bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fibrinogen Bβ polymorphisms do not directly contribute to an altered in vitro clot structure in humans
Authors: Brennan Stephen , George Peter , Maghzal Ghassan
Published: October 2003

Fibrinogen Bβ polymorphisms, such as the -455 G/A and the Arg448Lys amino acid substitution, have been shown to increase the risk of atherothrombotic disease. Although these polymorphisms are related to fibrinogen concentrations, their effect on fibrin clot structure has not been extensively studied. We examined the frequency of the fibrinogen Bβ -455 G/A polymorphism in a group of myocardial infarction (MI) patients. There was no association between this polymorphism and MI. However, we found that patients homozygous for the rare -455 A allele had a higher average age at first MI. A similar result was found for individuals homozygous for the Bβ 448 Lys allele who also had a higher age at first MI.We subsequently studied the clotting properties of purified Arg448 and Lys448 fibrinogens in vitro and found that these fibrinogens did not significantly differ in their polymerisation, fibrinolysis kinetics or in their clot permeation properties. Mass spectrometry analysis of endoproteinase Asp-N digests of Bβ chains revealed that the Lys448 and the Arg448 chains were expressed in approximately equal proportions in a heterozygote Arg448Lys individual. Our results demonstrate that the fibrinogen Bβ –455 G/A polymorphism is not associated with myocardial infarction and furthermore the closely linked Bβ Arg448Lys protein coding variation does not have an influence on the function nor the structure of the protein in a purified system.
Characterization of the human protein S gene promoter: a possible role of transcription factors Sp1 and HNF3 in liver
Authors: Tatewaki Hideki , Tsuda Hiroko , Kanaji Taisuke , Yokoyama Kazunari , Hamasaki Naotaka
Published: October 2003

Protein S is a vitamin-K-dependent plasma glycoprotein that serves as a cofactor for activated protein C in the protein C anticoagulation pathway, which regulates blood coagulation by inactivating factors Va and VIIIa. Mechanisms regulating the expression of the protein S gene remain unknown to date. The aim of this study was to characterize the cis-acting DNA elements of the human protein S gene in liver.

We found that liver cell lines (HepG2 and PLC) transcribed the human protein S gene to mRNA, whereas non-liver cell lines (HEK293 and HeLa cells) either transcribed the gene weakly or not at all. Isolation and analysis of tissue-specific gene expression in HepG2 and HeLa cells of the 5’-flanking region from-6183 to +294 of the protein S gene indicated that the consensus binding motifs to HNF3 and Sp1 or MAZ transcription factors in the flanking region are essential for protein S gene expression. Exogenous expression of the Sp1 gene augmented the protein S-reporter gene expression in HepG2 or PLC cells but had no effect in HeLa cells. Taken together, we would conclude that transcription factors of HNF3, MAZ, and Sp1 are required for high-level expression of the protein S gene in hepatic cells, but in non-hepatic cells such as HeLa cells, an unknown factor(s) binds to the Sp1 region and disturbs the action of Sp1 and MAZ.
Interaction of high molecular weight kininogen binding proteins on endothelial cells
Authors: Tholanikunnel Baby , Ghebrehiwet Berhane , Kaplan Allen , Joseph Kusumam
Published: October 2003

Cell surface proteins reported to participate in the binding and activation of the plasma kinin-forming cascade includes gC1qR, cytokeratin 1 and u-PAR. Each of these proteins binds high molecular weight kininogen (HK) as well as Factor XII. The studies on the interaction of these proteins, using dot-blot analysis, revealed that cytokeratin 1 binds to both gC1qR and u-PAR while gC1qR and u-PAR do not bind to each other. The binding properties of these proteins were further analyzed by gel filtration. When biotinylated cytokeratin 1 was incubated with either gC1qR or u-PAR and gel filtered, a new, higher molecular weight peak containing biotin was observed indicating complex formation. The protein shift was also similar to the biotin shift. Further, immunoprecipitation of solubilized endothelial cell plasma membrane proteins with anti-gC1qR recovered both gC1qR and cytokeratin 1, but not u-PAR. Immunoprecipitation with anti-u-PAR recovered only u-PAR and cytokeratin 1. By competitive ELISA, gC1qR inhibits u-PAR from binding to cytokeratin 1; u-PAR inhibits gC1qR binding to a lesser extent and requires a 10-fold molar excess. Our data suggest that formation of HK (and Factor XII) binding sites along endothelial cell membranes consists of bimolecular complexes of gC1qR-cytokeratin 1 and u-PAR-cytokeratin 1, with gC1qR binding being favored.
Cardiac Memory and Cortical Memory
Authors: Rosen Michael R. , Binah Ofer , Marom Shimon
Published: October 2003

Memory is a property of diverse biological systems, including brain and heart. Studies in cortical neuronal networks have identified an increased sensitivity to infrequent (rare) stimulation patterns that can result in their achieving dominance over network firing. This adaptive behavior is applied to the heart in an attempt to explain the ability of pulmonary venous and other ectopic foci to achieve dominance over cardiac rhythm. Developmental changes in determinants of cardiac rhythm are explored as possible determinants of the range of rhythms expressed by the heart. By understanding the mechanisms for these behavior patterns, we may obtain new means for manipulating memory to return dysrhythmic hearts to normal sinus rhythm.
Structure, Regulation, and Function of Mammalian Membrane Guanylyl Cyclase Receptors, With a Focus on Guanylyl Cyclase-A
Authors: Kuhn Michaela
Published: October 2003

Besides soluble guanylyl cyclase (GC), the receptor for NO, there are at least seven plasma membrane enzymes that synthesize the second-messenger cGMP. All membrane GCs (GC-A through GC-G) share a basic topology, which consists of an extracellular ligand binding domain, a short transmembrane region, and an intracellular domain that contains the catalytic (GC) region. Although the presence of the extracellular domain suggests that all these enzymes function as receptors, specific ligands have been identified for only three of them (GC-A through GC-C). GC-A mediates the endocrine effects of atrial and B-type natriuretic peptides regulating arterial blood pressure and volume homeostasis and also local antihypertrophic actions in the heart. GC-B is a specific receptor for C-type natriuretic peptide, having more of a paracrine function in vascular regeneration and endochondral ossification. GC-C mediates the effects of guanylin and uroguanylin on intestinal electrolyte and water transport and on epithelial cell growth and differentiation. GC-E and GC-F are colocalized within the same photoreceptor cells of the retina and have an important role in phototransduction. Finally, the functions of GC-D (located in the olfactory neuroepithelium) and GC-G (expressed in highest amounts in lung, intestine, and skeletal muscle) are completely unknown. This review discusses the structure and functions of membrane GCs, with special emphasis on the physiological endocrine and cardiac functions of GC-A, the regulation of hormone-dependent GC-A activity, and the relevance of alterations of the atrial natriuretic peptide/GC-A system to cardiovascular diseases.
A new fossil species of Euleptes from the early Miocene of Montaigu, France (Reptilia, Gekkonidae)
Authors: Müller Johannes
Published: October 2003

A new fossil leaf-toed gecko, Euleptes gallica sp. nov., is described from the early Miocene locality Montaigu, France. The species is the third record of leaf-toed geckos in the early Miocene of Europe. A palaeobiogeographical interpretation suggests that the modern form is a relic endemite of the western Mediterranean region which survived the extinction of its congeneric relatives by being isolated on the Corso-Sardinian microplate, which left its former position at the beginning of the Miocene.
Neoliberalism and Nature: The Case of the WTO
Authors: Hartwick Elaine , Peet Richard
Published: October 2003

Political pressures exerted by environmental movements have forced governments otherwise committed to neoliberal policies to find reconciliatory policy positions between two contradictory political imperatives—economic growth and environmental protection. This article explores some ideological means of reconciliation, as with notions of sustainable development, which appear to bridge the impassable divide, and some of the institutional means for dealing with contradiction, as with the displacement of political power upward, away from elected national governments and toward international agreements and nonelected global governance institutions. Through these two strategic maneuvers, the authors argue, environmental concern has been ideologically and institutionally incorporated into the global neoliberal hegemony of the late twentieth century. The global capitalist economy can grow, if not with clear environmental conscience, then with one effectively assuaged. This process of neoliberal deflection is illustrated using the case of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the World Trade Organization.
Sustainable Development and Urban Growth in the Argentine Pampas Region
Authors: Morello Jorge , Matteucci Silvia Diana , Rodríguez Andrea
Published: October 2003

This article describes the conflict between rural and urban development in the Pampa Ondulada (Rolling Pampas), the ecological region in which the city of Buenos Aires is located, which is one of the world's richest and most productive agricultural areas. It describes the ecological changes brought by urban growth in periurban and rural areas between 1869 and 1991. It also includes an analysis of the social and economical changes during the past decade (1991-2001) and their effect on ecological services. The article ends with a discussion of the lack of planning over the expansion process of the urban agglomeration, including the so-called suburbia settlements of the middle and upper classes and the speculative pricing of land in advance of its development.
Environmental Activism and Social Networks: Campaigning for Bicycles and Alternative Transport in West London
Authors: Batterbury Simon
Published: October 2003

A key element of sustainable development in cities is the implementation of more effective, less polluting, and equitable transportation policy. This article examines the role of activist organizations promoting transport alternatives in London, Britain's capital city and its largest metropolitan area. Major national, citywide, and local policy changes have permitted citizens' groups to work more actively with progressive elements in government planning, breaking down citizen-expert divides. In West London, the most congested sector of the metropolis, an environmentally based social network, the Ealing Cycling Campaign, promotes cycling as a sustain-able transport alternative. Its strategies require active cooperation with the local state rather than radical opposition to it, raising questions about the oppositional stance more commonly found among urban social movements. Environmental citizenship needs to be founded on social realities and conduced in mainstream political systems if it is to be effective in complex urban environments.
The Paradox of Sustainability: Reflections on NGOs in Bangladesh
Authors: Devine Joseph
Published: October 2003

Drawing on research from Bangladesh, this article questions the dominance of a narrow view of sustainability that rests predominantly on financial considerations. The push for financial sustainability has produced ambiguous results and, more important, has also introduced a degree of uncertainty into the relationship nongovernmental organizations maintain with their members. This article will argue that in the context of Bangladesh, an accurate notion of sustainability rests more on social and political considerations than on economic ones. Fundamental tensions exist between social/political and economic considerations, and paradoxically, the relentless pursuit of one may undermine efforts to establish the other. The article therefore seeks to subject the logic and validity of efforts to promote sustainability among nongovernmental organizations in Bangladesh to theoretical and empirical scrutiny.
Poverty, Sustainability, and the Culture of Despair: Can Sustainable Development Strategies Support Poverty Alleviation in America's Most Environmentally Challenged Communities?
Authors: Glasmeier Amy K. , Farrigan Tracey L.
Published: October 2003

Appalachia is considered one of the nation's poorest areas. Many communities live in isolation. The material use of the natural landscape has affected citizens' views of the viability of and potential for sustainable resource practices. In many resource dependent communities, land is externally owned and controlled. Despite living and working in areas with enormous natural resource wealth, residents have only limited access to these resources. Recognizing the inability of conventional practice to resolve many of the development problems confronting communities in distress, a series of new policy initiatives are focusing on building sustainable community capacity from the ground up. Can notions of sustainability be used as a means of redistributing power and access to natural resources, or does the peculiar fate of a region, tied to massive natural resource extraction, eliminate such potential?
Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen as Growth Poles: Regional Industrial Development in Thailand and its Implications for Urban Sustainability
Authors: Glassman Jim , Sneddon Chris
Published: October 2003

This article examines the concept of urban sustainability within the context of two case studies from Thailand. The Thai state, under the auspices of its development planning agencies, identified the secondary cities of Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen as growth poles in the 1970s. As such, both cities were perceived as engines of regional development in their respective regions of North and Northeast Thailand. The authors critically examine how the strategies of decentralization of industrial growth and development of secondary urban centers, ostensibly to alleviate congestion and pollution in Bangkok, have been deployed in the context of urban primacy and uneven development in Thailand. They argue that these policies have helped induce some growth in the secondary cities in question but that in doing so, they have induced new problems of sustainability in the secondary cities and their surrounding rural areas without alleviating problems of sustainability in Bangkok.
The Links between Poverty and the Environment in Urban Areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Authors: Satterthwaite David
Published: October 2003

This article suggests that there is little evidence of urban poverty being a significant contributor to environmental degradation but strong evidence that urban environmental hazards are major contributors to urban poverty. The article considers the link between poverty and different categories of environmental hazards (biological pathogens, chemical pollutants, and physical hazards). It then considers the links between poverty and high use of nonrenewable resources, degradation of renewable resources such as soil and fresh water, and high levels of biodegradable and nonbiodegradable waste generation. This shows how environmental degradation is more associated with the consumption patterns of middle-and upper-income groups and the failure of governments to implement effective environmental policies than with urban poverty. The article also highlights how good governance is at the core of poverty reduction and how meeting the environmental health needs of poorer groups need not imply greater environmental degradation.
An Innovative Combination of Neoliberalism and State Corporatism: The Case of a Locally Based NGO in Mexico City
Authors: Magazine Roger
Published: October 2003

Nongovernmental organizations are frequently represented as the agents of international organizations, slaves to a singular neoliberal development paradigm imposed from above. In this article, the author describes a locally based nongovernmental organization in Mexico City that eludes such critiques by innovatively combining aspects of neoliberalism with elements of state corporatism. In its effort to improve the lives of street children and impoverished families, the organization borrows from neoliberalism its distrust of government and other potentially paternalistic institutions. Mean-while, it rejects neoliberalism's reliance on the market and attempts to empower families and communities to act as intermediaries between individuals and the ravages of global capitalism.
NGOs and Production of Indigenous Knowledge Under the Condition of Postmodernity
Authors: Fernando Jude L.
Published: October 2003

Indigenous knowledge (IK), experienced in development, is a product of a set of institutions often external to where they are located. The results of the use of IK in sustainable development are another example of capitalism's capacity to configure development according to its own imperatives. Rather than being an instrument of sustainable development, IK has become a means through which the diversity of knowledge systems and the embedded cultures in which they exist are disciplined and managed according to capital's need to expand. The collaborative role played by the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in this process is obscured by their use of the seductive language of empowerment of marginalized social groups. NGOs' interventions run counter to the interests of the people they claim to serve. The challenge to work towards an alternative institutional environment that could liberate the use of IK from being determined by the ideology and institutions of capitalism.
Transparency Versus Collective Action
Authors: Carey John M.
Published: October 2003

During the 1990s, the Peruvian Congress was thoroughly dominated by the presidential administration of Alberto Fujimori. In 2000, during the scandals that brought down Fujimori and his associates, the legislature was exposed as riddled with corruption. In the wake of these events, one might expect the congress to be thoroughly discredited and institutionally weakened. I argue that the Peruvian Congress made significant strides toward legislative transparency and strengthening the accountability of individual legislators to voters and that, ironically, some of the key steps in this direction were taken during the Fujimori era. This same trend, however, presents potential obstacles to collective action in the legislature. I support these claims with analysis of changes in the legislative party and coalition system from the late 1990s through the transition, examination of legislative voting patterns, and interviews with key actors inside and outside congress.
Understanding Adoptive Families
Authors: O'Brien Karen M. , Zamostny Kathy P.
Published: October 2003

Contrary to societal stereotypes about adoption, this integrative review of published empirical research on adoptive families noted several positive and few negative out-comes with regard to satisfaction with the adoption, familial functioning, and parent-child communication. The critical analysis of 38 studies on adoptive families revealed a prevalence of descriptive passive research designs with concomitant concerns regarding sampling and generalizability. However, despite their limitations, the studies form the foundation for future research that, if replicated, provide support for viewing most adoptive families as resilient. To contribute to the empirical literature on adoption, counseling psychologists should base research in theory, study societal and cultural factors affecting adoptive families, improve methodology, and focus on resiliency and successful out-comes for adoptive families.
Leadership in Division 17
Authors: Fouad Nadya A. , Helledy Kristin Ihle , Metz A. J.
Published: October 2003

Themes of Division 17 presidential addresses from 1984to 2002, published in The Counseling Psychologist , were examined using a grounded theory approach. Sorting and coding of the data yielded six major categories: distinctiveness of counseling psychology, disappointments/missed opportunities, successes, foundations of counseling psychology, outside influences, and future recommendations. Review of the coding provided identification of underlying dimensions. Specifically, the connections that emerged from the qualitative analysis are explained using a grid with “identity” on a temporal x-axis (from who we are to who we want to be) and “actions” on a functional y-axis (from internal to the division to externally focused). The combined messages or stories of the Division 17 presidents may provide insight into the forces that have influenced counseling psychology over the last 2 decades.
Adoption
Authors: Friedlander Myrna L.
Published: October 2003

Implications are discussed in response to the Major Contribution in this issue reviewing the history, controversies, and theoretical and research literature related to adoption. Practice recommendations for therapists working with adopted children and their families are clustered around three prominent themes in the reviews by Lee, O'Brien and Zamostny, and Zamostny, O'Brien, Baden, and Wiley: variability in experience, resilience, and social context.
The Affirmative Action and Social Policy Views of a Select Group of White Male Private High School Students
Authors: Thompson Franklin T.
Published: October 2003

This study investigates race views of students from a Midwestern, predominantly White, all-male high school. Findings corroborate a belief that students at the pre-sophomore college level lack a proper understanding of affirmative action (AA). Forty-three percent ( n = 266) lacked knowledge altogether, whereas 30% ( n = 188) opposed AA as a job hiring and promotion (out-come) measure. Conversely, a majority of students ( n = 394, 65%) supported AA as an academic scholarship (front-end) measure, compared to those opposed ( n = 188, 30%). When using a .05 alpha criterion, significant differences were shown for relationships between (a) job-hiring AA and age of student, grade average, and four selected social policy variables, and (b) academic scholarship AA and five of the social welfare indices. Five of the eleven relationships disappeared, however, when a stricter .01 rule was applied. In spite of the school's elitist reputation, students were supportive of multicultural education, adding credence to the argument that blatant racism is not the only factor that drives the antiracial preference movement.
The Nature of Urban School Politics after Brown
Authors: Hunter Richard C. , Donahoo Saran
Published: October 2003

This article discusses the political nature of urban school districts, the job of the urban school superintendents, and the impact Brown v. Board of Education continues to have on urban school districts. It begins by examining demographic changes experienced in many urban areas since the Brown decision. The article also pays special attention to the impact “White flight,” federal and state education policy, and school takeovers have on the political nature and structure of big-city school districts and their leadership. It concludes with a brief overview of the role parents play in the new politics of urban education and some issues current and future urban school superintendents must consider as they accept these positions.
Cognitive Theories, Prior Knowledge, and Anchored Instruction on Mathematical Problem Solving and Transfer
Authors: Serafino Kathleen , Cicchelli Terry
Published: October 2003

Using constructivist theories as a framework, this study tested the effects of prior knowledge and two models (structured problem solving, SPS, and guided generation, GG) of anchored instruction on student mathematical problem solving and transfer to an analogous task. Two groups ( N = 50) of randomly assigned students to treatments were taught by 2 teachers for 15 days, using tasks in the Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series. ANOVA and t tests showed a significant main effect for prior knowledge, significant differences on transfer to analogous tasks, a significant difference between groups on transfer favoring the GG model, and a significant interaction between low priors and the GG treatment on transfer. In particular, findings showing learning success in mathematics problem solving with low prior achievers support the notion of encouraging and expanding this line of research with at-risk learners.
The Role of Networks in Fundamental Organizational Change
Authors: Mohrman Susan Albers , Tenkasi Ramkrishnan V. , Mohrman Allan M.
Published: October 2003

Utilizing a grounded-theory approach, this study examines 8 organizations and finds that social networks make a difference in the capability of organizations to implement fundamental organizational change. Specifically, this study examines whether networks enable the learning required for local units to develop the new schemata—understandings, behaviors, and interaction patterns—required to adopt and appropriate planned organization-wide change. A mixture of organization-wide and local learning networks in organizations successfully implemented change, whereas the unsuccessful organizations relied primarily on hierarchical change implementation networks. In accelerated change units compared to those that are lagging, a greater abundance and diversity of networks, strong and weak, internal and external, and across system levels were found. These network connections facilitate change implementation not only by sharing information but also by providing the capabilities to exchange and combine knowledge and by enabling local self-design.
Network Conditions for Organizational Change
Authors: McGrath Cathleen , Krackhardt David
Published: October 2003

Understanding the overall network structure of organizations can help managers to support change. This article describes three different network theories of change, exploring the underlying assumptions and implications of each model. First, the E-I model predicts that cross-departmental friendship ties will help generate positive response to change in organizations by fostering trust and shared identity. The viscosity model predicts that introducing controversial (not clearly good or bad) change into the periphery of an organization and carefully regulating the interaction of innovators and nonadopters provides the best chance that it will diffuse successfully. Finally, the structural leverage theory presents a mathematical model that supports broad diffusion of clearly superior change, informing as many people as possible about the change.
Social Networks and Planned Organizational Change
Authors: Tenkasi Ramkrishnan V. , Chesmore Marshal C.
Published: October 2003

This study of 40 units in a large multinational corporation considers the influence of the density of networks of strong ties on the implementation of planned organizational change between organizational units and unit leaders in both a change implementation and a change recipient network. Also examined are the effects of the density of networks of strong ties within the change recipient network of units and unit leaders on the use of change. The results suggest the need for implementers of change to create strong ties with the change recipient units for successful change implementation. Both unit level and unit leader density of strong ties within the change recipient unit network were significant predictors of change use, indicating that both unit members and unit leaders may play central but independent roles in influencing the change use process. Implications for using social network analysis in planned organizational change are discussed.
Intergroup Differences and their Impact on African American Teachers
Authors: Mabokela Reitumetse Obakeng , Madsen Jean A.
Published: October 2003

This article examines how intergroup differences within suburban desegregated schools affect the professional experiences of African American teachers. The culture within an organization strongly influences how European Americans will treat their minority counterparts. Because the majority establishes the work norms, a uniform set of rules and regulations by which people of color are expected to comply exists. Tensions of intergroup conflict become apparent among groups of teachers if only one or a few teachers of color are present in the entire school. Thus, African American teachers in these contexts are subjected to performance pressures, bear the burden of representing their race, and become role entrapped.
Preservice Teachers' Attitudes Toward Teaching African American Students
Authors: Bakari Rosenna
Published: October 2003

Data were collected on a total of 415 students enrolled in teacher education programs at six universities. This study consisted of data collected from three subsamples based on the type of institution participants attended. Group 1 consisted of preservice teachers from a public, predominantly White university; the university had no specific requirements related to teaching culturally diverse students. Group 2 consisted of preservice teachers from historically Black colleges and universities. Group 3 included preservice teachers from private, predominantly White universities. Results revealed that the means for all groups were lower on the Cultural Sensitivity Toward Teaching African American Students subscale than the Willingness to Teach African American Students subscale. In addition, the mean score for Group 2 on the Willingness to Teach African American Students subscale was higher than the means for Groups 1 and 3. All of these results were statistically significant (p < .001).
Self/Inner Development of Educational Administrators
Authors: Metzger Christa
Published: October 2003

This national study of 128 superintendents from urban, large-city schools and college of education deans investigates strategies for coping with stress through self/inner development. Participants defined self/inner development as: balance, self-actualization, values, personal improvement, inner focus, and relationships. Self/inner development terms used most frequently in the workplace were: values , ethics , heart , love , morals , spirit , and meaning of life . Practices most often used include: physical activities, reading, music, meditation, silence and solitude, and dream work. Participants also shared suggestions for how to find time for these practices. Self/inner development should be incorporated into university administrator preparation programs and in-service professional development using mentoring, modeling, and dialogue. Implications are important to addressing shortages, frequent turnover, and burnout of leaders.
Translating Theoretical Ideas into Modern State Reform
Authors: Aberbach Joel D. , Christensen Tom
Published: October 2003

Reform ideas inspired by the new institutional economics have swept the world. This article examines three perspectives on organizing government and civil service. The individual-economic model draws on market theories. It emphasizes institutional arrangements designed to harness individual self-interest to achieve overall efficiency. The collectivist model stresses a centralized state, collective goals, and cultural integration. The pluralist model celebrates a vital group life and sees heterogeneous interests as properly reflected in a public sector characterized by institutional variety. We analyze the three as guides to reform, with emphasis on the individual-economic model, and argue that each applies best under certain conditions.
Entrepreneurs or Conservators?
Authors: Kalu Kalu N.
Published: October 2003

There remains a continuing debate as to whether administrative leaders and bureaucrats in the public sector should operate as private sector entrepreneurs or should be seen as the conservators of our constitutional values and the principles on which this country is based. The ideational discourse between the reinventing government movement and the conservator-ship paradigm continues to resonate a yet-unresolved intellectual crisis in public administration. The real conservators of American constitutional and administrative values are not the individuals who man her offices; rather, it is society in general that must assimilate and articulate these values. Bureaucrats come and go, but society remains essentially what it is. Rather than conservators or entrepreneurs, bureaucrats are “contracted” custodians of our administrative values but not the repository of those values. By drawing on the principal-agency thesis, this paper offers an alternate premise—the contractarian approach—for assessing bureaucratic accountability in public administrative practice.
Balancing Margin and Mission
Authors: Chetkovich Carol , Frumkin Peter
Published: October 2003

Competition in the nonprofit world has intensified in recent years, and nonprofit managers are challenged to devise strategies that will serve both organizational needs and public interest. We propose a framework for thinking about nonprofit competition based on the intersection of two dimensions: the domain of competition, which can be either fee-based or donative activities; and the competitive strategy, which can be either price- or differentiation-based. The experience of the American Red Cross, a prominent nonprofit organization facing competition in both fee-based and donative domains, provides data for the elaboration of the framework and for tentative conclusions about the implications of nonprofit competition for both margin and mission.
Location, Location, Location: The Misprediction of Satisfaction in Housing Lotteries
Authors: Dunn Elizabeth W. , Wilson Timothy D. , Gilbert Daniel T.
Published: October 2003

People tend to overestimate the emotional consequences of future life events, exhibiting an impact bias. The authors replicated the impact bias in a real-life context in which undergraduates were randomly assigned to dormitories (or “houses”). Participants appeared to focus on the wrong factors when imagining their future happiness in the houses. They placed far greater weight on highly variable physical features than on less variable social features in predicting their future happiness in each house, despite accurately recognizing that social features were more important than physical features when asked explicitly about the determinants of happiness. In Experiment 2, we found that this discrepancy emerged in part because participants exhibited an isolation effect, focusing too much on factors that distinguished between houses and not enough on factors that varied only slightly, such as social features.
Fostering Group Identification and Creativity in Diverse Groups: The Role of Individuation and Self-Verification
Authors: Swann William B. , Kwan Virginia S. Y. , Polzer Jeffrey T. , Milton Laurie P.
Published: October 2003

A longitudinal study examined the interplay of identity negotiation processes and diversity in small groups of master's of business administration (MBA) students. When perceivers formed relatively positive impressions of other group members, higher diversity predicted more individuation of targets. When perceivers formed relatively neutral impressions of other group members, however, higher diversity predicted less individuation of targets. Individuation at the outset of the semester predicted self-verification effects several weeks later, and self-verification, in turn, predicted group identification and creative task performance. The authors conclude that contrary to self-categorization theory, fostering individuation and self-verification in diverse groups may maximize group identification and productivity.
Egocentrism, Event Frequency, and Comparative Optimism: When what Happens Frequently is “More Likely to Happen to Me”
Authors: Chambers John R. , Windschitl Paul D. , Suls Jerry
Published: October 2003

Three studies investigated the role of nonmotivated egocentric processes in comparative optimism (and pessimism). According to an egocentric-processes account, when people judge their com-parative likelihood of experiencing an event (e.g., “Compared to the average person, how likely are you to become wealthy?”), they consider their own chances of experiencing the event more so than the referent's chances. This should produce higher comparative estimates when an event's absolute frequency is high rather than low—a prediction supported in Study 1, which manipulated event frequency through a novel, time frame manipulation. Study 2 empirically distinguished egocentrism from a related focalism account. In Study 3, comparative estimates were related to the perceived frequency of events, independent of the events' perceived desirability and controllability. Path analyses provided additional support for egocentrism, and systematic cases of comparative pessimism were observed as predicted by the egocentric-processes account.
Predicting the Subjective Experience of Intrinsic Motivation: The Roles of Self-Determination, the Balance of Challenges and Skills, and Self-Realization Values
Authors: Waterman Alan S. , Schwartz Seth J. , Goldbacher Edie , Green Hope , Miller Christine , Philip Susheel
Published: October 2003

A series of studies was conducted to investigate the contributions of self-determination, perceived competence, and self-realization values to the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation. Using varying sets of instructions in these studies, college undergraduates generated and subsequently evaluated panels of identity-related activities. Three measures of the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation were used as outcome variables: (a) interest, (b) flow experiences, and (c) feelings of personal expressive-ness. These subjective experience measures were strongly intercorrelated. Across studies, self-determination was found to be strongly associated with all of the subjective experience measures. In contrast, self-realization values made larger contributions to flow experiences and to personal expressiveness than to interest. Perceived competence, although significantly correlated with all subjective experience measures, played a considerably smaller role in the prediction of intrinsic motivation.
Relations with Grandparents
Authors: King Valarie , Silverstein Merril , Elder Glen H. , Bengtson Vern L. , Conger Rand D.
Published: October 2003

The rapid growth of urban settlements in the United States has profound but largely unexplored implications for children's relations with grandparents. Rural settlements in the Midwest frequently became a stepping stone to residence in far western states. We examine whether and how relations with grandparents differs for young people in rural farm and nonfarm regions of the Midwest (using the Iowa Youth and Families Project—IYFP) and in urban Southern California (using the Longitudinal Study of Generations—LSOG). Rural youth enjoy more frequent contact with paternal grandparents and receive more help from all grandparents than urban youth. Farm adolescents have even more contact and receive more help from paternal grandparents than rural nonfarm age-mates. Levels of conflict are low across ecologies, although urban youth report higher levels of conflict with maternal grandmothers than rural youth. Even with controls, the relationship of young Americans with their grandparents varies significantly by rural-urban ecology.
Relations between Identity Formation and Family Characteristics among Young Adults
Authors: Mullis Ronald L. , Brailsford John C. , Mullis Ann K.
Published: October 2003

Relations between identity formation and family characteristics among young adults were examined. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales II and the Ego Process Questionnaire were administered to 57 male and 94 female college students between the ages of 18 and 25. There were 78 Caucasian and 73 African American youth. Significant relations were found between identity exploration and commitment, and family cohesion and adaptability. In addition, moderating effects of race and gender also were found for relations between identity formation and family variables for this sample of young adults. African American participants were found to explore interpersonally more often than Caucasians when family cohesion and family adaptability were low. Family cohesion was positively related to interpersonal and ideological identity commitments for males but only for interpersonal commitment for females. Implications for future research are addressed.
The Relationship between Maternal Gatekeeping, Paternal Competence, Mothers' Attitudes about the Father Role, and Father Involvement
Authors: Fagan Jay , Barnett Marina
Published: October 2003

This study explored the relationships between maternal gatekeeping, mothers' perceptions of father competence, mothers' attitudes about the father role, and amount of father involvement. The sample consisted of 30 nonresidential and 72 residential fathers. The results of path analysis revealed that residential status of the father had a direct link to mothers' gatekeeping behavior. Father competence was indirectly and directly linked to amount of father involvement with children. Gatekeeping mediated the relationship between father competence and involvement. Maternal gatekeeping was causally linked to amount of father involvement.
Marital Satisfaction and Religious Heterogamy
Authors: Williams Lee M. , Lawler Michael G.
Published: October 2003

Using a national sample of Christians, this study compared interchurch and same-church respondents on several relationship variables and explored possible predictors of marital satisfaction. Interchurch and same-church respondents were not different on marital satisfaction or other nonreligious relationship variables but were different on several religious relationship variables. The relationship between marital satisfaction and religious heterogamy was dependent on how religious heterogamy was operationalized. Communication was the most important predictor of marital satisfaction for both interchurch and same-church respondents. Parenting variables were also predictive of marital satisfaction for both interchurch and same-church respondents.
A Symposium
Authors: Rachal John R.
Published: October 2003

In Plato's Symposium , Socrates and friends gather for a dinner and drinking party at the home of Agathon of Athens to discuss love in all its degrees. Similarly, but without the boundaries of time and space, several historical figures gather here to discuss whether acquiring knowledge is possible and if so, what might constitute it as well as the best means by which it can be conveyed and acquired. They also arrive at some consensus that the three greatest of history's teachers (who happen to be among them) directed their teaching to adults. Not being time-bound, they freely discuss, usually congenially, their own often divergent views from their own time and works but are aware of and sometimes address each other's works and related issues of the present day. They (as well as the recorder of their dialogue) ask that the reader indulge them in this suspension of disbelief.
Literacy, Imagined Nations, and Imperialism: Frontier College and the Construction of British Canada, 1899-1933
Authors: Walter Pierre
Published: October 2003

Print capitalism, languages-of-power, and the development of widespread literacy have been understood to be key historical forces in the construction of imagined national communities(Anderson). In Canada, the convergence of the newspaper publishing industry, English as a language-of-power, and literacy set the stage in the late 19th century for the emergence of an imagined Canadian nation, embedded both in Anglo-Protestant ideals of identity and British imperialist aspirations. Frontier College, in providing literacy and citizenship education to laboring immigrant men on the resource frontier, was the quintessential embodiment of the grand project of Anglo-Canadian nation building. Based on research in the Frontier College fonds of the Canadian National Archives, this article discusses the nature of the imagined community constructed in the literacy programs of Frontier College from 1899 to 1933, the means by which this image was promoted, and the particular conceptions of race, class, and gender that shaped it.
Poetic Expressions of Vigilance
Authors: Carr Jeanine M.
Published: October 2003

In this article, the author explores poetic transcription as an experimental form of writing. Her previous ethnographic research, in which she explored the experience of vigilance for family members who stayed at the bedside of hospitalized relatives, provided the qualitative data for the poetic compositions. In this article, she describes the background and rationale for the research, the findings, and her use of the data to transcribe them into poetic expressions of the lived experience of vigilance.
Life with an Indwelling Urinary Catheter: The Dialectic of Stigma and Acceptance
Authors: Wilde Mary H.
Published: October 2003

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology was to describe and interpret the lived experience of long-term users of urinary catheters. Living with a urinary catheter involved a dialectical swing between acknowledgment that the catheter was “a part of me” and feelings of alienation and vulnerability when it was experienced as a stigma. Themes include Adjusting to embodied changes by perceiving the catheter as a “part of me,” Shame and responding to shame by normalizing, and Embarrassment and coping with embarrassment by humor. Providers can minimize stigma related to the visibility of the catheter by coaching patients in strategies to manage going out of the home with a minimum of urine accidents or by helping develop ways to conceal the urine bag.
Negotiation in Type 2 Diabetes Counseling: From Problem Recognition to Mutual Acceptance During Lifestyle Counseling
Authors: Karhila Päivi , Kettunen Tarja , Poskiparta Marita , Liimatainen Leena
Published: October 2003

Negotiation, an essential communication activity in lifestyle counseling, has rarely been studied at the micro level of interaction. Furthermore, the evidence for interpersonal negotiation to occur in counseling practice is inconclusive. In this study, the authors describe how negotiation focused on lifestyle changes was produced in nurse-patient interaction. The research data, 73 videotaped diabetes counseling situations, were analyzed using conversation analysis. The process of negotiation consisted of recognizing the problems in the patients' health behavior, offering proposals as solutions to the problems, and reaching an agreement on them. Negotiation had characteristics similar to those mentioned in the literature, but there were also prominent inadequacies. The authors suggest that nurses might need to become more aware of their counseling practices in routine situations through conscious effort for self-evaluation. In addition, further research would be required to demonstrate the effectiveness of negotiation for facilitating changes in patients' health behavior.
Home Remedies for Type 2 Diabetes Used by Mexican Americans in El Paso, Texas
Authors: Poss Jane E. , Jezewski Mary Ann , Stuart Armando Gonzalez
Published: October 2003

The purpose of this article is to examine the use of herbal remedies to treat Type 2 diabetes among Mexican Americans in El Paso County, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border. Interviews were conducted in Spanish with 22 Mexican American adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Open-ended questions were used to elicit the participants' beliefs about the appropriate treatment of Type 2 diabetes, including both Western biomedical and herbal therapy. Kleinman's explanatory model of illness served as the framework, and the grounded theory method was used for data analysis. A majority of participants were taking prescribed Western medications in conjunction with traditional Mexican folk remedies. Participants relied on the advice of family, friends, and neighbors to provide them with guidance, and some herbs used by participants were not indicated for the treatment of diabetes. Health care providers should be aware that Mexican American clients may make choices about herbal remedies without expert guidance and advice.