bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review article: sleep and its relationship to gastro‐oesophageal reflux
Authors: Orr W. C. , Heading R. , Johnson L. F. , Kryger M.
Published: November 2004

Gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is among the most common gastrointestinal conditions in the USA. For most symptomatic patients, reflux events occur during both daytime and night‐time hours. Whereas daytime reflux events tend to be frequent but brief, reflux events that occur during sleep are comparatively less frequent but significantly longer. Longer oesophageal acid‐clearance and acid‐mucosal contact times during sleep are at least partly due to several physiological changes associated with sleep, including dramatic declines in saliva production and frequency of swallowing, decreased conscious perception of heartburn and consequent arousal and clearance behaviours, and slower gastric emptying. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and obesity seem to predispose some patients to nocturnal GERD, and the presence of either of these conditions may help to identify patients with symptoms consistent with GERD. Recognition and treatment of night‐time GERD are important because it can be associated with decreased quality of life (including sleep disruption) and increased risk of serious oesophageal and respiratory complications.
On the road to nowhere? Young disabled people and transition
Authors: Beresford B.
Published: November 2004

Background  A key issue, and one known to be highly problematic and challenging, concerns the transition of young disabled people from children's services to adult services, and from childhood to adulthood. To inform its recommendations on this issue, the Disabled Children's External Working Group (EWG) for the Children's NSF commissioned a review of research on young disabled people and transition.

Methods  Given the preponderance of grey literature in this area, database searches were supplemented by hand searching of key journals and contacts with key individuals, research units, publishers and funding bodies in order to identify relevant literature on the experiences of transition from the perspectives of young people, parents and practitioners; the outcomes of transition; and evaluations of services provided during this life‐stage.

Results  The evidence available with regard to transitions of young disabled people provides a clear and consistent picture of the way transitions are currently experienced by young disabled people and their families. There is limited evidence on what works to ensure smooth transitions between services and positive outcomes of transition for the young people themselves.

Conclusions  Existing research is very persuasive on the need to improve transitions for young disabled people. It can also be used to provide clues as to the sorts of support and service configurations that need to be in place to ensure positive transitions. However, further research is needed both at the level of specific service/service model evaluation as well as holistic, longitudinal work to provide evidence on the long‐term outcomes of young disabled people as they move into adulthood.
Improving services for disadvantaged childbearing women
Authors: D’Souza L. , Garcia J.
Published: November 2004

Background  Tackling health inequalities is high on the political agenda of the Labour government. The government wants to reduce inequalities through policies based on evidence, the health of childbearing women and their babies being priority areas for action. National Service Frameworks (NSFs) are being set up to ensure high quality services for all groups. The External Working Group looking into maternity services for the Children's NSF seeks evidence upon which to plan strategies for all women, while focusing attention on the most disadvantaged. Wide differentials are noted between high‐ and low‐income groups in the outcomes of pregnancy and the health of babies. The worst outcomes appear to be concentrated in small subgroups of disadvantaged women.

Aim  To report on a review of studies of interventions improving perinatal outcomes for disadvantaged women, to inform policy and practice around the organization and delivery of statutory services in the UK.

Method  We searched six relevant databases for reviews, intervention studies, audits and descriptions of services reporting outcomes for disadvantaged groups of women, published between 1990 and 2003. Synthesis was performed around what works and what does not work. Gaps in the evidence base were identified.

Results  We found limited evidence of effective and promising interventions for childbearing women from minority ethnic groups, women experiencing domestic violence, women with mental health illness and HIV infected women. Few studies were well‐designed or powered to detect effectiveness. There were no studies of interventions for women prisoners, homeless women and travellers.

Conclusions  Searching for intervention studies primarily by participant subgroup has brought in evidence from few well‐designed studies on which to plan policy. Combining this approach with searching for intervention studies addressing behaviour like smoking, and needs like social support, may provide further evidence to tackle inequalities in the perinatal period.
Promoting and protecting the health of children and young people
Authors: Licence K.
Published: November 2004

Background  The health‐related behaviours adopted by children and young people can have both immediate and long‐term health effects. Health promotion interventions that target children and young people can lay the foundations of a healthy lifestyle that may be sustained into adulthood. This paper is based on a selective review of evidence relating to health promotion in childhood, carried out to support the external working group on the ‘Healthy Child’ module of the Children's National Service Framework.

Methods  This is a selective review of mainly secondary research. It focuses on injury prevention, support for parenting and the promotion of good mental health, and promoting a healthy diet and physical activity amongst children and young people.

Findings  In many areas, the quality of primary research into health promotion interventions aimed at children and young people is poor. Interventions are heterogeneous and not described in sufficient detail. Sample sizes tend to be small, and there are commonly problems of bias. Despite these difficulties, there is good evidence for a range of interventions, including (1) area road safety schemes; (2) combining a variety of approaches to the promotion of the use of safety equipment, including legislation and enforcement, loan/assisted purchase/giveaway schemes, education, fitting and maintenance of safety equipment; (3) school‐based mental health promotion; (4) parenting support; (5) interventions that promote and facilitate ‘lifestyle’ activity for children, such as walking and cycling to school, and those that aim to reduce sedentary behaviours such as parent education to reduce the time children spend watching TV and using computers; and (6) controlling advertising of unhealthy food that is aimed at children.

Conclusions There are effective interventions to promote and protect the health of children and young people that require action across the five areas described in the Ottawa Charter. Health, social care and education services have a direct role in the delivery of many of these interventions and, in other areas, a role in collaborative work with other agencies, in lobbying for policy change and in raising the profile of child health promotion. Further research is needed using larger study populations, and closely defined interventions, both targeted and universal, in order to fill some of the current gaps in the evidence base for health promotion in children and young people.
Growing up in disadvantage: a systematic review of the qualitative evidence
Authors: Attree P.
Published: November 2004

Background and objectives  Childhood disadvantage has lasting negative effects on children's health and well‐being. However, the impact of poverty and associated disadvantage on children's lives as children is under‐researched. This paper reviews a small, but important, group of qualitative studies that prioritize children's perspectives on growing up in disadvantage, exploring the social resources that they typically draw upon.

Methods  Systematic review methods were used to locate and appraise qualitative studies that take as their focus children‘s subjective accounts of living in disadvantage. Data from the studies were then synthesized using meta‐ethnographic methods.

Results  Children and young people describe aspects of family relationships, friendships and neighbourhoods that help to mitigate the impact of disadvantage on their well‐being. However, their accounts demonstrate that such resources are not always and unambignously experienced as supportive and protective.

Discussion  This systematic review highlights the value of social resources available to children living in poor circumstances, but also points up their limitations. Poverty, by its very nature, compromises the worth of these resources.
A numerical classification of reproductive guilds of the freshwater fishes of south‐eastern Australia and their application to river management
Authors: Growns I.
Published: November 2004

A comprehensive list of freshwater fishes from south‐eastern Australia is classified into five major reproductive guilds, based on numerical analysis of 13 life history or reproductive characteristics. The guilds defined generally support previously proposed, subjective life history‐based classifications of freshwater fish species in this region. The majority of species fell into two groups, with 18 and 19 species, and the remaining guilds each contained from 1 to 12 species. The most important biological characteristics that separated the major groups of species included: care of the eggs or young, the presence of adhesive or non‐adhesive eggs, serial or single spawning, and viviparity. Two of the main guilds could each be divided into two sub‐guilds mainly based upon the requirement for a spawning migration. The objective definition of reproductive guilds allows river and natural resource managers to consider the effects of changes in environmental management on groups of species that are likely to respond in similar ways.
Determining an optimal mesh size for use in the lampara net fishery for eastern sea garfish, Hyporhamphus australis
Authors: Stewart J. , Walsh C. , Reynolds D. , Kendall B. , Gray C.
Published: November 2004

Abstract  The selection properties of three experimental mesh sizes were examined in the lampara net fishery for eastern sea garfish, Hyporhamphus australis (Steindachner), in New South Wales, Australia. The sizes of fish retained in 25‐, 28‐ and 32‐mm mesh nets were compared with those retained in a control 12‐mm mesh net. The 25‐mm mesh net retained significant numbers of immature H. australis, the 28‐mm mesh net retained predominantly only mature fish and the 32‐mm mesh had very low catch rates. Catch rates decreased linearly with increasing mesh size and there was a significant linear relationship between mesh size and the 50% selection size (L50). Given this species is being overfished, the 28‐mm mesh size is recommended as the most appropriate for use in the fishery.
A systematic review of the effectiveness of oxygen in reducing acute myocardial ischaemia
Authors: Nicholson Christopher
Published: November 2004

Background.  Patients with acute cardiac chest pain receive oxygen as part of their treatment. Oxygen is given in the belief it will help to correct the oxygen demand – supply imbalance of acute myocardial ischaemia.

Aims and objectives.  The aim was to review the evidence base for the use of oxygen to treat acute myocardial ischaemia and the objective was to include all evidence of sufficient quality.

Design.  A systematic review was carried out to provide a thorough, transparent and replicable review process.

Methods.  The review included randomized and non‐randomized clinical trials; patients with acute coronary syndrome (unstable angina or acute myocardial infarction); and any outcome measurements of myocardial ischaemia.

Results.  Nine trials were found, of which two were randomized controlled trials and seven non‐randomized clinical trials. There were quality assessment concerns over the methodology, size and analysis within the trials. The effectiveness of oxygen in reducing myocardial ischaemia was unclear from the review, as the trials contained data that suggested oxygen reduced myocardial ischaemia, but also data that suggested it increased myocardial ischaemia.

Conclusions.  No definite conclusions could be drawn as to whether oxygen reduced, increased or had no effect on acute myocardial ischaemia. The papers were divided as to recommending oxygen use for all patients with acute myocardial ischaemia or not – although all agreed that patients with systemic hypoxaemia should have this corrected by oxygen administration. The key finding of the review was that there was insufficient evidence.

Relevance to clinical practice.  As oxygen is routinely administered to treat acute myocardial ischaemia, the lack of a clear supporting evidence base must be a source of concern. This is especially so as some of the evidence suggested oxygen may increase myocardial ischaemia. There is a need for experimental‐design clinical research to test the effectiveness of oxygen in reducing myocardial ischaemia.
Problems experienced during the first year of an acute traumatic hand injury – a prospective study
Authors: Gustafsson Margareta , Ahlström Gerd
Published: November 2004

Background.  Evidence‐based nursing of patients with acute traumatic hand injuries treated at the hand‐surgical clinic calls for knowledge about long‐term implications.

Aims and objectives.  The aim of the study was to investigate consequences of an acute traumatic hand injury during the first year after the accident. Specifically, the objectives were to investigate changes in the experience of physical and psychological problems over time, frequencies of remaining problems and the impact of the injury on work situation and life situation 1 year after the accident.

Design.  The study was prospective and followed the patients from the first weeks to 1 year after the accident.

Method.  Ninety‐one patients were assessed three times during the year. Each time the patients answered study‐specific questions, the Impact of Event Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Results.  Problems experienced decreased during the first 3 months but tended to remain unchanged during the rest of the year. In the 1‐year follow‐up, the majority of the patients experienced slight or moderate functional limitations in the hand, one‐third had symptoms of trauma‐related distress and one out of seven had troublesome pain. Half of the patients who had returned to work reported a worse work situation and 16% were still on the sick list. One‐third of all patients considered their whole life situation to be worse as a result of the injury. Patients with amputations more often experienced a worse life situation. Blue‐collar workers reported functional limitations and a worse life situation more often than white‐collar workers.

Conclusions.  Patients with acute traumatic hand injuries requiring surgical treatment may experience problems, such as functional limitations, trauma‐related distress and troublesome pain, with long‐term implications for their work situation and life situation.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Caring for hand‐injured patients should include, not only surgical treatment and other actions for restoring the function of the hand, but also preventive action and follow‐up of trauma‐related distress and pain.
ICD: a qualitative study of patient experience the first year after implantation
Authors: Kamphuis Helen CM , Verhoeven Nicole WJM , de Leeuw Rob , Derksen Richard , Hauer Richard NW , Winnubst Jacques AM
Published: November 2004

Background.  The experiences of how patients live with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator are still poorly understood. Only a few qualitative studies have investigated this phenomenon. This paper was undertaken as part of a larger project to evaluate quality of life and psychological well‐being in those survivors of cardiac arrest who have received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Aims and objectives.  The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients perceive their lives during the first year after implantation of the device.

Methods.  A sample of 21 patients who received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator was interviewed during three consecutive periods: one, six and 12 months postdischarge from the hospital. The semi‐structured interviews were based on insights gained from a literature review. The transcripts were subjected to content analysis.

Results.  Analysis of the data revealed seven major categories: physical deterioration, cognitive changes, perceived social support, dependency, contact with the doctor, confrontation with mortality and uncertainty surrounding having a shock. Anxiety, uncertainty, disappointment, frustration, unexpected barriers, acceptance of and dependency on the implantable cardioverter defibrillator played a major role in the lives of implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients. Well‐being improved throughout the year. During the first months after discharge from the hospital the focus was on regaining physical health. During the early postimplantation period both the implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipient and family members had adapted to the situation. Reflection on the impact and consequences of the cardiac arrest was reported more often in the late postimplantation period.

Conclusions.  Content analysis is a resourceful approach giving answers to questions that have hardly been addressed within the domain of cardiology. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients face a complex first year, especially the first 6 months. Cognitive deterioration and confrontation with mortality are problems that need to be researched further.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Caregivers are able to explain to future patients what they can expect in the first year after implantation. Caregivers may become more receptive to physical, psychological and social limitations and to emotional and social problems that occur in implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients, enabling them to act upon them.
Radio and near-infrared observations of the steep-spectrum Galactic plane radio source WKB 0314+57.8
Authors: Green D. A. , Lacy M. , Bhatnagar S. , Gates E. L. , Warner P. J.
Published: November 2004

Radio and near-infrared observations towards the steep-spectrum Galactic plane radio source WKB 0314+57.8 are presented, in order to clarify the nature of this source. The radio observations include archival and survey data, together with new Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations at 617 MHz. The near-infrared observations are in the J and K bands, from the Gemini instrument on the Shane 3-m telescope. The radio observations show that WKB 0314+57.8 is extended, with a very steep spectrum (with flux density ∝ frequency−2.5 between ≈40 MHz and ≈1.5 GHz). The colour–magnitude diagram constructed from near-infrared observations of the field suggests the presence of a z≈ 0.08 galaxy cluster behind the Galactic plane, reddened by about 6 mag of visual extinction. Although the steep-spectrum source has no obvious identification, two other radio sources in the field covered by the near-infrared observations have tentative identifications with galaxies. These observations indicate that WKB 0314+57.8 is a relic source in a cluster of galaxies, not a pulsar.
Are multi‐layer backpropagation networks catastrophically amnesic?
Authors: YAMAGUCHI MAKOTO
Published: November 2004

Connectionist models with a backpropagation learning rule are known to have a serious problem. Such models exhibit catastrophic interference (or forgetting) with sequential training. Having learned a set of patterns, if the model is trained on another set of patterns, its performance on the first set can dramatically deteriorate very rapidly. The present study reconsiders this issue with four simulations. The model learned arithmetic facts sequentially, but the interference was only modest with random (hence approximately orthogonal) inputs. Essentially the same result was obtained when the inputs are made less orthogonal by adding irrelevant elements. Reducing the number of hidden units did not have major effects. This study suggests that the interference problem has been somewhat overstated.
Residence arrangements and well‐being: A study of Norwegian adolescents
Authors: NÆVDAL FOLKVARD , THUEN FRODE
Published: November 2004

The purpose of this study was to assess any differences in psychososial problems among adolescents living with both parents, or with their mother or their father. Any benefits of living with a same‐sex parent compared to a parent of the opposite sex, was also analysed. A total of 1,686 adolescents aged 14–15 years participated from 29 schools in Hordaland county, including schools in downtown Bergen and more rural areas. The findings revealed significantly more psychosocial problems among the adolescents living with one parent compared to both parents. Significant differences were also observed between adolescents living in mother custody compared to father custody, indicating more problems among the latter group. Furthermore, girls living with their father had significantly higher levels of psychological symptoms, compared to boys in father custody. Similarly, boys living with their father were involved in more stealing behavior than girls in father custody. However, residence arrangement accounted for only a limited proportion of the variance in the adolescents’ psychosocial problems, indicating large within‐group variance and overlap between the different custody groups.
Effects of an indoor plant on creative task performance and mood
Authors: SHIBATA SEIJI , SUZUKI NAOTO
Published: November 2004

In this study, we investigated the effect of an indoor plant on task performance and on mood. Three room arrangements were used as independent variables: a room with (1) a plant, or (2) a magazine rack with magazines placed in front of the participants, or (3) a room with neither of these objects. Undergraduate students (M= 35, F= 55) performed a task of associating up to 30 words with each of 20 specified words in a room with one of the three room arrangements. Task performance scores showed that female participants performed better in view of the plant in comparison to the magazine rack (p < 0.05). Moreover, mood was better with the plant or the magazine rack in the room compared to the no object condition (p < 0.05). However, the difference in task performance was highly influenced by the evaluation about the plant or the magazine rack. It is suggested that the compatibility between task demand and the environment is an important factor in facilitating task performances.
Climate for work group creativity and innovation: Norwegian validation of the team climate inventory (TCI)
Authors: MATHISEN GRO ELLEN , EINARSEN STÅLE , JØRSTAD KARI , BRØNNICK KOLBJØRN S.
Published: November 2004

The present study assessed the psychometric properties and the validity of the Norwegian translation of the Team Climate Inventory (TCI). The TCI is a measure of climate for innovation within groups at work and is based on the four‐factor theory of climate for innovation (West, 1990). Cronbach's alpha revealed satisfactory reliabilities and exploratory factor analysis successfully extracted the four original factors as well as a fifth factor that has also been reported in other studies (N= 195 teams from a wide range of professions). Results from confirmatory factor analysis, using a different sample (N= 106 teams from the Norwegian public postal service), suggested that the five‐factor solution had the most parsimonious fit. Criterion validity was explored by correlating TCI scores from 92 post offices and 395 postal distribution teams with customer satisfaction scores. Significant positive relationships were found between three of four TCI scales and customer satisfaction.
The effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on teachers’ attention, episodic and semantic memory
Authors: ENMARKER INGELA
Published: November 2004

The aim of the present experiment was to examine the effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on attention, episodic and semantic memory, and also to examine whether the noise effects were age‐dependent. A total of 96 male and female teachers in the age range of 35–45 and 55–65 years were randomly assigned to a silent or the two noise conditions. Noise effects found in episodic memory were limited to a meaningful text, where cued recall contrary to expectations was equally impaired by the two types of noise. However, meaningful irrelevant speech also deteriorated recognition of the text, whereas road traffic noise caused no decrement. Retrieval from two word fluency tests in semantic memory showed strong effects of noise exposure, one affected by meaningful irrelevant speech and the other by road traffic noise. The results implied that both acoustic variation and the semantic interference could be of importance for noise impairments. The expected age‐dependent noise effects did not show up.
Differentiating in‐group favoritism from shared reality in intergroup perception
Authors: DIMDINS GIRTS , MONTGOMERY HENRY
Published: November 2004

Two basic factors influence mutual ratings of social groups: in‐group favoritism (related to the evaluative aspects of a rating) and the perception of shared reality (related to the descriptive aspects). In two studies, we examine the usefulness of Peabody's (1968) method of separating evaluative and descriptive aspects of rating in intergroup judgments. In Study 1, Latvian and Russian students made different evaluations of both groups, but the same groups agreed on the descriptive ratings. In Study 2, male and female psychology students rated each other from own, in‐group, and out‐group perspectives. The participants did not show any in‐group favoritism in their own ratings, but they expected their fellow students to be in‐group biased. The participants agreed on the descriptive ratings of both groups. The results demonstrate that shared reality influences intergroup ratings, despite differences in evaluations.
Psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) among Icelandic schoolchildren
Authors: THOR ÓLASON DANÍEL , BLÖNDAHL SIGHVATSSON MAGNÚS , SMÁRI JAKOB
Published: November 2004

A psychometric assessment of the Icelandic version of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) was undertaken among Icelandic schoolchildren, between 10 and 15 years of age. In a first study 625 children between 10 and 15 years of age filled in the MASC. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four‐factor structure of the instrument was justified. Further, means and standard deviations of the total scale and the subscales were similar to the original normative data reported by March (1997). In a second study the MASC, the Children Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) were administered to a sample of 249 schoolchildren between 10 and 15 years of age. The results supported the convergent and divergent validity of the MASC. Together the two studies show satisfactory psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the MASC in a normal population.
Analysis of the decision‐making process leading to appendectomy: A grounded theory study
Authors: LARSSON GERRY , WEIBULL HENRIK , WILDE LARSSON BODIL
Published: November 2004

The aim was to develop a theoretical understanding of the decision‐making process leading to appendectomy. A qualitative interview study was performed in the grounded theory tradition using the constant comparative method to analyze data. The study setting was one county hospital and two local hospitals in Sweden, where 11 surgeons and 15 surgical nurses were interviewed. A model was developed which suggests that surgeons’ decision making regarding appendectomy is formed by the interplay between their medical assessment of the patient's condition and a set of contextual characteristics. The latter consist of three interacting factors: (1) organizational conditions, (2) the professional actors’ individual characteristics and interaction, and (3) the personal characteristics of the patient and his or her family or relatives. In case the outcome of medical assessment is ambiguous, the risk evaluation and final decision will be influenced by an interaction of the contextual characteristics. It was concluded that, compared to existing, rational models of decision making, the model presented identified potentially important contextual characteristics and an outline on when they come into play.
Effect of Investor Speculation on Earnings Management
Authors: FISCHER PAUL E. , STOCKEN PHILLIP C.
Published: November 2004

This paper considers how the presence of a speculative investor, who bets on a firm's future earnings report, affects how the firm's management manipulates that report. We examine the influence of the speculator's information on earnings management behavior, quality of reported earnings, and stock price efficiency. We also provide predictions for, and interpretations of, short‐window event studies and long‐window association studies.
On the Value of Transparency in Agencies with Renegotiation
Authors: GIGLER FRANK B. , HEMMER THOMAS
Published: November 2004

In this paper we study when it is advantageous to improve corporate transparency by allowing shareholders direct access to corporate information and when it is preferable to rely on a reporting system in which shareholders only gain access to information that management chooses to disclose. We show that in an agency model that allows for contract renegotiation, the desirability of a fully transparent reporting regime hinges on the stewardship properties of the information in question. Specifically, information that is mainly useful for predicting future events and of little use for evaluating past actions should only be made available to the public through management's self‐interested disclosures. Only if the information is useful for making inference about managerial actions can it be optimal to have full corporate transparency, so that outsiders have independent access to the same information as management.
“Knowing” the Rules: Administrative Work as Practice
Authors: Wagenaar Hendrik
Published: November 2004

This article presents a theory of administrative work as practice. Building on a rich narrative of a mid‐level administrator in the Dutch Immigration Office, four core elements of administrative practice are identified: contextuality, acting, knowing, and interacting. Taking cues from practice theory and ethnomethodology, the author argues that the visible aspects of administrative work (decisions, reports, negotiations, standard operating procedures, and—on a higher level of institutional abstraction—structures, legal rules, lines of authority, and accountability) are effectuations, enactments of the hidden, taken‐for‐granted routines: the almost unthinking actions, tacit knowledge, fleeting interactions, practical judgments, self‐evident understandings and background knowledge, shared meanings, and personal feelings that constitute the core of administrative work. Taken together, contextuality, acting, knowing, and interacting make up a unified account of practical judgment in an administrative environment that is characterized by complexity, indeterminacy, and the necessity to act on the situation at hand.
Doing Things Right: Effectiveness in Local Nonprofit Organizations, A Panel Study
Authors: Herman Robert D. , Renz David O.
Published: November 2004

This study investigates whether nonprofit organizational effectiveness is judged consistently by differing constituencies and whether changes in board effectiveness and overall organizational effectiveness (judged by differing constituencies) are the result of changes in the use of practices regarded as the “right way” to manage. The results show that different constituencies judged the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations differently, at both periods; that a change in the use of correct board practices over time, controlling for board effectiveness at time 1, was not related to board effectiveness at time 2; and that a change in the use of correct management practices, controlling for organizational effectiveness at time 1, was not related to organizational effectiveness at time 2, except for board members. Implications of the results are considered. Claims about best practices for nonprofit boards and organizations must be evaluated more critically. Finding the right fit among practices is more important than doing things the “right way.
Should Quasi‐Government Make Democrats Queasy?
Authors: Perry James L.
Published: November 2004

Books reviewed in this article:

Jonathan G. S. Koppell, The Politics of Quasi‐Government: Hybrid Organizations and the Dynamics of Bureaucratic Control
Regulating Finance: Who Rules, Whose Rules?
Authors: Harris Stephen L.
Published: November 2004

This project has embedded in it an explanation of the structural and relational power transmission process stemming from “micro‐actions” in global financial relations. This paper is about domestic policy adaptation in international and domestic finance and how it occurs. The fundamental contention of this paper is that the way to understand power in global finance is to provide an answer to the question: Who makes the rules in finance—state actors or nonstate actors? The answer to this question is problematic in the IPE literature because of both the enormous influence of finance in the councils of the industrial democracies and the information asymmetries that favor power in finance. Finance, it is argued, has the determining influence on the rules governing its industry. The dependent variable in this analysis is the policy output—the regulation and liberalization decisions of states. The behaviors of the state and of other policy actors in the policy process are the independent variables.
The Vanishing Trial: An Examination of Trials and Related Matters in Federal and State Courts
Authors: Galanter Marc
Published: November 2004

This article traces the decline in the portion of cases that are terminated by trial and the decline in the absolute number of trials in various American judicial fora. The portion of federal civil cases resolved by trial fell from 11.5 percent in 1962 to 1.8 percent in 2002, continuing a long historic decline. More startling was the 60 percent decline in the absolute number of trials since the mid 1980s. The makeup of trials shifted from a predominance of torts to a predominance of civil rights, but trials are declining in every case category. A similar decline in both the percentage and the absolute number of trials is found in federal criminal cases and in bankruptcy cases. The phenomenon is not confined to the federal courts; there are comparable declines of trials, both civil and criminal, in the state courts, where the great majority of trials occur. Plausible causes for this decline include a shift in ideology and practice among litigants, lawyers, and judges. Another manifestation of this shift is the diversion of cases to alternative dispute resolution forums. Within the courts, judges conduct trials at only a fraction of the rate that their predecessors did, but they are more heavily involved in the early stages of cases. Although virtually every other indicator of legal activity is rising, trials are declining not only in relation to cases in the courts but to the size of the population and the size of the economy. The consequences of this decline for the functioning of the legal system and for the larger society remain to be explored.
Keeping Our Ambition Under Control: The Limits of Data and Inference in Searching for the Causes and Consequences of Vanishing Trials in Federal Court
Authors: Burbank Stephen B.
Published: November 2004

This article offers some reflections stimulated by Professor Galanter's materials, which were the common springboard for the Vanishing Trials Symposium. It suggests that other data, quantitative and qualitative, may be helpful in understanding the vanishing trials phenomenon in federal civil cases, notably data available for years prior to 1962, and questions whether it is meaningful to use total dispositions as the denominator in calculating a trial termination rate. The article argues that care should be taken in using data from state court systems, as also data from criminal cases, administrative adjudication, and ADR, lest one put at risk through careless assimilation of data or muddled thinking a project quite difficult enough without additional baggage. The article describes the limitations of data previously collected by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and highlights unique opportunities created by the AO's switch to a new Case Management/Electronic Case Files system. It argues that Professor Galanter may underestimate the influence of both changing demand for court services (docket makeup) and of changing demand for judicial services (resources) on the trial rate. Finally, the article argues that conclusions about either the causes or consequences of the vanishing trials phenomenon in federal civil cases are premature, suggesting in particular reasons to be wary of emphasis on “institutional factors” such as the discretionary power of first‐instance judges and the ideology of managerial judging.
Vanishing Trials and Summary Judgment in Federal Civil Cases: Drifting Toward Bethlehem or Gomorrah?
Authors: Burbank Stephen B.
Published: November 2004

This article explores summary judgment from historical, empirical, and normative perspectives. It demonstrates that, because Rule 56 as promulgated in 1938 represented a radical transformation of the device, the members of the Advisory Committee had no reliable basis for predicting the consequences of their work had they been inclined to do so, and that in any event the image they projected of that work was tethered to the past. Because existing empirical studies of summary judgment based on reported decisions are unreliable, the article analyzes published studies that rely on data from court files, and it presents new such data for fiscal years 2000–2003 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The article finds that there is sufficiently reliable evidence to believe that the rate of case termination as a result of summary judgment rose substantially from 1960 to 2000, with one plausible (and perhaps conservative) range being from ca. 1.8 percent to ca. 7.7 percent. It also finds evidence that the termination and other activity rates vary, sometimes dramatically, among courts and case types. The latter possibility deserves additional empirical, doctrinal, and normative inquiry since it is reminiscent of experience under Rule 11 in the period 1983–1993 and thus, if confirmed, would prompt serious questions of procedural policy and, ultimately, of equal justice under law.
Appeal Rates and Outcomes in Tried and Nontried Cases: Further Exploration of Anti‐Plaintiff Appellate Outcomes
Authors: Eisenberg Theodore
Published: November 2004

Federal data sets covering district court and appellate court civil cases for cases terminating in fiscal years 1988 through 2000 are analyzed. Appeals are filed in 10.9 percent of filed cases, and 21.0 percent of cases if one limits the sample to cases with a definitive judgment for plaintiff or defendant. The appeal rate is 39.6 percent in tried cases compared to 10.0 percent of nontried cases. For cases with definitive judgments, the appeal filing rate is 19.0 percent in nontried cases and 40.9 percent in tried cases. Tried cases with definitive judgments are appealed to a conclusion on the merits in 22.7 percent of concluded trials compared to 10.2 percent of concluded nontried cases. Appellate courts affirm and reverse at different rates appeals from judgments for plaintiffs and defendants. Defendants achieve reversal of adverse trial court judgments in about 10 percent of filed cases and suffer affirmance in about 15 percent of such cases. Plaintiffs achieve reversal in about 4 percent of adverse trial court judgments and suffer affirmance in about 16 percent of such cases. Asymmetrical reversal rates are shown to be in part possibly attributable to different trial‐win rates. But the data suggest that an appellate court effect exists, independent of trial‐win rates and appeal rates, that depresses plaintiff success on appeal in employment discrimination cases.
ADR and the “Vanishing Trial”: The Growth and Impact of “Alternative Dispute Resolution”
Authors: Stipanowich Thomas J.
Published: November 2004

In the past quarter‐century, significant changes have occurred in the ways lawyers approach conflict. There have been unprecedented efforts to develop strategies aimed at more efficient, less costly, and more satisfying resolution of conflict, including more extensive and appropriate use of mediation and other “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR) approaches. This study examines what we know and do not know about the growth and impact of ADR in federal and state courts, in the business sector, and in employment and consumer settings. The analysis examines the relationship between ADR and court trial, but also underlines the broader uses of and rationale for mediation and other process choices. Although there is clear positive evidence of cost and time savings and numerous other benefits of some court‐annexed ADR programs, it is evident that much depends on the shape and structure of such programs. Studies of ADR in commercial sectors suggest that the use of mediation has grown in recent years, reflecting perceptions that it offers significant potential benefits to business. Some businesses have developed more integrated, systematic approaches to the management of conflict, although most appear to have taken a more ad hoc, reactive approach to dispute resolution. There are many different kinds of programs for the management of employee grievances, including stepped processes that usually resolve disputes without adjudication. Several scholars have begun to develop a body of data on experience and perceptions of employees and their counsel. The availability of data on investor/broker arbitration is critical for promoting transparency and fairness in the securities field. Lawyers have a growing number of tools for providing clients with appropriate ways of managing and resolving conflict, but we still have much to learn about these choices. Quantitative and qualitative research is essential to provide guideposts for the future.
Vanishing Trials: The Bankruptcy Experience
Authors: Warren Elizabeth
Published: November 2004

The federal bankruptcy system provides two critical points of comparison with data about the overall trends of federal lawsuits and trials. The first is the rising number of bankruptcy filings, which indicates that a growing number of collection actions and debtor‐creditor disputes are funneled into the bankruptcy system for relatively quick, cheap resolution. The second point of comparison focuses on adversary proceedings, the lawsuit‐like subset of disputes that sometimes are resolved within a bankruptcy. The trend lines here suggest that the number of adversary proceedings filed is climbing, while the number of such disputes that are actually resolved by trial is declining. Like the data about the federal court system generally, these data suggest that the trial is quietly vanishing from the bankruptcy system. Data about the number of judges and about business and nonbusiness bankruptcy cases make it possible to explore two competing hypotheses—a Judicial Workload Hypothesis and a Cost Hypothesis—to explain the overall findings. The data are not conclusive, but they are consistent with the view that judicial workloads explain less of the decline in the number of trials than an increase in litigants’ costs of resolving disputes in bankruptcy. The data are also consistent with a vision of bankruptcy as an evolving process that is increasingly standardized (and cheaper) for nonbusiness debtors, while it is highly individualized (and more costly) for business cases. If that vision is right, it has implications both for understanding the changing role of the trial and for considering various statutory proposals to differentiate further the treatment of large business, small business, and nonbusiness cases.
Getting What We Asked For, Getting What We Paid For, and Not Liking What We Got: The Vanishing Civil Trial
Authors: Yeazell Stephen C.
Published: November 2004

The current rate of civil trials may result from two converging trends in civil practice: 20th‐century procedural reforms and associated changes in the organization and financing of legal practice. The procedural reforms required greater pretrial investigation of facts, which in turn often required litigants to make regular investments of substantial capital, access to which was facilitated by changes in the organization of plaintiffs’ practices. Together, these procedural reforms and changes in practice structure provide a plausible explanation for the observed phenomenon of declining rate and number of civil trials.
Lubberts effect in columnar phosphors
Authors: Badano Aldo , Gagne Robert M. , Gallas Brandon D. , Jennings Robert J. , Boswell Jonathan S. , Myers Kyle J.
Published: November 2004

Noise transfer in granular x‐ray imaging phosphor screens is not proportional to the square of the magnitude of the signal transfer when the transfer properties are considered for the entire screen thickness, unless appropriately weighted at each depth of interaction. This property, known as the Lubberts effect, has not yet been studied in columnar structured screens because of a lack of a generalized description of the depth‐dependent light transport. In this paper, we investigate the signal and noise transfer characteristics of columnar phosphors used in digital mammography detectors using DETECT‐II, an optical Monte Carlo light transport simulation code. We first validate our choice of optical parameters for the description of granular and columnar screens using published normalized modulation transfer (MTF) experimental data. Our calculations of MTF match empirically measured MTFs for a granular film/screen analog system, and for an indirect x‐ray digital imaging system with CsI:Tl screen representative of digital mammography systems. Using the depth‐dependent spread functions and collection efficiencies, we calculate the signal and noise transfer functions and the Lubberts fraction, which is the ratio of the signal transfer function to the noise transfer function, for different screen thicknesses of granular and columnar phosphors. We find that the Lubberts fraction of a granular screen model corresponding to a screen is similar to the fraction for a columnar CsI:Tl screen.