bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transcranial Doppler Hemodynamic Parameters and Risk of Stroke
Authors: Bos Michiel J. , Koudstaal Peter J. , Hofman Albert , Witteman Jacqueline C.M. , Breteler Monique M.B.
Published: August 2007

Background and Purpose—

We explored the association between transcranial Doppler hemodynamic parameters and the risk of stroke in the general population.

Methods—

At baseline, we assessed mean flow velocity, peak systolic flow velocity, end diastolic flow velocity, and vasomotor reactivity with transcranial Doppler in 2022 Rotterdam Study participants aged 61 years and over in both middle cerebral arteries. All participants, who at baseline were free from previous stroke, were subsequently followed for occurrence of stroke (average follow-up time 5.1 years). We calculated hazard ratios for the association between hemodynamic parameters and risk of stroke using Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for age, sex, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive drug use, diabetes mellitus, ever smoking, current smoking, carotid intima media thickness, and carotid distensibility.

Results—

Risk of stroke (n=122) and ischemic stroke (n=89) increased with increasing middle cerebral artery flow velocity; when comparing the tertile with highest velocity to the tertile with lowest velocity, the hazard ratio was 1.74 (95% CI: 1.09 to 2.77) for the association between mean flow velocity and stroke, 1.63 (95% CI: 1.03 to 2.58) for end diastolic flow velocity and stroke, and 1.33 (95% CI: 0.86 to 2.08) for peak systolic flow velocity and stroke. These estimates increased 10% to 26% when only ischemic strokes were included. The side of highest flow velocity was not associated with the side of stroke. We found no associations between vasomotor reactivity and risk of stroke.

Conclusions—

Risk of stroke increased strongly with increasing middle cerebral artery flow velocity as measured with transcranial Doppler in the general population.
Visceral Adipose Tissue, a Potential Risk Factor for Carotid Atherosclerosis
Authors: Lear Scott A. , Humphries Karin H. , Kohli Simi , Frohlich Jiri J. , Birmingham C. Laird , Mancini G. B. John
Published: August 2007

Background and Purpose—

The association between abdominal obesity and atherosclerosis is believed to be due to excess visceral adipose tissue (VAT), which is associated with traditional risk factors. We hypothesized that VAT is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis.

Methods—

Healthy men and women (N=794) matched for ethnicity (aboriginal, Chinese, European, and South Asian) and body mass index range (<25, 25 to 29.9, or ≥30 kg/m
2
) were assessed for VAT (by computed tomography scan), carotid atherosclerosis (by ultrasound), total body fat, cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle, and demographics.

Results—

VAT was associated with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), plaque area, and total area (IMT area and plaque area combined) after adjusting for demographics, family history, smoking, and percent body fat in men and women. In men, VAT was associated with IMT and total area after adjusting for insulin, glucose, homocysteine, blood pressure, and lipids. This association remained significant with IMT after further adjustment for either waist circumference or the waist-to-hip ratio. In women, VAT was no longer associated with IMT or total area after adjusting for risk factors.

Conclusions—

VAT is the primary region of adiposity associated with atherosclerosis and likely represents an additional risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis in men. Most but not all of this risk can be reflected clinically by either the waist circumference or waist-hip ratio measures.
Extent of Acute Hydrocephalus After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage as a Risk Factor for Delayed Cerebral Infarction
Authors: Bakker Annelies M. , Dorhout Mees Sanne M. , Algra Ale , Rinkel Gabriël J.E.
Published: August 2007

Background and Purpose—

Delayed cerebral infarction (DCI) is an important cause of poor outcome after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cerebral perfusion is a predictor for DCI. Because acute hydrocephalus may impair cerebral perfusion, we evaluated the predictive value of the extent of acute hydrocephalus on the development of DCI.

Methods—

We retrieved data on 321 patients admitted within 4 days after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage from our prospectively collected database. Ventricular enlargement was quantified by measuring the bicaudate index and the width of the third ventricle. Ventricular sizes were analyzed as continuous variables and after categorization into quartiles. The relationship between these variables and the development of DCI was analyzed by means of the Cox proportional hazards model.

Results—

DCI occurred in 76 patients (23.7%). Hazard ratios for occurrence of DCI of the continuous variables were 1.01 (95% CI: 0.97 to 1.06) for the bicaudate index, 1.00 (95% CI: 1.00 to 1.01) for the age-adjusted bicaudate index, and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.92 to 1.06) for the width of the third ventricle in univariable analysis. The adjusted hazard ratio for the highest quartile of the bicaudate index versus the lowest quartile was 0.9 (95% CI: 0.5 to 1.8). No linear trend could be recognized in consecutive quartiles.

Conclusions—

Acute hydrocephalus is not a risk factor for occurrence of DCI, even when the extent of hydrocephalus is taken into account. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that extensive hydrocephalus leading to coma does increase the risk for DCI if no therapeutic intervention were done.
Fate of Disseminated Dead Neurons in the Cortical Ischemic Penumbra
Authors: Ito Umeo , Nagasao Jun , Kawakami Emiko , Oyanagi Kiyomitsu
Published: August 2007

Background and Purpose—

Because the mechanism for scavenging acidophilic electron-dense dead neurons disseminated among the neuritic networks of surviving neurons in the ischemic penumbra of the cerebral cortex is still obscure, we investigated the fate of them up to 24 weeks after the ischemic insult.

Methods—

Stroke-positive animals were selected according to their stroke index score during the first 10-minute left carotid occlusion done twice with a 5-hour interval. The animals were killed at various times after the second ischemic insult. Ultrathin sections including the second through fourth cortical layers were obtained from the neocortex coronally sectioned at the infundibular level in which the penumbra appeared and was observed by electron microscopy. We determined the percentages of resting, activated, and phagocytic microglia and astrocytes in the specimens obtained at various times postischemia.

Results—

The electron-dense neurons had been fragmented into granular pieces by invading astrocytic processes from the periphery of the dead neurons and only the central portion remained. These granular pieces were dispersed along the extracellular spaces in the neuropil. By 8 to 24 weeks, the central core portion became a tiny vesicular particle (3.5 to 5.5 μm in diameter) with a central dot. Microglia and astrocytes phagocytized these dispersed granular pieces.

Conclusions—

We found a novel scavenger mechanism in the ischemic penumbra, one by which dead neurons were fragmented by invading small astrocytic processes and only a thinned-out core portion remained, which finally became a tiny vesicular particle. The dispersed fragmented pieces were phagocytized by the microglia and astrocytes late, at 8 to 24 weeks postischemia.
Wind Run Changes: The Dominant Factor Affecting Pan Evaporation Trends in Australia
Authors: Rayner D. P.
Published: August 2007

The Class A pan evaporation rates at many Australian observing stations have reportedly decreased between 1970 and 2002. That pan evaporation rates have decreased at the same time that temperatures have increased has become known as the “pan evaporation paradox.”

Pan evaporation is primarily dependant on relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind. In this paper, trends in observed pan evaporation in Australia during the period 1975–2004 were attributed to changes in other climate variables using a Penman-style pan evaporation model. Trends in daily average wind speed (termed wind run) were found to be an important cause of trends in pan evaporation. This result is a significant step toward resolving the pan evaporation paradox for Australia.

Data inspection and interstation comparison revealed that some of the significant wind run trends were discontinuous or spatially uncorrelated. These analyses raised the possibility that some of the changes in observed wind run, and by implication some of the significant changes in pan evaporation, may represent changes in the local environment surrounding the observing stations.

Daily pressure gradients and NCEP–NCAR reanalysis wind surfaces were analyzed in an attempt to identify any climatological wind run trends associated with large-scale changes in atmospheric circulations. Unfortunately, the trends from the two data sources were not consistent, and the challenge remains to conclusively identify the cause or causes of the changes in observed station wind run in Australia.
Modeled Impact of Anthropogenic Land Cover Change on Climate
Authors: Findell Kirsten L. , Shevliakova Elena , Milly P. C. D. , Stouffer Ronald J.
Published: August 2007

Equilibrium experiments with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory’s climate model are used to investigate the impact of anthropogenic land cover change on climate. Regions of altered land cover include large portions of Europe, India, eastern China, and the eastern United States. Smaller areas of change are present in various tropical regions. This study focuses on the impacts of biophysical changes associated with the land cover change (albedo, root and stomatal properties, roughness length), which is almost exclusively a conversion from forest to grassland in the model; the effects of irrigation or other water management practices and the effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide changes associated with land cover conversion are not included in these experiments.

The model suggests that observed land cover changes have little or no impact on globally averaged climatic variables (e.g., 2-m air temperature is 0.008 K warmer in a simulation with 1990 land cover compared to a simulation with potential natural vegetation cover). Differences in the annual mean climatic fields analyzed did not exhibit global field significance. Within some of the regions of land cover change, however, there are relatively large changes of many surface climatic variables. These changes are highly significant locally in the annual mean and in most months of the year in eastern Europe and northern India. They can be explained mainly as direct and indirect consequences of model-prescribed increases in surface albedo, decreases in rooting depth, and changes of stomatal control that accompany deforestation.
The Sensitivity of the Radiation Budget in a Climate Simulation to Neglecting the Effect of Small Ice Particles
Authors: Boudala Faisal S. , Isaac George A. , McFarlane N. A. , Li J.
Published: August 2007

The sensitivity of the atmospheric radiation budget to ignoring small ice particles (D ≤ 100 μm) in parameterization of the mean effective size of ice particles was investigated by using the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) third-generation general atmospheric circulation model (AGCM3). The results indicate that small ice particles play two crucial roles in the radiative transfer that influence the simulated climate. First, they inhibit the IR radiation from escaping to space and, second, they enhance the scattering of solar radiation. On average, these two effects tend to partially cancel each other out. However, based on AGCM simulations, the small ice crystals make clouds more opaque to IR radiation. Generally, 5-yr seasonally averaged GCM results suggest that the strongest anomalies in outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) are found in the Tropics, reaching 15 to 25 W m−2 in areas where cold high cirrus anvil clouds are prevalent. The global average change in net cloud radiative forcing was 2.4 W m−2 in June–August (JJA) and 1.7 W m−2 in December–February (DJF). The change in globally averaged 5-yr mean cloud forcing was close to 1.9 W m−2. When the small particles were included, the globally averaged 5-yr mean precipitation decreased by about 8%, but cloudiness increased only slightly (by 2%). The 5-yr averaged global mean surface (screen) temperature also increased slightly (about 0.2°C) when the small ice particles were included.
Decadal Climate Variability: Is There a Tidal Connection?
Authors: Ray Richard D.
Published: August 2007

A possible connection between oceanic tides and climate variability arises from modulations in tidally induced vertical mixing. The idea is reexamined here with emphasis on near-decadal time scales. Occasional extreme tides caused by unusually favorable alignments of the moon and sun are unlikely to influence decadal climate, since these tides are of short duration and, in fact, are barely larger than the typical spring tide near lunar perigee. The argument by Keeling and Whorf in favor of extreme tides is further handicapped by an insufficiently precise catalog of extreme tides. A more plausible connection between tides and near-decadal climate is through “harmonic beating” of nearby tidal spectral lines. The 18.6-yr modulation of diurnal tides is the most likely to be detectable. Possible evidence for this is reviewed. Some of the most promising candidates rely on temperature data in the vicinity of the North Pacific Ocean where diurnal tides are large, but definitive detection is hindered by the shortness of the time series. Paleoclimate temperature data deduced from tree rings are suggestive, but one of the best examples shows a phase reversal, which is evidence against a tidal connection.
Relationships between Climate Variability and Fluctuations in Daily Precipitation over the United States
Authors: Higgins R. W. , Silva V. B. S. , Shi W. , Larson J.
Published: August 2007

Fluctuations in the frequency of daily precipitation occurrence and in the intensity of daily precipitation over the United States during the period 1948–2004 are identified and linked to leading sources of interannual and interdecadal climate variability. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena are implicated in interannual fluctuations while the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) are linked to recent interdecadal fluctuations.

For the conterminous United States as a whole there have been increases in the annual frequency of occurrence of wet days and heavy precipitation days and in the mean daily and annual total precipitation over the past several decades, though these changes have not been uniform. The possibility of significant natural forcing of these interdecadal variations in precipitation is explored. It is shown that the PDO is associated with these fluctuations over the western and southern United States, while the AO is also associated with them but to a much lesser extent over the southeastern United States. Because the interdecadal fluctuations are linked to changes in the global-scale circulation and sea surface temperatures associated with the PDO, the results imply that a significant portion of the skill of climate models in anticipating fluctuations in daily precipitation statistics over the United States will arise from an ability to forecast the temporal and spatial variability of the interdecadal shifts in tropical precipitation and in the associated teleconnection patterns into the midlatitudes.
Asymmetric Responses of Tropical Precipitation during ENSO
Authors: Chou Chia , Lo Min-Hui
Published: August 2007

In response to the zonally symmetric El Niño–Southern Oscillation forcing, hemispherically asymmetric tropical precipitation anomalies associated with the Hadley circulation are found. In boreal spring after an El Niño peak phase, positive tropical precipitation anomalies occur in the Southern Hemisphere, while negative precipitation anomalies are found in the Northern Hemisphere. This zonal asymmetry is more apparent in the El Niño decaying phase than in the El Niño growing phase. The maximum amplitude of this zonal asymmetry lags one season behind the maximum SST anomalies over the tropical eastern Pacific. This lagged response of the asymmetry is mainly because of the tropical precipitation outside the tropical eastern Pacific, which is associated with the SST and tropospheric temperature anomalies outside the tropical eastern Pacific. A combination of the effect associated with the anomalous gross moist stability and the effect of the horizontal moist static energy (MSE) transport is responsible for the asymmetry. The above effects are associated with the seasonal migration of the Hadley circulation. Warm SST and tropospheric temperature anomalies increase the low-level moisture in the Tropics. In the effect associated with anomalous gross moist stability, the tropical precipitation over the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation is enhanced because of the decrease of effective moist stability, which is induced by the increase of low-level moisture. This enhancement associated with the Hadley circulation reduces the low-level moisture over the descending branch and creates a meridional moisture gradient. In the effect of the horizontal MSE transport, the tropical precipitation anomalies over margins of the ascending branch is reduced by dry advection from the descending branch, which is associated with mean Hadley circulation.
Processes Controlling the Mean Tropical Pacific Precipitation Pattern. Part I: The Andes and the Eastern Pacific ITCZ
Authors: Takahashi Ken , Battisti David S.
Published: August 2007

The question of why the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is generally north of the equator in the tropical Pacific is addressed. Experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to idealized representations of the ocean show that the presence of the Andes is enough to lower sea surface temperature (SST) off the west coast of South America through evaporation, thus promoting a north–south asymmetry, with the ITCZ north of the equator, which is amplified by interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. The evaporative cooling results mainly from the subsidence of low specific humidity air, which is due in turn to the mechanical effect of the Andes on the zonal mean flow. The positive feedback from low-level clouds on SST is an important factor for the efficiency of the mechanism described.

West of 120°W, the presence of the Rockies and Himalayas produces a comparable forcing to that of the Andes, but this is not enough to reverse or neutralize the north–south asymmetry set by the Andes. It is shown that the longitudinal offset between the forcings in both hemispheres allows the Andes to preferentially set the north–south asymmetry, which propagates westward into the rest of the Pacific.

Asymmetry in the observed ocean heat transports (more heat transport convergence in the Northern Hemisphere) associated with the Kuroshio was found to reinforce the effect of the Andes, although it is not a strong forcing by itself. Sensitivity experiments indicate that the north–south asymmetry of the ITCZ caused (evaporatively) by the Andes is robust to the presence of a strong equatorial cold tongue and to seasonality in insolation.
Cluster Analysis of Typhoon Tracks. Part II: Large-Scale Circulation and ENSO
Authors: Camargo Suzana J. , Robertson Andrew W. , Gaffney Scott J. , Smyth Padhraic , Ghil Michael
Published: August 2007

A new probabilistic clustering method, based on a regression mixture model, is used to describe tropical cyclone (TC) propagation in the western North Pacific (WNP). Seven clusters were obtained and described in Part I of this two-part study. In Part II, the present paper, the large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature associated with each of the clusters are investigated, as well as associations with the phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Composite wind field maps over the WNP provide a physically consistent picture of each TC type, and of its seasonality. Anomalous vorticity and outgoing longwave radiation indicate changes in the monsoon trough associated with different types of TC genesis and trajectory. The steering winds at 500 hPa are more zonal in the straight-moving clusters, with larger meridional components in the recurving ones. Higher values of vertical wind shear in the midlatitudes also accompany the straight-moving tracks, compared to the recurving ones.

The influence of ENSO on TC activity over the WNP is clearly discerned in specific clusters. Two of the seven clusters are typical of El Niño events; their genesis locations are shifted southeastward and they are more intense. The largest cluster is recurving, located northwestward, and occurs more often during La Niña events. Two types of recurving and one of straight-moving tracks occur preferentially when the Madden–Julian oscillation is active over the WNP region.
The Tropical Atmospheric El Niño Signal in Satellite Precipitation Data and a Global Climate Model
Authors: Chen Yonghua , Del Genio Anthony D. , Chen Junye
Published: August 2007

Aspects of the tropical atmospheric response to El Niño related to the global energy and water cycle are examined using satellite retrievals from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-E and simulations from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM). The El Niño signal is extracted from climate fields using a linear cross-correlation technique that captures local and remote in-phase and lagged responses. Passive microwave and radar precipitation anomalies for the 1997/98 and 2002/03 El Niños and the intervening La Niña are highly correlated, but anomalies in stratiform–convective rainfall partitioning in the two datasets are not. The GISS GCM produces too much rainfall in general over ocean and too little over land. Its atmospheric response to El Niño is weaker and decays a season too early. Underestimated stratiform rainfall fraction (SRF) and convective downdraft mass flux in the GISS GCM and excessive shallow convective and low stratiform cloud result in latent heating that peaks at lower altitudes than inferred from the data. The GISS GCM also underestimates the column water vapor content throughout the Tropics, which causes it to overestimate outgoing longwave radiation. The response of both quantities to interannual Hadley circulation anomalies is too weak. The GISS GCM’s Walker circulation also exhibits a weak remote response to El Niño, especially over the Maritime Continent and western Indian Ocean. This appears to be a consequence of weak static stability due to the model’s lack of upper-level stratiform anvil heating, excessive low-level heating, and excessive dissipation due to cumulus momentum mixing. Our results suggest that parameterizations of mesoscale updrafts, convective downdrafts, and cumulus-scale pressure gradient effects on momentum transport are keys to a reasonable GISS GCM simulation of tropical interannual variability.
Examining the Relationship Between Physical Vulnerability and Public Perceptions of Global Climate Change in the United States
Authors: Brody Samuel D. , Zahran Sammy , Vedlitz Arnold , Grover Himanshu
Published: August 2007

Although there is a growing body of research examining public perceptions of global climate change, little work has focused on the role of place and proximity in shaping these perceptions. This study extends previous conceptual models explaining risk perception associated with global climate change by adding a spatial dimension. Specifically, Geographic Information Systems and spatial analytical techniques are used to map and measure survey respondents' physical risk associated with expected climate change. Using existing spatial data, multiple measures of climate change vulnerability are analyzed along with demographic, attitudinal, and social contextual variables derived from a representative national survey to predict variation in risk perception. Bivariate correlation and multivariate regression analyses are used to identify and explain the most important indicators shaping individual risk perception. Analysis of the data suggests that the relationship between actual and perceived risk is driven by specific types of physical conditions and experiences.
Judging a Book by Its Cover
Authors: Devlin Ann Sloan
Published: August 2007

The study examines the relationship between the appearance of medical building exteriors and judgments of the perceived care that would be delivered in and the expected comfort level that would be felt in those facilities. In all, 188 college students viewed 34 slides of the exteriors of medical facilities. Using visual analogue scales, participants rated the perceived quality of care and expected comfort level for each facility and provided brief written comments to explain their ratings. Factor analyses yielded 3 parallel Care and Expected Comfort factors, labeled Traditional House type, Brick Office type, and Large Medical type, and a fourth Expected Comfort factor, labeled Low Budget Emphasis. Respondents rated facilities of the Large Medical type to be highest in both quality of care and expected comfort. Results are discussed in terms of current trends in the architecture of health care facilities and recommendations for practitioners.
Success Factors for Destination Marketing Web Sites: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis
Authors: Park Young A. , Gretzel Ulrike
Published: August 2007

Destination marketing organizations invest considerable amounts of money in the development of Web sites as part of their overall promotion efforts. With increasing pressure on their budgets, it becomes ever more important for these organizations to assess the effectiveness of their Web sites, evaluate the return on their investments, and derive feedback on necessary improvements. Web site evaluation measures have been proposed in many ways and various contexts over the past decade. The study presented in this article used a qualitative meta-analysis methodology to synthesize the diverse findings. A unified framework of commonly used Web site success factors emerged from the analysis and included a total of nine factors: (1) information quality; (2) ease of use; (3) responsiveness; (4) security/privacy; (5) visual appearance; (6) trust; (7) interactivity; (8) personalization; and (9) fulfillment. Additional factors to further inform Web evaluation efforts were identified based on Werthner and Klein's dimensions of Web communication. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for future research.
The Destination Promotion Triad: Understanding Asymmetric Stakeholder Interdependencies Among the City, Hotels, and DMO
Authors: Sheehan Lorn , Ritchie J. R. Brent , Hudson Simon
Published: August 2007

At the heart of urban tourism promotion lies a triad of powerful players—the city, the hotels, and the destination marketing/management organization (DMO). This article explores the relationships between the DMO, charged with crafting and executing destination promotion, and its two most powerful stakeholders—the city (or urban government) and hotels (or accommodation sector). Empirical insights are derived from an examination of three major North American city destinations. In each setting, in-depth key informant interviews were conducted with leaders of each member of the triad (the city, the hotels, and the DMO). The triad is found to be asymmetrical with each member bringing a unique and complementary resource. The extent to which members of the triad can effectively relate to one another and combine their complementary resources is posited to be an important determinant of success in destination promotion.
Toward a Theoretical Framework of Collaborative Destination Marketing
Authors: Wang Youcheng , Xiang Zheng
Published: August 2007

Marketing a destination has been a challenging task for many communities that rely on tourism for economic development. Collaborative marketing efforts of the tourism organizations representing the destination provide solutions to this challenge. This article develops an integrative theoretical framework in an attempt to explore the nature and dynamism of collaborative marketing efforts at the destination level. Specifically, a model of collaborative marketing is proposed that integrates the preconditions, motivations, processes, and outcomes of destination marketing alliances and networks based upon theories of interorganizational relations. Implications are provided and discussed from both practical and theoretical perspectives.
Public Service Motivation Measurement
Authors: Coursey David H. , Pandey Sanjay K.
Published: August 2007

This article proposes and tests a three-dimension, shortened instrument for public service motivation based on Perry's (1996) exploratory 24-item scale. A confirmatory factor analysis is used with both a diagonally weighted least squares and a modified version of maximum likelihood estimation that are more appropriate for ordinal indicators. Data from the National Administrative Studies Project, consisting of mail surveys of managers engaged in information management activities working in state-level primary health and human service agencies, is used ( n = 274; response rate = 53%). Results indicate good support for the shortened scale compared to Perry's original work. Findings corroborate Perry's theorized dimensions and items in the exploratory instrument. An exploratory analysis evaluating modifications to the tested model suggests possible improvements in two dimensions but does not undermine the overall, supportive results and suggests the importance of continued item and scale development.
Public Agencies and Collaborative Management Approaches
Authors: Kumar Sushil , Kant Shashi , Amburgey Terry L.
Published: August 2007

Resistance among administrative professionals to participatory approaches is analyzed by means of a case study involving the implementation of community-based forest management (CBFM) in India. The model consists of two dimensions of attitudinal resistance to change—disapproval of CBFM regime by forest managers (a) at individual level and (b) at organizational level—and four categories of factors influencing resistance: personality traits, organizational factors, external environmental factors, and socialization factors. The model is empirically tested using the perceptions of forest managers working in state Forest Departments of four states in India. The empirical findings are used to suggest strengthening of organization and public administration theories on four aspects and to suggest some specific measures to deal with the attitudinal inertia of public administrators.
Administrative Nationalism
Authors: Bourgeois Daniel
Published: August 2007

Substate administrative institutions such as municipalities, hospital boards, and school districts may help resolve conflicts between minority and majority groups, particularly where a minority forms a majority in a substate territory. Minorities can use substate institutions to counter majority rule exercised through statewide political institutions. Minorities seek control over substate institutions to legitimize nationalist claims over crucial public functions and space and to support identity projects. The present case study, in a Canadian urban area, explains the rise of administrative nationalism and raises theoretical, practical, and empirical questions that summon scholars of nationalism and public administration.
Early Adolescent Social Networks and Substance Use
Authors: Henry David B. , Kobus Kimberly
Published: August 2007

This study examined the relationships between social network position and the use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants in a sample of 1,119 sixth-grade youth. Social network analyses of peer nominations were used to categorize youth as members of social groups, liaisons between groups, or social isolates. The results revealed that liaisons were more likely to use tobacco than members or isolates and were more likely to use alcohol than isolates. Youth in the three social positions did not differ on their use of marijuana or inhalants. The findings are discussed with reference to previous social network research on adolescent relationships and substance use. The effects of gender, ethnicity, and residence location on substance use also are reported.
Identity-Processing Style, Psychosocial Resources, and Adolescents' Perceptions of Parent-Adolescent Relations
Authors: Berzonsky Michael D. , Branje Susan J. T. , Meeus Wim
Published: August 2007

This study aimed to generalize and extend research on identity styles among early adolescents in the Netherlands. The study investigated associations between perceived parent-adolescent relations and identity-processing styles among 13-year-old adolescents and the role identity styles played in mediating relationships between parent-adolescent relations and the identity commitments early adolescents held and the levels of self-regulation they exercised. Associations between perceived parent-adolescent relations and a normative style were positive and those with a diffuse-avoidant style were negative. Parental information solicitation was related to information-style scores. All three styles were related to identity commitments and self-regulation. Linkages with the normative style were positive and those with the diffuse-avoidant style negative. An informational identity style was associated positively with commitment but negatively with self-regulation. The relationship between adolescents' perceptions of open parental communication and their levels of identity commitment was partially mediated by a normative style. The role parent-adolescent relations may play in developing identity processes and self-regulation during early adolescence is considered.
Evaluation of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children in Two Samples of American Adolescents
Authors: Suldo Shannon M. , Shaffer Emily J.
Published: August 2007

Two studies addressed the psychometric properties of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) when used in studies with American youths. A sample of 697 middle and high school students completed the SEQ-C along with measures of life satisfaction and psychopathology. Exploratory factor analysis procedures supported the existence of three factors representing emotional, social, and academic self-efficacy. Criterion-related validity was established through correlations, in the expected directions, between the domains of self-efficacy and psychological functioning. The study was repeated with a sample of 318 high school students. Both studies provide support for use of the SEQ-C with early and late American adolescents from the Southeast.
Neuroticism Predicts Acculturative Stress in Mexican American College Students
Authors: Mangold Deborah L. , Veraza Rafael , Kinkler Lori , Kinney Nathan A.
Published: August 2007

Neuroticism is a risk factor for mood and anxiety disorders and a strong predictor of subjective stress in non-Hispanics. This study examined neuroticism as a predictor of subjective acculturative stress in 122 Mexican American college students. Neuroticism was measured using the Revised Neuroticism Extroversion Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), and acculturative stress was measured using the Hispanic Stress Inventory (HSI). Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that overall neuroticism and the facets of depression, vulnerability, and anger and/or hostility significantly predicted acculturative stress. The association between neuroticism and greater subjective psychosocial stress can now be extended to acculturative stress for a subgroup of Mexican Americans. Findings support and extend previous work from the authors' laboratory suggesting that neuroticism modulates the relationship between exposure to culturally specific stress and risk for certain mood and anxiety disorders.
Correlates of Mexican American Students' Standardized Test Scores: An Integrated Model Approach
Authors: Morales M. Cristina , Saenz Rogelio
Published: August 2007

The use of standardized testing to evaluate academic achievement is a widely debated topic. Despite controversies, standardized testing is used in all educational levels from elementary school to college entrance examinations. One of the ethnic groups particularly affected by this is the Mexican-origin population. An integrated model (individual, family, peer, and institutional factors) is used to enhance our understanding of the disparity in standardized mathematic test scores between Mexican-origin and White students. Findings show that socioeconomic status (SES) explains the majority of the gap in test scores. However, Whites reap more favorable returns to SES than do students of Mexican origin. Furthermore, if Mexican-origin students were to resemble their White peers in terms of generational status the gap in scores would widen.
The Relationship Between Type of Attorney and Bail Amount Set for Hispanic Defendants
Authors: Turner K.B. , Johnson James B.
Published: August 2007

This research empirically examines the difference that type of counsel, public or private, makes in the bail amount set for Hispanic defendants. Data were collected on all felony defendants assigned to the district court in a midwestern county. Specifically, the authors hypothesized that Hispanic defendants who retain the assistance of private counsel will receive lower bail amounts than defendants assigned a court-appointed attorney. Several independent controls were employed including the legal variables— offense seriousness and prior arrests —and the extralegal variables— sex, age, and residency . These data were analyzed using ordinary least squares multiple regression. The analyses show that although Hispanic defendants utilizing private counsel receive lower bail amounts than defendants assigned a court-appointed attorney, only the variables age, residency, and offense seriousness significantly affect bail amount set.
Brief Report: The Modifying Effects of Education and Income on Hispanics Reporting Perceived Discrimination
Authors: Cardarelli Roberto , Cardarelli Kathryn Marie , Luz Chiapa Ana
Published: August 2007

Research has shown that experiences of discrimination negatively affect health. However, little is known about whether socioeconomic position modifies the reporting of perceived discrimination. This cross-sectional study of 69 participants investigated the modifying effects of education and income on the reporting of perceived discrimination among Hispanics and Whites. Hispanics, compared to non-Hispanic Whites, of higher education (more than high school) and income ($30,000 or more per year) status are more than 4 times more likely to report perceived discrimination (odds ratio [OR] = 4.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31-12.72; OR = 4.43, 95% CI = 1.41-13.93, respectively). However, this difference was nonsignificant among those with lower education and income levels (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 0.27-10.92; OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 0.20-15.02, respectively). These results may affect future study sample and effect sizes.
Dominican and Puerto Rican Women in Partnerships and Their Sexual Risk Behaviors
Authors: Moreno Claudia L. , El-Bassel Nabila
Published: August 2007

This study compares demographic characteristics, sexual risk factors for HIV/STI, and cultural predictors of sexual risk among 254 Dominican and 1,012 Puerto Rican women using outpatient health care in New York City. More Dominicans were born outside continental United States and were employed, whereas more Puerto Ricans were single and less educated. Both groups of Latinas exhibited low condom use with main and other sexual partners, perceiving their own and their partners' risk as low. Puerto Ricans were more heterosexually active, had more sexual partners, had higher incidence of STI and HIV than Dominicans. However, Puerto Rican women were more likely to use condoms with a sexual partner. Significant differences in sexual risk support the design of ethnically tailored HIV prevention interventions.
Developing a Bicultural Model for Academic Achievement
Authors: Hawley Suzanne R. , Chavez David V. , St. Romain Theresa
Published: August 2007

This project analyzed multimodel student archival data to address the relationship between academic achievement, acculturative stress, and coping factors. Participants were 126 children between 8 and 11 years of age (59 White and 67 Latino). Measurements included demographics, SAFE-C, A-COPE, Self-Perception Profile for Children, and Harter Teacher's Rating Scale. Latinos used more social support and religious coping strategies than Whites ( p < .001). A general model of achievement for both groups accounted for 33% of the variance in academic achievement ( p < .001). Ethnically specific models accounted for a greater amount of the variance: 57% for a model for Whites and 64% for a model for Latinos ( p < .001). This study demonstrates the importance of investigating ethnic differences independently when conducting cross-ethnic research.
Differences in Health Behaviors of Hispanic, White, and Black Childbearing Women
Authors: Page Robin L.
Published: August 2007

Maternal health behaviors such as substance use and sexual promiscuity can put the health of mothers and their offspring at risk. Sociodemographic factors including low socioeconomic status are also found to correlate with health risks for childbearing women. Hispanic women—particularly those less acculturated—often have sociodemographic risk factors present, but have paradoxically positive pregnancy outcomes. This study examines the acculturation and ethnic differences among Hispanic, White, and Black women in health behaviors and attitudes during childbearing, using data from the National Survey of Family Growth Cycle 6 on 1,062 women who were either currently pregnant or had given birth in the past 12 months. Less acculturated Hispanic women had the lowest rates of substance use and reported the least risky sexual behavior compared to Blacks, Whites, and more acculturated Hispanic women, and had the highest levels of agreement with statements valuing traditional maternal roles compared to the other groups.
The Voices of Senior Scholars on Mentoring Graduate Students and Junior Scholars
Authors: Espinoza-Herold Mariela , Gonzalez Virginia
Published: August 2007

Our objective is to document recommendations from senior scholars on effective strategies to mentor graduate students and junior faculty. Mentors' recommendations stated at a national symposium and follow-up interviews are discussed in relation to literature. General themes derived from mentors' recommendations indicate that characteristics of good mentors include (a) acting as role models for learning how to use coping strategies and to develop resiliency to overcome challenges, (b) facilitating opportunities for scholarly productivity and academic success, (c) networking with colleagues to form a collective power, and (d) establishing an empathic connection between the mentor's multicultural experiences and the protégé's diverse background. Conclusions refer to the need to continue advancing diversity issues and mentoring programs for junior scholars in American universities.
A Cup of Coffee With a Dash of Love
Authors: Rosenbaum Mark S. , Ward James , Walker Beth A. , Ostrom Amy L.
Published: August 2007

This study introduces theory about how deficits in social support motivate consumers to replace lost social resources by forming relationships with customers and employees in commercial “third places.” The authors demonstrate support for a multiple-indicator, multiple-cause model that illustrates how six common events that destroy or erode a person's social support can cause the person to obtain emotional support and companionship in a third place. The model supports the linkage between commercial social support and a consumer's sense of attachment to a third place that harbors his or her social support network. The authors also propose and test hypotheses that reveal that consumers obtain social support in a third place to the extent to which they lost it outside the place. In essence, third-place patrons match their lost support to their commercial support, thus remedying negative symptoms associated with isolation. The article concludes with a discussion of managerial implications and limitations.
Service Recovery Paradox: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: de Matos Celso Augusto , Henrique Jorge Luiz , Alberto Vargas Rossi Carlos
Published: August 2007

The Service Recovery Paradox (SRP) has emerged as an important effect in the marketing literature. However, empirical research testing the SRP has produced mixed results, with only some studies supporting this paradox. Because of these inconsistencies, a meta-analysis was conducted to integrate the studies dealing with the SRP and to test whether studies' characteristics influence the results. The analyses show that the cumulative mean effect of the SRP is significant and positive on satisfaction, supporting the SRP, but nonsignificant on repurchase intentions, word-of-mouth, and corporate image, suggesting that there is no effect of the SRP on these variables. Additional analyses of moderator variables find that design (cross-sectional versus longitudinal), subject (student versus nonstudent), and service category (hotel, restaurant, and others) influence the effect of SRP on satisfaction. Finally, implications for managers and directions for future research are presented.
Understanding Frequent Switching Patterns
Authors: Roos Inger , Gustafsson Anders
Published: August 2007

Given the growing competition in the global market, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to retain their existing customers, that is, to preempt frequent switching. A fruitful way of gaining knowledge about customers' switching behavior is to examine the role of various factors in their switching processes. This qualitative study, based on data from telecom operators, offers new insights by identifying and defining the role of prejudice in customers' rationale for leaving one telecom operator in favor of another. The research also identifies whether the customers are actively or passively engaged in the switching process, which seems to be important in terms of linking prejudice to frequent switching. The findings have important implications for the successful management of customer relationships because they point to instability in customer populations.
Intravenous immunoglobulins suppress T-cell priming by modulating the bidirectional interaction between dendritic cells and natural killer cells
Authors: Tha-In Thanyalak , Metselaar Herold J. , Tilanus Hugo W. , Groothuismink Zwier M. A. , Kuipers Ernst J. , de Man Robert A. , Kwekkeboom Jaap
Published: August 2007

The modes of action of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIgs) in exerting their immunomodulatory properties are broad and not fully understood. IVIgs can modulate the function of various immune cells, including suppressing the capacity of dendritic cells (DCs) to stimulate T cells. In the present study, we showed that DCs matured in the presence of IVIgs (IVIg-DCs) activated NK cells, and increased their interferon-γ production and degranulation. The activated NK cells induced apoptosis of the majority of IVIg-DCs. In consequence, only in the presence of NK cells, IVIg-DCs were 4-fold impaired in their T-cell priming capacity. This was due to NK-cell–mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) to IVIg-DCs, probably induced by IgG multimers, which could be abrogated by blockade of CD16 on NK cells. Furthermore, IVIg-DCs down-regulated the expression of NKp30 and KIR receptors, and induced the generation of CD56brightCD16−CCR7+ lymph node–type NK cells. Our results identify a novel pathway, in which IVIgs induce ADCC of mature DCs by NK cells, which downsizes the antigen-presenting pool and inhibits T-cell priming. By influencing the interaction between DCs and NK cells, IVIgs modulate the ability of the innate immunity to trigger T-cell activation, a mechanism that can “cool down” the immune system at times of activation.