed care plans. Although large majorities, including those with HMOs, do say they are “satisfied” with their health care plans, HMO members are less satisfied than members of other types of plans. And if we look beyond personal-satisfaction ratings, we find plenty of evidence for public concern about HMOs in particular and the health care system in general. Americans are supportive of HMO regulation, and despite their willingness to say they are “satisfied” with their health care plans, they harbor a lot of worries about the future—treatment that could be denied them, costs that could ruin them, and loss of coverage. The public sees the need for major change not just in HMOs but in the health care system as a whole. As HMO lobbyists scramble for new arguments against legislation, they will likely persist in misrepresenting and misusing polling data to make their case.
Instructional Simulation Games as Systems of Communication
Authors: Orbach Eliezer
Published: May 2005

Information exchange is a most critical element in instructional simulation games. The author therefore analyses these games as systems of communication in which information is transmitted by game designers to players via channels such as scenarios, rules and other players. Particular attention is given to the process whereby theoretical messages are encoded by game designers into game-stories, and then are decoded by players back into theoretical messages. The concepts of Transmitter, Receiver, Channel and Noise are related to instructional simulation games, and important questions generated through the use of these concepts are introduced for further research.
BORGES: Blindness and the Art of Seeing
Authors: Schneiderman Leo
Published: May 2005

Despite Borges' emphasis on fictional puzzles which can be solved only by the power of reason, conative and affective influences overshadow the conceptual component in his work. This is why Borges elaborates his transcendent ideas in a context of violent fantasies. Borges' flights into intellectualization result from his efforts to repudiate aggressive drives, the residue of unresolved oedipal fears and resentments and his rage because of his blindness. At the same time, Borges is aware of the futility of depending on reason and ignoring passion as a motivating force. Nevertheless, he is compelled to create protagonists who are destroyed because they dare to pursue their abstract ideals in a world of brutal facts and violent impulses. Borges' positive achievement is his creation of a universe of infinite logical possibilities as an antidote to human helplessness and the perdurability of the world of concrete appearances.
Live Length and Weight of Cod (Gadus Morhua) Estimated from Various Skeletal Elements
Authors: Rojo Alfonso
Published: May 2005

Fish bones, often reduced to fragments, are found during the excavations of prehistoric campsites. These bones can be of interest to the archaeologist as a valuable source of information on the diet of past human populations. One important objective of archaeological faunal studies is, then, to calculate accurately the size of the animals consumed by past human populations, to estimate the nutritional value of these animals in the human diet.
An Investigation of the Effectiveness of the Listen-Respond-Compare Mode of Oral/Aural Comprehension Training in a Language Laboratory Environment
Authors: Perelle Ira B.
Published: May 2005

This study investigates the educational consequences of utilizing listen-respond-compare mode in a college level language laboratory. Comparative studies were made between the listen-respond-compare mode and the listen-respond mode. It was found that oral/aural comprehension was greater in the listen-respond mode.
Animating Numbering Systems with a Programmed Spreadsheet
Authors: Silva A. Alberto , Alves Fernando C.
Published: May 2005

A computer application, dealing with numbering systems, is presented. This central subject is discussed both as an object for studying and as an integrating theme and an anchor point for several topics belonging to mathematics curricula for ages nine to seventeen. The interest and the importance of such an instrument are discussed, from both the points of view of contents and processes. A general overview of the type of user interface and user interactivity is presented. Some aspects, which characterize the computer as a special instrument to use if and when adequate, are highlighted. The intended positioning of this application concerning pedagogical, didactical, and methodological aspects is referred to. The teacher role is emphasized. Some suggestions of approaches and activities are made explicit and a reference is made to some pilot in-field experiments.
Functional Use of Secondary Cancer Symptomatology
Authors: Wright Mark H. , Nehemkis Alexis M.
Published: May 2005

This article presents several case studies which illustrate the way in which a terminal patient's attention may be diverted from the primary disease process, cancer, to secondary somatic symptomatology such as pain and nausea. This phenomenon has important consequences for the patient, family, physician, and the patient's medical treatment. These consequences are discussed in terms of primary gain, tertiary gain, and the “medicalization of existential problems.”
The Treatise of Fishing with an Angle: A Study of a Fifteenth-Century Technical Manual
Authors: Loges Max
Published: May 2005

This study investigates The Treatise on Fishing with an Angle from The Book of Saint Albans to determine how a fifteenth-century author approached the problem of writing accurate, technical prose on angling, a subject never before treated in a written work. The examination reveals that many of the rhetorical features are similar to the practices of modern technical writing. For example, the treatise makes a determined effort to relieve user stress about the new technology it introduces. It also makes its information easier to understand by forecasting its organization and by using common, concrete, and consistent terminology. Finally, the treatise includes illustrations that supplement the text in ways similar to modern illustrations.
Serum Cholesterol in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder during Treatment with Behavior Therapy and SSRI or Placebo
Authors: Peter Helmut , Tabrizian Susanne , Hand Iver
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Patients with panic disorder are reported to have elevated cholesterol levels. There is also some evidence that cholesterol elevation is not so much a specific condition in panic disorder but is generally associated with anxiety. So far, there is little data on cholesterol levels in patients with obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) which is also classified as anxiety disorder.

Method:

Thirty-three patients with OCD participated in the study. Serum cholesterol was measured as pretreatment and at the end of a ten-week treatment-period. All patients received behavior therapy and, in a double-blind fashion, fluvoxamine or placebo. Severity of OCD was assessed by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS).

Results:

Pretreatment cholesterol values of OCD patients were compared with cholesterol levels of thirty panic disorder patients and thirty normal controls. OCD patients had elevated cholesterol levels comparable with those of panic disorder patients. Cholesterol levels decreased significantly from pre- to posttreatment. OCD patients with high cholesterol levels (≥ 240 mg/dl, n = 7) could make best use of the treatment whereas patients with desirable cholesterol levels (< 200 mg/dl, n = 11) did not change their cholesterol during treatment.

Conclusions:

Our data support the assumption that not only panic disorder but also other anxiety disorders, e.g., obsessive compulsive disorders, may be associated with serum cholesterol elevations. Effective treatment (behavior therapy and/or treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor [SSRI]) seems to decrease cholesterol levels, especially in patients with pathological cholesterol elevations.
The Once and Future Threat of the Petrochemical Industry to the World of Life
Authors: Commoner Barry
Published: May 2005

In the last 50 years, the petrochemical industry has massively introduced thousands of synthetic organic chemicals into the environment, only recently acknowledging that most of them are hazardous to living things. The industry has unwittingly appropriated from the living world its once-exclusive capability to produce organic chemicals, but has created substances, such as DDT, dioxin, and PCBs, that do not occur in living things and are therefore untested by the long course of evolution. Now, transmuted into biotechnology, the industry is making the same mistake. This time, again unencumbered by precautionary testing, it is creating transgenic organisms that are incompatible with the natural systems of inheritance. Once again, an informed public is needed to prevent an ill-conceived industrial venture far more threatening than the one that we are still struggling to remedy.
Notes on a New Necrology
Authors: Marshall Victor W.
Published: May 2005

How does one review a book that both succeeds and fails spectacularly, that breaks new ground and then plants what is probably unfertile seed, that rather pretentiously stakes a claim to a “new area” of inquiry while grossly neglecting related extant work? The Twentieth Century Book of the Dead is a difficult book to read that has frustrated, excited, and stimulated me for enough weeks now that, though I still don't know how to review it, I am motivated to offer some advice to the naive reader which might at least assist him to read it (for it is indeed well worth the effort), and to add some comments of my own.
Ambivalence in Cardiac Transplantation Candidates
Authors: Kuhn Wolfgang F. , Myers Beverle , Davis Mary Helen
Published: May 2005

During three and a half years of psychiatric liaison with a cardiac transplantation program, the authors evaluated and followed 101 transplantation candidates. Ten exhibited pronounced ambivalence toward cardiac transplantation. Ambivalence appears to be associated with three factors: difficulties facing the seriousness of the cardiac illness, fear of the actual operation, and quality of life-concerns. An essentially nonpathological response, ambivalence can produce significant psychiatric symptoms and management problems in transplant candidates. Its resolution can be facilitated by psychotherapy, appropriate medication, peer support, and patience. Some patients may need particular assistance in understanding that refusal of transplantation is an acceptable alternative.
Health Microplanning in the Developing Countries: A Systems Approach to Appropriate Technology
Authors: King Maurice H. , Martodipoero Soebagyo
Published: May 2005

A method of systematically planning the technical details of personal health care in the developing world is described. In contrast to national health plans of the traditional kind—“macroplans”—those for health technology have to be minutely detailed. They have therefore been termed “microplans.” (They have also been called health care packages, but this term has other usages.) A microplan is defined as an integrated set of components (instructions for technologies, equipment lists, teaching aids, evaluation instruments, etc.) prepared nationally to support a particular health care subsystem. The rationale for a microplan is that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. A microplan is itself a system in two senses. First, the technologies in a given microplan need to be organized so as to support one another. Second, the components in a microplan must themselves be integrated into a system. A microplan can be applied to induce change and so improve the technical quality of existing services. It can also be used to train new workers. More importantly, it ties educational programs to service needs. Since the technology for dealing with disease is so similar all over the developing world, once a “master microplan” for a particular subsystem has been prepared, it can be adapted readily to the needs of individual countries.
Public Reaction to Toxic Waste Contamination: Analysis of a Social Movement
Authors: Masterson-Allen Susan , Brown Phil
Published: May 2005

In this article we explore citizen action against toxic waste as a social movement, emphasizing the unique challenges posed by the technological nature of the toxic waste issue. Unlike other contemporary health-related social movements such as the women's movement and anti-nuclear groups, the movement against toxic waste is not composed primarily of highly educated, upper-middle-class people who are motivated by global concerns. Toxic waste activists are typically working-class and lower-class people, politicized initially by perceptions of danger to the health of their families. However, awareness of global dangers and the larger political-economic issues related to toxic waste contamination is often emergent in the process of mobilization. The movement against toxic waste can be seen as part of a larger social trend toward increased public demand for a role in scientific and technological decision-making which challenges scientific criteria for assessing risk and experts' claim to technical knowledge. While toxic waste activism is better explained by European theorists' “new social movement theory” than by resource mobilization theory, the former theory does not account for the toxic waste movement's class composition. The necessity for developing a new theory of social movements that captures the complexities of toxic waste activism is discussed.
Metaphysical Beliefs as Predictors of Death Anxiety
Authors: Naidu R. K. , Sinha Ambalika
Published: May 2005

The impact of four metaphysical beliefs on death anxiety was investigated. Beliefs about the existence and attributes of God, afterlife, and consequences of suffering were chosen for study. It was hypothesized that any belief which assures the individual a continued existence beyond death would reduce the degree of anxiety felt on encountering death-related stimuli. A test including pictures depicting death and non-death scenes was constructed to measure death anxiety. The sample included 120 householders (60 heads of unsettled and 60 heads of settled families). Half of them lived in high exposure to death sight areas and the other half lived in low exposure areas. Subjects from only low exposure areas revealed significant relationships between beliefs and death anxiety. The results of this study suggest that the beliefs play functional roles that are different for people with different needs.
Initial Mastery of the Syntax and Semantics of Logo Positioning Commands
Authors: Campbell Patricia F. , Fein Greta G. , Scholnick Ellin K. , Schwartz Shirley S. , Frank Rita E.
Published: May 2005

This study investigated kindergarten children's coding of four Instant Logo positioning commands within an hypothesized spatial organization of the plane of the monitor screen. Each of three assessment tasks was administered twice during a four-month instructional period. Results indicated that forward moves were more accurately coded than were back or left moves and right turns were favored over left turns. Neither target location nor the initial heading of the cursor influenced directional fluency. Children's mastery of Logo improved over time both in terms of controlling the cursor and verbalizing control strategies. Children's perception of programming also changed over time. Sex differences appeared in children's programming style rather than their competence.
Child Abuse and Hypnotic Ability
Authors: Nash Michael R. , Lynn Steven J.
Published: May 2005

Earlier empirical and theoretical work has suggested that there is a relationship between higher hypnotic susceptibility and severity of childhood punishment. The present study examines the hypnotizability of young adults who were physically abused as children. The hypnotizability scores of three groups were compared: an abused group whose members were physically abused before the age of ten ( n = 23); a family-disruption group whose members reported divorce or death in the family before age ten, but no physical abuse ( n = 27); a baseline/control group whose members reported neither abuse nor family disruption ( n = 346). The abused group was significantly more hypnotizable than either the family-disruption or baseline/control group. The effect was substantial, with 65 percent of abused subjects in the high hypnotizable classification (compared to 14.8% and 35.3% for the family disruption and baseline/control groups respectively). Two explanations of this relationship are offered, and suggestions are made for future investigations.
Health and Economic Expansion in Poor Lands
Authors: Malenbaum W.
Published: May 2005

Economic progress in poor lands remains a major goal as current efforts continue to yield limited advance for the nations where most of the world's people continue to live in poverty. The income gap between poor lands and the rich world continues to widen. Effective solutions require new approaches in three areas of science: the process of economic development, the dynamics of population growth, and the function of the health of man. Neither theory nor record suffices to provide economic progress with a basis for policy or programs in any of these areas. The motivation and attitudes of man are essential elements in the process of population and output change, an emphasis which contrasts with the more conventional concern about a nation's material and physical inputs in the process of economic and demographic advance. Health interventions play a decisive role in motivation and attitude changes. Health programs thus offer a major contribution to the process of economic and population development. Improved health in poor areas is a joint product of inputs from other professions as much as from the medical and public health sciences proper. In fact improved health in developing lands may itself derive for the most part from expanding output relative to population. The basic contribution of the health sciences in poor lands is the involvement of health interventions with attitude changes essential to economic progress, i.e. to the rates of growth of output and population. This article appraises the theory and the historical and current evidence in all three areas. Against this assessment it offers a research prospectus for further analysis of the interdependence of health, demographic, and economic progress in poor lands.
Visual Artists and Imagery
Authors: Rosenberg Helane S.
Published: May 2005

Early scholarly investigations, as well as artists' notebooks, diaries, and personal statements attest to the fact that visual artists use various mental imagery procedures as they make art. Using these statements and the iii Framework (a model that details the connection of imagination to artistic action) as points of departure, the researcher interviewed thirteen young professional artists to explore the role and function of imagery in their art-making. Responses suggested that artists depend upon their mental imagery in three essential phases of art-making: collecting and storing images, art-making itself, and response to completed paintings. Of particular interest are the ways in which artists work to match their internal images to external product through skillful manipulation of art elements and use of artistic principles.
A Primary Care Perspective on Prevailing Assumptions about Persistent Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms
Authors: Stanley Ian M. , Peters Sarah , Salmon Peter
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To re-examine the widespread assumption that medically unexplained physical symptoms represent discrete syndromes resulting from somatization of mental illness.

Method:

Primary care patients ( N = 223) with medically unexplained symptoms of at least one year's duration were recruited to a study of exercise therapy. Data gathered from patients, from their general practitioners, and from medical records were used to examine relationships between self-defined disability, symptoms, mental state, and use of health care.

Results:

Levels of disability and health care use were both raised, but were only weakly correlated. While most patients were depressed and/or anxious, a minority (14 percent) were neither. Although mental state correlated with disability, health care use was unrelated to either. Among a wide range of recorded symptoms, few correlations were found to support the existence of discrete syndromes. Analysis of agreement between patients and their doctors in assigning symptoms to broadly defined “syndromes” appears to reflect collaboration that is largely expedient.

Conclusions:

In this sample of primary care patients with persistent unexplained physical symptoms, we found little evidence of discrete somatic syndromes. The level of health care use is no indication of mental state or level of disability, and the findings are equally consistent with depression or anxiety being secondary to disability and its consequences as with them being primary. The observed collaboration between patients and their doctors carries the risk of shaping, reinforcing, and legitimizing dubious syndromes.
Post-Concussion Symptoms: Cognitive, Emotional, and Environmental Aspects
Authors: Wood Frank , Novack Thomas A. , Long Charles J.
Published: May 2005

Two head injury patients who experienced the onset and/or exacerbation of post-concussion symptoms (i.e., headache, confusion, and memory difficulty) associated with increased environmental stress are presented. The cases provide insight into the complex interaction between neurological and psychological factors following head injury. Patients should be made aware of cognitive limitations during the recovery period so as to better determine acceptable levels of environmental stress. The development or exacerbation of post-concussion symptoms during convalescence signals the physician that a discrepancy exists between the patient's cognitive capacities and environmental demands. Timely intervention to modify environmental stress would help alleviate problems with post-concussion symptoms.
The Missing Metaphor
Authors: Giles Timothy D.
Published: May 2005

To determine the metaphor that represents cloning, a contemporary scientific revolution, this study examines articles published in Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Science, and Time that describe the cloning of the sheep Dolly. A plethora of figurative language may be garnered from these articles, and this study describes a number of them: metaphor (dead, natural, and technical), simile, hyperbole, personification, irony, cliché, paronomasia, antithesis, metonymy, anthimera, oxymoron, the rhetorical question, and analogy. The significance and relationship to cloning are explicated. The article concludes that the figures do not support a central metaphor. Further research is suggested to determine if the lack of a metaphor is a fluke or a trend in the development of scientific research and what the difference may be between scientific and technical metaphor.
Cross-National Income Inequality: How Great is it and What Can We Learn from it?
Authors: Smeeding Timothy M. , Gottschalk Peter
Published: May 2005

In recent years there has been increasing interest in the topic of income distribution in a cross-national context. A secular growth of income inequality has taken place over the past two decades affecting almost every rich nation, matched by the growth in comparable household income inequality data which makes these types of comparisons possible. While clear patterns of disposable income inequality differences are found in both level and trend, we are still a long way from explaining why these differences came about, whether they will continue to grow or stabilize, and what the social consequences of these changes might be.
The Current Status of the Concepts of Physiological Response Specificity and Activation
Authors: Roessler Robert , Engel Bernard T.
Published: May 2005

The history of concepts of activation and specificity in psychosomatic medicine is briefly reviewed. The limitations of current definitions of activation are discussed and a broader definition which incorporates response specificity, including both stimulus response specificity and individual response specificity, is suggested. The implications of this broader definition for the design and interpretation of experiments are discussed using illustrations drawn from recent research in psychosomatic medicine and psychophysiology.
Structural Parameters of Sex, Race, Age, and Education and their Influence on Attitudes toward Suicide
Authors: Marks Alan
Published: May 2005

A state wide proportionate systematic telephone survey of 400 Arkansans was conducted in the summer of 1984 to ascertain the population's attitudes toward suicide and suicidal behaviors. Weighting of the sample to conform to the 1980 distribution of the population by sex resulted in a final sample size of 491. An analysis of the results by sex, race, age, and educational level was performed. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents do not believe that a person has the right to commit suicide. Seventy-one percent believe that a normal person would not commit suicide. More than half of the sample know someone who has committed or tried to commit suicide. Attitudes and experiences with suicide and suicidal people were found to be differentially distributed by age, sex, race, and educational level.
Taking a Second Look at Technical Communications Pedagogy
Authors: Brockmann R. John
Published: May 2005

Many current teaching practices in undergraduate technical communications are insensitive to students' career needs because they are based on mistaken notions concerning writing and the process of communication. The specific problem areas in current teaching practices include: the lack of emphasis on rewriting and on the cooperative element of technical communication, the overreliance on proscriptive strictures in graphics instruction, and the undue emphasis on large-group oratory in oral communications. Academic teaching methods need to be better informed by the practices and procedures of professional technical communicators in order to correct their mistaken notions and to more effectively meet students' career needs.
Has Socialism Failed? An Analysis of Health Indicators under Socialism
Authors: Navarro Vicente
Published: May 2005

This article analyzes the widely held assumption in academia and the mainstream press that capitalism has proven superior to socialism in responding to human needs. The author surveys the health conditions of the world's populations, continent by continent, and shows that, contrary to dominant ideology, socialism and socialist forces have been, for the most part, better able to improve health conditions than have capitalism and capitalist forces. In the underdeveloped world, socialist forces and regimes have, more frequently than not, improved health and social indicators better than capitalist forces and regimes, and in the developed world, countries with strong socialist forces have been better able to improve health conditions than those countries lacking or with weak socialist forces. The socialist experience has, of course, also included negative developments that have negated important components of the socialist project. Still, the evidence presented in this article shows that the historical experience of socialism has not been one of failure. To the contrary: it has been, for the most part, more successful than capitalism in improving the health conditions of the world's populations.
Elderly Suicide in Western Europe 1975–1989: A Different Approach to Durkheim's Theory of Political Integration
Authors: Fernquist Robert M.
Published: May 2005

Using data on attitudes to measure political integration, it was found that political integration and suicide are negatively associated for the elderly in nine western European countries from 1975 to 1989. Also associated with elderly suicide are the divorce rate and deaths due to cirrhosis of the liver. Religious book production, however, was not found to be associated with suicide in the normative manner. Reasons for these associations are discussed.
Rappin' Reader and Say Say OH Playmate: Using Children's Childhood Songs as Literacy Scaffolds in Computer-Based Learning Environments
Authors: Pinkard Nichole
Published: May 2005

This paper describes two computer-based learning environments, Rappin' Reader and Say Say Oh Playmate, that use the prior knowledge African-American children bring to classrooms as scaffolds for early literacy instruction. The study reports the results of using Rappin' Reader and Say Say Oh Playmate with low-SES African-American first-through fourth-grade students attending after-school tutoring/mentoring programs. This study seeks to investigate the benefits of using culturally responsive reading material and a computer-based learning environment in literacy instruction.
Psychosocial Predictors of Accident/Error Rates in Nursing Students: A Prospective Study
Authors: Sheehan David V. , O'Donnell James , Fitzgerald Anne , Hervig Linda , Ward Harold
Published: May 2005

A prospective study of accident/error rates was carried out on thirty-one nursing students. Recent life changes and stresses, social support available to cope with this stress, depression, illness rate, and coping skills were measured at baseline. Five weeks later students recorded accidents suffered and errors made over a week long period. The number of life changes in the previous two years and the amount of adjustment required to cope with these changes, together with the social support available to help cope with these events were the most powerful predictors of accident/error rate. Together they accounted for 70 per cent of the variance. Multiple regression equations for the outcome variables were calculated to study the best linear predictor combination. Depression and coping skills had poor predictor power. The implications of the findings for health care personnel are discussed. Steps to lower the accident/error rate in those at risk are outlined.
Worker Control over Occupational Health Services: The Development of Legal Rights in the EEC
Authors: Gevers J. K. M.
Published: May 2005

This article presents an analysis of the legal developments with respect to worker control over occupational health services. It gives a survey of legislation in the member states of the European Economic Community (EEC), in particular as to how worker involvement in occupational health services is organized and what it entails in terms of access to information, supervision of the health expert's work, and participation in decisions on selection of service and staff. Although worker participation in the organization and functioning of occupational health services is recognized as a matter of principle in several countries, disparity exists concerning the arrangements adopted for this purpose. It is shown, that—on the whole—legal rights concerning the supervision of the health specialist's work remain rather limited in scope. Finally, the question is discussed which legislative measures could improve the workers' position vis-à-vis occupational health services and their professional staff and to what extent the transformation of occupational health services into public institutions would remove the limitations inherent in any form of worker participation at enterprise level.
Destigmatizing Mental Health in the Workplace: A Union-Based Occupational Stress Program
Authors: Selkirk Mary
Published: May 2005

This article examines the effectiveness of an innovative program aimed at training union activists to become mental health primary prevention agents and organizers in their workplaces. The three-year occupational stress training project is described and analyzed, and its successes and failures are examined in light of relevant theories of health education and community organization. The training program attempted to combine psychological theories of group dynamics and individual change with community organization and social change strategies. The project is viewed as successful to the extent that it included the trainees in the planning and implementation of strategies and activities in their own unions. It fell short, however, of its goal of “de-stigmatizing” mental health in the participating unions. The contradictions between training group facilitators and community organizers are examined. The experience of this union program points up the need for the continued development of practical and theoretical links between personal and political change.
A Diffusion Model for Computer Art in Education
Authors: Degennaro Al , Mak Brenda L.
Published: May 2005

Computer art has a long history of controversy. The diffusion of the technology within the community of fine art and art education has been slow. There are questions in regard to the effectiveness of using the computer as an art medium and as an instrument of instruction for students. We study how the diffusion model proposed by Rogers and Shoemaker can be applied to examine the attributes of computer art that affect its diffusion process. Results indicate that the adoption of computer art can be improved by enhancing software usability and computer art aesthetics. Implications for strategies to overcome conservatism in the adoption of computer art are discussed.