bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Valuing Crop Genetic Resources
Authors: Brush Stephen B.
Published: March 2007

Although crop genetic resources have been recognized as valuable, there has been little progress in specifying a financial value. Crop genetic resources are made up of two primary components, crop gene pools and agro-ecosystems, with six different subcomponents within these. Markets for determining value of crop genetic resources are generally nonexistent or inadequate, a situation that is compounded by their historic status as public goods. Both providers of crop genetic resources and conservation underwriters now look for more exact appraisals of the value, largely in response to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Various methods of assessing value are reviewed. Prospective equity for conservation should replace equity for previous transfers. Market approaches using intellectual property and contracting are unsuitable for crop genetic resources, but nonmarket methods are available. Different approaches are required for different types of crop genetic resources and for estimates of their private value to farmers and their social value.
The Russian Trade-Off: Environment and Development in the Caspian Sea
Authors: Blum Douglas
Published: March 2007

The Caspian Sea embodies one of the crucial tensions of international politics. On one hand, its vast deposits of oil and gas beckon political elites and multinational corporations to compete for resource development projects. On the other hand, the Caspian provides fertile fishing grounds and an unrivaled source of caviar. Moreover, it is a singular ecological system. Without concerted management by all of the littoral states (including Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan), the outcome is all but certain: pollution, environmental degradation, and loss of fisheries. Should this happen, the social and economic stability of the entire region would be seriously undermined, with potentially destabilizing political consequences.
Psychological Test Usage with Adolescent Clients: Survey Update
Authors: Archer Robert P. , Newsom Cassandra Rutledge
Published: March 2007

In 1991, Archer, Maruish, Imhof, and Piotrowski presented survey findings based on the responses of a national sample of psychologists who performed psychological assessment with adolescent clients. The current survey was designed to update their results by examining the test use practices reported by 346 psychologists who work with adolescents in a variety of clinical and academic settings. These respondents represented an adjusted survey return rate of 36% and predominantly consisted of doctoral prepared psychologists (95%) in private practice settings (51%). The survey respondents had a mean of 13.6 years of post-degree clinical experience, and spent an average of 45% of their clinical time working with adolescents. Survey results reveal a substantial similarity in test usage between the 1991 survey and the current investigation. For example, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales, Rorschach, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) remain among the widely used tests with adolescents. However, several changes were also noted including a reduction in the use of the Bender-Gestalt and increases in the use of parent and teacher rating instruments. The current findings are used to estimate the relative popularity of an extensive list of test instruments, compare current findings to 1991 survey results, and to examine several issues related to general effects of managed care procedures and policies on test usage with adolescents.
Malingered and Defensive Response Styles on the MMPI-2: An Examination of Validity Scales
Authors: Bagby R. Michael , Rogers Richard , Buis Tom , Kalemba Valery
Published: March 2007

The MMPI and more recently the MMPI-2 have been held to be the clinical standard for assessing both fake-good and fake-bad response styles. In a contrasted-groups design, we compared simulators under fake-good (n = 67) and fake-bad (n = 58) instructions to controls (n = 90) and psychiatric patients (n = 95) under standard instructions. For fake-good profiles, we found that F-K < -12 had a hit rate of 80.6% and was partly supported by earlier research (Austin, 1992). For fake-bad profiles, F > 89 and F-K > 7 were the optimum cutting scores with hit rates of 86.2% and 87.0%, respectively. Unfortunately, previous research fails to confirm these cutting scores and leading proponents of the MMPI-2 substantially disagree on what methods to employ. Therefore, we recommend in cases of suspected malingering that the MMPI-2 be used only for screening purposes.
MMPI-2 and Family Environment Differences between Bulimic and Nonbulimic Women and their Parents
Authors: Lipson Kimberly J. , Stevens Michael J. , Graybill Daniel , Mark Karen I.
Published: March 2007

We examined the relationships among psychological adjustment, perceptions of family environment, and the presence of bulimia. Twenty-nine bulimics and 33 nonbulimics completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and Family Environment Scale (FES) parents of bulimics and nonbulimics were sent the FES to complete independently. Bulimics had higher scores than nonbulimics on MMPI-2 F, Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, and Sc scales and lower scores on the L and K scales, with a clinically elevated mean configuration of 7-8-1. No differences in perceptions of family environment were found between bulimics and nonbulimics or between their fathers. Mothers of bulimics perceived more active-recreational orientation and less control than mothers of nonbulimics. For bulimics, perceived family cohesion was positively correlated with the Si scale of the MMPI-2. Finally, there was qualitatively less agreement on perceptions of family environment within bulimic than nonbulimic families. We discuss the clinical and research implications of these findings.
Analysis of a WAIS R Old-Age Normative Sample in Terms of Gender, Years of Education, and Preretirement Occupation
Authors: Ryan Joseph J. , Paolo Anthony M. , Dunn Gary E.
Published: March 2007

The relationship of gender, educational level, and past occupation to the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs was evaluated for a Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) old-age normative sample. Gender differences did not meaningfully influence the WAIS-R scores of persons 75 years of age and older, but differences due to education and past occupation were marked. Persons with? 12 years of education earned Full Scale IQs that were 17 points higher than the composite score for individuals with < 11 years of education. Those with a history of professional/managerial employment outscored retired operatives/laborers on the Full Scale IQ by approximately 16 points.
Neurocognitive and Personality Assessment of Adolescent Substance Abusers: A Multidimensional Approach
Authors: Harvey Philip D. , Stokes John L. , Lord Joel , Pogge David L.
Published: March 2007

Recent studies have suggested that certain aspects of cognitive impairment are present in adolescent substance abusers, and that these impairments vary with the type of substance abused. Cognitive impulsivity has been reported to be associated with abuse of multiple substances and other aspects of delinquent behavior. In addition, personality characteristics measured with psychological tests, including impulsivity, identify both adult and adolescent substance abusers. In the present study, the overlap between personality and neurocognitive measures was examined in a sample of 182 adolescent psychiatric inpatients, half of whom were substance abusers and the others matched comparison participants with no history of substance abuse. It was found that both cognitive tests and observer-rated measures (i.e., the Psychopathy Checklist) sensitive to impulsivity were specifically related to abuse of multiple substances. Aspects of inattention and depression, but not measures of psychopathic tendencies, were correlated with single substance alcohol abuse. These data suggest that adolescent patients who abuse alcohol alone versus those who abuse alcohol in addition to other drugs are considerably different and that both personality characteristics and neurocognitive functions may contribute to the differences between them.
A New Measure of Conversational Experience: The Speaking Extent and Comfort Scale (SPEACS)
Authors: Lyons Antonia C. , Spicer John
Published: March 2007

Few measures exist which directly assess aspects of conversational experience. We present and provide a psychometric assessment of the Speaking Extent and Comfort Scale (SPEACS), a new 20-item measure which assesses four aspects of past conversational experience: the extent and comfort of both general conversations and in conversations specifically about the self. All four SPEACS subscales exhibited good test-retest reliability. As predicted, the subscales related positively to social competence, disclosure, assertiveness, and perceived availability of someone to talk to, and negatively to social avoidance and social anxiety, providing support for their construct validity. Internal consistency data demonstrated that people tend to vary in how often and how comfortable they feel having conversations with different people. SPEACS offers a range of potential applications in areas with a focus on social networks, social experience and interaction, and the possibility of extension to other dimensions of conversational experience.
Ion Channels in Inexcitable Cells
Authors: Sontheimer Harald
Published: March 2007

Ion channels no longer belong to students of the neuron. The development of the patch- clamp technique has triggered an avalanche of ion channel studies extending far beyond the initial investigations that tended to focus on neuronal excitability. Studies of basic cell properties, even in cells other than neurons, now routinely include the evaluation of a cell's electrophysiological features and have yielded a large and growing database con cerning the electrophysiological properties of inexcitable cells. These include such cells as fibroblasts, macrophages, glial cells, bone cells, epithelial cells, and even plant cells, to name but a few, and the electrophysiological properties of these cells are as wide ranging as their cell functions and tissue origins. The Neuroscientist 1:64-67, 1995
Neurotrophins: New Players, Clinical Uses?
Authors: Russell David S.
Published: March 2007

The elucidation within the past few years of a wide array of neurotrophic growth factors has been one of the important advances in the neurosciences. These factors are small proteins that exert powerful growth, differentiation, and tropic effects on specific neuron types via specific receptors and their signaling pathways. These characteristics have generated ex citement within the clinical fields of neurology and psychiatry because therapeutic oppor tunities exist in nearly all areas. Currently, the clinical trials are for neurodegenerative dis eases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's-type dementia. However, preclinical studies span across afflictions as diverse as epilepsy, drug addiction, and de pression. This Update briefly describes the general characteristics of the neurotrophic fac tors and discusses some of the potential clinical uses. The Neuroscientist 1:119-122,1995
Review : Glial Neuronal Interactions: A Physiological Perspective
Authors: Sontheimer Harald
Published: March 2007

Throughout the nervous system, neurons are closely surrounded by glial cells, leaving only a 20-nm wide extracellular space filled with interstitial fluid. Ions, transmitters, hormones, nutrients, and waste products all share this narrow diffusion pathway. Because the interstitial space occupies only a small volume, neuronal activity can lead to appreciable changes in the extracellular concentration of ions, protons, and neurotrans mitters. These changes can affect neuronal activity and are believed to be influenced by glial cells. The proximity of glial processes to synapses and axons make glial cells ideal partners to sequester ions and transmitters released by neurons. The failure of glial cells to perform such essential homeostatic functions can have profound effects, and these homeostatic activities may constitute one way in which glial cells can influence neuronal signaling. In addition, glial cells, which, unlike most neurons, are coupled to each other through gap-junctions, communicate with each other and possibly also with adjacent neurons through prop agated intracellular Ca2+ waves. The importance of such interglial signaling is not understood. Additionally, glial cells and neurons mutually modulate their expression of ion channels, most likely through factors re leased into the extracellular space. The range of responses observed in glial cells and their intimate anatomical relationship with neurons suggest a broader role for glia than is currently appreciated. It also emphasizes the importance of a better understanding of glial-neuronal interactions to an understanding of brain function. The Neuroscientist 1:328-337, 1995
Review : Neuronal Precursor Cells and Neurogenesis in the Adult Forebrain
Authors: Goldman Steven A.
Published: March 2007

Neuronal precursor cells persist in the forebrain of a wide variety of adult vertebrates and have been found in cultures derived from fish, birds, rodents, and humans. These cells reside within the periventricular epen dymal/subependymal zone (SZ), rather than the brain parenchyma. In vivo, these precursors may generate neurons that are recruited to restricted regions, such as the avian neostriatum and mammalian olfactory bulb. In vitro, however, neuronal precursor cells have been found to be distributed more widely than suggested by the limited distribution of adult neurogenesis in vivo; in the adult rat brain, new neurons arise from SZ explants derived from most of the surface of the lateral ventricular system. In primates, although the postnatal forebrain SZ largely ceases neurogenesis in vivo, it too retains the capacity for neuronal production in vitro, as dem onstrated in explants of adult human temporal lobe SZ. In mammals, the division of these precursor cells may be regulated by both epidermal and fibroblast growth factors, whereas the survival of their neuronal progeny is regulated in part by members of the neurotrophin family, specifically BDNF and NT-4. Together, these findings suggest the persistence into adulthood of a relatively widespread pool of SZ progenitor cells, which remains neurogenic in selected regions, but which more generally becomes vestigial, perhaps as a result of the loss of permissive signals for daughter cell migration or survival in the local environment. The Neuroscientist 1:338-350, 1995
Review : Stress, Antidepressant Treatments, and Neurotrophic Factors: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms
Authors: Duman Ronald S. , Vaidya Vidita A. , Nibuya Masashi , Morinobu Shigeru , Fitzgerald Laura Rydelek
Published: March 2007

Repeated stress or an excess of glucocorticoids can exacerbate neuronal damage in response to insults and, in severe cases, can lead to neuronal atrophy and death. These effects are thought to be related to the actions of stress and glucocorticoids on glutamate function, neuronal metabolism, and the generation of cytotoxic free radicals. Recent studies demonstrate that the regulation of neurotrophic factors may contribute to the actions of stress on neuronal function. Acute or chronic stress decreases the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor, the most abundant neurotrophin in the brain, in specific regions of the hippocampus, and other forebrain regions. In addition, chronic stress increases the expression of neurotrophin-3 in certain regions of the hippocampus and may, thereby, help to protect these regions from the neurotoxic effects of chronic stress. The deleterious effects of stress may contribute to psy chiatric illnesses, such as depression, that can be precipitated or worsened by stress and that are often characterized by hypercortisolism. Electroconvulsive seizure therapy, as well as antidepressant drugs, increase the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor, trkB, in the brain, demon strating that neurotrophins are a target of antidepressant treatments. These findings outline a role of neurotrophic factors in the etiology and treatment of certain psychiatric illnesses. The Neuroscientist 1:351-360, 1995
■ REVIEW : Gene Expression in Nerve Regeneration
Authors: Gillen Clemens , Korfhage Christian , Müller Hans Werner
Published: March 2007

Injury of peripheral nerve in mammals leads to a complex but stereotypical pattern of histological events that comprise a highly reproducible sequence of degenerative reactions (Wallerian degeneration) succeeded by regenerative responses. These reactions are based on a corresponding sequence of cellular and mo lecular interactions that, in turn, reflect the differential expression of specific genes with functions in nerve degeneration and repair. We report on more than 60 genes and their products that show a specific pattern of regulation following peripheral nerve lesion. The group of regulated genes encoding, e.g., transcription factors, growth factors and their receptors, cytokines, neuropeptides, myelin proteins and lipid carriers, and cytoskeletal proteins as well as extracellular matrix and cell adhesion molecules. We describe and compare the distinct time-courses and cellular origin of expression and further discuss established or putative mo lecular interrelationships and functions with respect to the contribution of these genes/gene products to the molecular regeneration program of the PNS. NEUROSCIENTIST 3:112-122, 1997
Emanuel Swedenborg: A Neuroscientist Before His Time
Authors: Gross Charles G.
Published: March 2007

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a famous Swedish religious thinker and mystic He also wrote extensively on brain function Many of his writings on the brain remained unpublished for 100 years or more, none had any effect on the development of neuro science Yet they contain many extraordinary insights that did not recur until late in the 19th century. He was particularly prescient about the functions of the cerebral cortex, the corpus callosum, and the pituitary gland This article reviews Swedenborg's ideas on the brain in the context of 18th century knowledge and considers where they came from and why they were ignored NEUROSCIENTIST 3 142-147, 1997
Immune Cell Traffic in the Brain: Blundering and Migration of Autoreactive T Lymphocytes
Authors: Carrithers Michael D.
Published: March 2007

The migration of an autoreactive CD4 T lymphocyte across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) represents a crucial step in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE). For a naive, autoreactive T lym phocyte to enter the CNS, it must first be activated by antigen presented by an anti gen-presenting cell in peripheral lymphoid tissue. Effector lymphocytes home to activated endothelium in the CNS and other tissues through the binding of the integrins very late antigen 4 (VLA-4) and leukocyte function antigen 1 (LFA-1) to vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) and intercellular cell adhesion molecule (lCAM-1), respectmely. Al though VLA-4 and LFA-1 clearly mediate T cell recruitment in a region of established inflammation, the mechanisms of early lymphocyte entry prior to endothelial activation remain unclear. Here, it is hypothesized that initiation of an inflammatory focus in CNS autoimmune disease is mediated by a novel cell adhesion pathway that is VLA-4-inde pendent and permits autoreactive lymphocytes to randomly "blunder" into the brain. An understanding of these mechanisms is crucial to the development of antigen-nonspecific therapies for MS. NEUROSCIENTIST 3:207-210, 1997
REVIEW ■ : Long-lasting Effects of Recreational Drugs of Abuse on the Central Nervous System
Authors: McCann Una D. , Lowe Kelly A. , Ricaurte George A.
Published: March 2007

Although a wealth of knowledge exists regarding the acute pharmacological effects of recreational drugs on the CNS, much less is known about the long-term toxic effects of recreational drugs on the CNS. Recent findings in nonhuman primates treated with amphetamine analogs, such as ±3,4-methylenedioxymetham phetamine (MDMA), indicate that these drugs can produce long-lasting, probably permanent, changes in brain serotonin innervation. Similarly, animals treated with phencyclidine (PCP) and related drugs develop neurodegenerative changes in selected brain regions. It seems clear, then, that some psychoactive drugs have the potential to produce persistent changes in CNS structure and, possibly, function. The goal of this article is to summarize current knowledge regarding the long-term effects of several popular recreational drugs, including MDMA and related amphetamine analogs, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, PCP, lysergic acid (LSD), and opiates. Gaps in the current knowledge base are identified, and areas ripe for future research efforts are suggested. NEUROSCIENTIST 3:399-411, 1997
Autoimmunity to Glutamate Receptors in Rasmussen's Encephalitis: A Rare Finding or The Tip of an Iceberg?
Authors: Gahring Lorise C. , Rogers Scott W.
Published: March 2007

Neurological disorders demonstrate remarkable specificity in afflicting precise brain regions. They are most frequently sporadic in origin and they are devastating because of the progressive impairment of cognitive and/or motor functions. Our studies have found that some neurological diseases may actually reflect a dysfunction of the immune system in which highly specific autoantibodies are generated that bind neuronal glutamate receptors and directly affect their function in normal neurotransmission. Understanding at the molecular level how the immune system participates in neurological disease will ultimately lead to more effective therapeutic approaches to some of these disorders with presently unknown etiology. NEURO SCIENTIST 4:373-379, 1998
Calcium Imaging in the Olfactory System: New Tools for Visualizing Odor Recognition
Authors: Zufall Frank , Leinders-Zufall Trese
Published: March 2007

Transient elevations of intracellular Ca2+ play an important role in regulating the sensitivity of the sense of smell, both at the level of signal transduction within the cilia of olfactory receptor neurons and at presynaptic sites in the olfactory bulb, but such elevations have not been demonstrated previously because of the small size of these neuronal com partments. Here, we summarize recent progress employing high resolution Ca2+-imaging techniques that permit the visualization of odor-induced neural activity in these critical subcellular compartments of the vertebrate olfactory system. In olfactory neurons, Ca2+ permeable cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) cation channels mediate the initial Ca2+ entry during odor transduction. The surprisingly widespread distribution of members of the CNG channel family in the mammalian brain suggests that CNG channel-mediated Ca2+ entry contributes to signal transduction in many CNS neurons. NEUROSCIENTIST 5:4- 7, 1999
slow Cortical Potentials: Plasticity, Operant Control, and Behavioral Effects
Authors: Birbaumer Niels
Published: March 2007

Slow cortical potentials are negative or positive polarizations of the electroencephalo gram (EEG) or magnetic field changes in the magnetoencephalogram (MEG) that last from 300 ms to several seconds. They originate in depolarizations of the apical dendritic tree in the upper cortical layers that are caused by synchronous firing, mainly from thal amocortical afferents. Functionally they constitute a threshold regulation mechanism for local excitatory mobilization (negative slow potentials) or inhibition (positive slow poten tials) of cortical networks. Humans can learn to voluntarily regulate these potentials after operant training using immediate feedback and positive reinforcement for self-generated slow potentials shifts. After learned self-regulation of negative slow cortical potentials, motor and cognitive performance of various tasks improves, depending upon the specific cortical location of the learned response. Learned reduction of cortical negativity in creases seizure threshold and improves drug-resistant epilepsies. The learned self-reg ulation of slow cortical potentials is based on a redistribution of attentional resources and depends cntically on a prefrontal and thalamic attention system. Finally, a thought trans lation device uses the slow potential self-regulation skill in totally paralyzed locked-in patients for communication with a language-shaping computer system. NEURO SCIENTIST 5:74-78, 1999
■ REVIEW : The Presenilins
Authors: Mattson Mark P. , Qing Guo
Published: March 2007

Presenilin-1 and presenilin-2 are highly homologous genes located on chromosomes 14 and 1, respectively, that have recently been linked to some cases of early-onset autosomal dominant inherited forms of Alzhei mer's disease (AD). Presenilins are integral membrane proteins localized in the endoplasmic reticulum of neurons throughout the nervous system. Studies of presenilin-1 knockout mice, and of invertebrate homo logues of presenilins and their interacting proteins, suggest major roles for presenilins in normal develop ment. Presenilin-1 mutant knockin mice do not exhibit developmental abnormalities, which indicates that the pathogenic mechanism of presenilin mutations involves gain of an adverse property of the mutant protein. Expression of presenilin mutations in cultured neurons and transgenic mice results in increased sensitivity to apoptosis induced by trophic factor withdrawal and exposure to oxidative and metabolic insults, and also alters gene expression. The pathogenic mechanism of presenilin mutations may involve perturbed endo plasmic reticulum calcium homeostasis resulting in enhanced oxidative stress, altered proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), and increased neuronal vulnerability to excitotoxicity. Studies of presenilins are rapidly increasing our understanding the molecular and cellular underpinnings of AD and are also elucidating novel roles of the endoplasmic reticulum in neuronal plasticity and cell death. NEURO SCIENTIST 5:112-124, 1999
Uncertainty in Childhood Chronic Conditions and Family Distress in Families of Young Children
Authors: Dodgson Joan E. , Garwick Ann , Blozis Shelley A. , Patterson Joän M. , Bennett Forrest C. , Blum Robert W.
Published: March 2007

The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between the degree of uncertainty in the child’s chronic condition and family distress. Data were collected from parents (173 mothers, 150 fathers) of young children (12 to 30 months old) who had been diagnosed with a chronic physical health impairment within the past 12 months. Children were divided into separate groups, first based on the predictability of their symptoms and next based on the degree of certainty in their life expectancy. Using analysis of covariance, sex-stratified comparisons were made between the predictability groups and then between the life expectancy groups and five subscales of the Impact-on-Family Scale. Parents of young children with chronic conditions with intermittently unpredictable symptoms reported significantly more family distress than parents of children with more predictable symptoms. No significant differences were found for mothers or fathers between the degree of uncertainty in the child’s life expectancy and family distress.
Children in Research: The Experiences of Siblings in Research Is a Family Affair
Authors: Snethen Julia A. , Broome Marion E.
Published: March 2007

The specific aims of this study were to (a) ascertain siblings’ ethical concerns, process, and meaning of their brother’s or sister’s involvement in clinical research; (b) describe siblings’ understanding of the research in which their brother/sister was involved; (c) explore siblings’ perception of sociocultural influences on their brother’s/sister’s willingness to participate in research; and (d) describe how siblings are affected by their brother’s/sister’s research trial. Nineteen siblings (ages 9 to 21) whose brother or sister had been enrolled in a clinical research trial within the past 6 months were interviewed, and the data were analyzed qualitatively. A sibling’s understanding of the clinical research trial was distinctly different depending on his or her developmental age and the illness of the brother/sister. These differences included the invasiveness of procedures, seriousness of condition, and the need for siblings to actually participate in the clinical research treatment.
Unifying Distinctions for Nursing Research with Persons and Families
Authors: Robinson Carole A.
Published: March 2007

This article presents a unifying conceptualization of nursing research with persons and families. A common language for both nursing practice and nursing research with persons and families is proposed that is intended to facilitate critical dialogue toward advancing the discipline of nursing.
Part 2: The Lived Experience of Family: A Contextual Approach to Family Nursing Practice
Authors: Hartrick Gwen A. , Lindsey A. Elizabeth
Published: March 2007

This article challenges nurses to re-think their current systems perspective offamily and offamily nursing practice. Specifically, nurses are invited to consider an approach to family nursing practice that evolves out ofa contextual worldview and incorporates the philosophy and principles of interpretive phenomenological inquiry. Aframework for contextual family nursing is presented. This framework includes a description of the nature of family, the underlying principles of contextual/phenomenological nursing practice, and the activities inherent in actualizing phenomenologicalfamily nursing.
Family and Social Support: Application to the Critically I11 Patient
Authors: Hupcey Judith E. , Morse Janice M.
Published: March 2007

Despite the vast amount of literature describing social support, many characteristics and attributes of the concept of social support lose relevance when applied to the critically ill population. From preliminary data, the authors have identified several aspects of social support that are not included in the social support literature, and many areas that are described in-depth but that may not be applicable for the critically ill. The authors conclude that there are unanswered questions and unstated assumptions in the social support literature. These generalities have submerged the essence of support to the extent that the nature and role of social support have been obscuredfor critically ill patients and their families. Detailed qualitative inquiry of social support would bring to theforefront the essential nature of support within this population.
Beijing Families: The Behavior and Sentiment of Caregiving
Authors: Holroyd Eleanor , Mackenzie Ann E.
Published: March 2007

The context in which caring and caregiving takes place is dominated by the cultural conditions and social realities of the time. This ethnographic study explored the perceptions and moral determinants of caregiving from the personal accounts of primary caregivers in 10 Beijing families. Analysis generated themes of labor and routines of caregiving, restricted resources, health, and illness, linked by the sentiment of establishing a connection, family time, personal time, gendered time, and reciprocity. For these Beijing families, caregivers accorded and enacted caregiving based on diffuse sentimental and behavioral as well as cultural guidelines drawing on the nature and quality of the relationship, past patterns of exchange, and a clear sense of who was most able to provide care and why. Implicationsfor the provision of health care tofamilies in China are outlined.
Education of Family Nursing Specialists at the University of Tampere, Finland
Authors: Åstedt-Kurki Paivi , Paavilainen Eija , Paunonen Marita , Nieminen Heli
Published: March 2007

This article describes the structure and content of a degree program for master's-level specialists infamily nursing, which was started at the University of Tampere in 1993. Students of nursing science enrollingat the University of Tampere have completed a bachelor's-level, 3-to 5-year undergraduate program in nursing. The family nursing curriculum at the University of Tampere is oriented toward strengthening students' capacities for critical thought and promoting an investigative and inquisitive attitude. The need for specialist education infamily nursing has arisenfrom a mandate to providefamilycentered care in Finland's modern health system. Specialists in family nursing are needed in both primary health care settings and hospitals. Graduates from this specialist degree program are recruited to research, administrative, and teaching positions infamily nursing at several levels of the health care system.
Family Problem Solving: Measuring the Elusive Concept
Authors: Cox Ruth P. , Davis Linda Lindsey
Published: March 2007

Reliable and valid approaches for measuring family-level problem solving are necessary if nurse clinicians and researchers are to identify and describe problem solving in both healthy and ill families and monitor the effects of nursing interventions on changes in family functioning. Whereas family problem solving is frequently mentioned in the literature, there is little consensus on how to operationalize this family-level variable. The focus of this review is to explore measurement of family problem solving from a practice and research perspective. Thirteen published measures of family problem solving are critiqued, and 8 criteria for choosing and using measures of family problem solving are identified. The intent of this overview is to provide clinicians with a synopsis of the state of the science on measuring this frequently neglected family functioning variable.
How Consumers are Gathering Information from Medlineplus
Authors: LACROIX EVE-MARIE
Published: March 2007

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) introduced MEDLINEplus in October 1998 to help consumers and those who serve them find authoritative, understandable health information on the Internet. MEDLINEplus was designed to be a well-organized, selective Web resource that directs consumers to full-text health information available from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other reliable sources. From the beginning it has been consumer driven; that is, information obtained from studying actual searches done by the public using other NLM Internet resources was used to set priorities for MEDLINEplus. This article summarizes findings from NLM's studies of use data. Web log files, and formal evaluation that help characterize consumers needs for information. How these findings have been used to improve the interface, functionality, and content of MEDLINEplus will also be described.
Science Communication in Developing Countries
Authors: KHANNA JITENDRA
Published: March 2007

A health researcher's job is not over until the research findings have been peer reviewed, published, and transmitted to health policymakers and the general public, according to the philosophy of the UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme for Research Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) at the World Health Organization. However, researchers are seldom trained to fill these roles, and in developing countries where literacy levels are low and science journalism is not well established, communicating research findings to the general public poses a considerable challenge. This report describes HRP's series of workshops created to correct this dilemma.
Communicating Science
Authors: WEIGOLD MICHAEL F.
Published: March 2007

This article provides an overview of science communication, which is a vital area of mass communication scholarship. The review is organized around the key players, including news organizations, reporters, science information professionals, scientists, and audiences. Also reviewed is the problem of science communication, which may be partly responsible for widespread science illiteracy. Ways of improving the practice of science communication and an agenda for future research are offered.
Exploring Organizational Approaches to Dissemination and Training
Authors: Firestone William A. , Rossman Gretchen B.
Published: March 2007

Research in such fields as population planning, agriculture, and education has demonstrated the importance of intermediaries to ensure the dissemination of innovative practices However, little attention has been given to how organizations serve this function This article reports four case studies of regional educational service agencies in their role as disseminators of new knowledge Three characteristic approaches to dissemination were identified laissez-faire, entrepreneurial, and authoritarian These approaches wereshapedbyfivefactors in the agency's context state policy initiatives, client concerns, staff interests, history, and leadership External constraints, staff interests, and history created crosspressures that executive leaders responded to by developing missions for their organizations Missions that maximized dissemination services were often associated with some tension with external constituencies
Howard Davis's Writings
Authors: Rich Robert F.
Published: March 2007

Writing this article for a special issue of Knowledge honoring Howie Davis has been a bittersweet experience Sweet because of how much I learn each time I read Howie's work. Bitter because of the fact that he is no longer here to contribute to the many endeavors of which he was apart He was a strong supporter of this journal from the time it was first conceived of. Howie Davis was very important to me from the time that I finished graduate school. He was committed and enthusiastic about the work I was doing in knowledge utilization and mental health policy. He influenced the questions I asked and he helped in shaping the analysis of the data that were analyzed. Howie was also a good friend; we had many stimulating discussions about the work we were doing. I have enjoyed grappling with his ideas .
Congruence in Theory and Practice
Authors: Stalford Charles B.
Published: March 2007

A consensual approach to the use of knowledge, called the "Convening Process, " was successfully used to improve practice by the National Institute of Education. The Convening Process and its effectiveness are described and compared to the well- established Consensus Development Program in NIH. Differences and similarities are seen in the conceptualization and operation of the two programs. Commonalities in sources of knowledge validation in the programs are discussed.
Impact of Educational Support Programs in Schools
Authors: Tillema Harm , Koster Dries
Published: March 2007

What factors influence the use of support programs in schools? In a survey and an in-depth study, a representative set of support activities were measured for both conceptual and instrumental use. A model of factors that were hypothesized to influence use was tested for its fit. School and teacher characteristics as well as support characteristics were taken into account. Results indicated that dissemination, quality of programs, and perceived usefulness are the main influencing factors. School factors as such play a minor role.
Researching Policy Research
Authors: Booth Tim
Published: March 2007

This article addresses the problems of exploring the use of research in the policy process. Measuring the impact or outcomes of policy research raises complex methodological and conceptual issues. How the task is approached and what measures are used depend, for example, on how the nature of the policy-making process is conceived, on what functions research is presumed to play in the making of policy, and on the way in which the relationship between research and policy is presented. Drawing on the wider literature in this field, this article describes and illustrates the three main methods that have been used for studying research use in the policy arena—impact studies, insider accounts, and case studies—and examines their strengths and weaknesses.
Developing a Technology Transfer Program for the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Authors: David Susan
Published: March 2007

Since 1989, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has been developing a systematic program of technology transfer, which is intended to promote use of drug abuse research findings by practitioners in the field. The current program builds on activities conducted by the Institute since its founding in 1974, including research on the technology transfer process in drug abuse. Current technology transfer activities include a recent national conference, convening of an ad hoc committee on technology transfer, and design of a four-step process for promoting wider adoption of identified drug abuse research findings by drug abuse practitioners and treatment or prevention organizations.
"Good Science Gets Funded..."
Authors: Mazuzan George T.
Published: March 2007

This article presents a historical view of the development of the system used at the National Science Foundation for judging proposals sent to the agency for financial support for fundamental research. It looks at the issue in two ways. The study describes first how the policy and process evolved within the foundation. Then, set in the context of the mid-1970s public disillusionment with all government operations spurred by Watergate and the Vietnam War, the article shows how the system has fared to date under the pressure of outside forces and events.
Scientific Influence
Authors: Carley Kathleen M. , Hummon Norman P. , Harty Martha
Published: March 2007

Researchers in scientific specialties and invisible colleges tend to cite each other in their written communications and especially in the Journals devoted to those specialities Such citations form a network through which there are many influence paths The main paths through such citation networks contain the key intellectual developments in these scientific fields If a specialty hangs together as a coherent field of research, one would expect that the citations within the field's journal should reflect the history ofthatfield and exhibit the degree of interconnectedness among the different researchers and their special subgroups Further, to the extent that a field is self-contained (i e , not borrowing on other fields for its key intellectual developments), the citation network within the journal should contain one or more main paths on which are located many of the key intellectual developments of the field These ideas are tested using citations in fifteen volumes of the Journal of Conflict Resolution published from 1957 to 1971
Emerging and Declining Centers of Engineering Science
Authors: Schott Thomas
Published: March 2007

Engineering science, like other fields of research and other world-spanning endeavors, has its rising and fading centers. This study uses surveys of academic researchers and literature in engineering to ascertain the surging Japanese and the relatively declining American research performance. Their recognition and centrality, as well as Japanese and American engineering scientists' participation in global collegial networks are examined Tests corroborate the hypothesis that a place of surging performance (Japan) is deprived of recognition and not yet a major center of influence and collaboration, and that, conversely, a decreasing relative perform ance of the existing center (United States) continues to accumulate recognition and centrality, exceeding its performance.
Teachers' Informal Rationality
Authors: HULTMAN GLENN , HÖRBERG CRISTINA
Published: March 2007

A new area of research focuses on knowledge and its use and significance in relation to teachers in schools. Previous knowledge utilization research focused more on scientific and technical knowledge used by decisionmakers; now research is examining such topics as how evaluations influence teachers' work, how information should be arranged and transmitted, and how educational research results are utilized and by whom. Other interesting questions concern how individual teachers are influenced and develop in their work, how they conceive knowledge and experiences, what the concept “utilization” means to them, and where they find the initiative and inspiration to improve and change their way of working. This article discusses what we know about utilization processes, starting from general studies on utilization of research and then focusing on those specific to educational settings. In our discussion, we point to factors that can perhaps facilitate the use of knowledge in school. Our view is that the use of knowledge must be understood in its social context and in its relation to how different people comprehend it, and what meaning it has for each of them.
The Externalization of Domestic Regulation
Authors: DOREMUS PAUL N.
Published: March 2007

Intellectual property rights (IPR) issues in the semiconductor, software, and biotechnology industries exemplify the pressure that new technologies and international competition are placing on domestic and international regulatory systems. Traditional patent and copyright rules cannot easily accommodate any of these technologies. At the same time, the high costs of research and development, relative ease of replication, and global markets characteristic of these technologies heighten the importance of both domestic and foreign IPR protection. In the context of rapidly changing technological conditions, borderless markets, and inflexible international regimes, national policymakers face a political dilemma: how to accommodate new technologies at home, encourage similar accommodation abroad, and do both without undermining either long-standing domestic IPR arrangements or the international patent and copyright regimes. This article reviews the different strategies of externalization associated with IPR reform in the software, biotechnology, and semiconductor industries. Variations across these cases indicate that fundamentally different technological, market, and political conditions can lead to different strategies for equilibrating incompatible and highly contested domestic and international regulatory rules.
Theoretical and Methodological Questions Concerning a Contextual Approach to Psychosocial Issues of Working Life
Authors: LINDÉN JITKA
Published: March 2007

A participative approach in dealing with problems of the psychosocial work environment poses theoretical and methodological questions that are examined from a general epistemological perspective, with particular focus being placed on tensions between various forms of knowledge. This article demonstrates that emphasis on contextual aspects of knowledge is important, both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint. A diary-in-group method aimed at handling problems of contextuality is presented. An account of its use within a study of the psychosocial work environment of theater actors is provided.
Community Structure and Science Framing of News About Local Environmental Risks
Authors: GRIFFIN ROBERT J. , DUNWOODY SHARON
Published: March 2007

When newspapers cover stories about environmental pollution, the nature of the community they serve can indirectly influence the contents of that coverage. This article describes research showing that newspapers in pluralistic (i.e., usually larger) communities are more likely than papers in homogeneous (i.e., usually smaller) communities to interpret the pollution as a science story. Framing a pollution incident as a science story makes it more likely that the story will link the pollution to health effects, especially when (1) newspapers in pluralistic communities are dealing with a local polluter, and (2) newspapers in homogeneous communities are writing about pollution problems outside the community. These results are consistent with the Tichenor, Donohue, and Olien conflict/consensus model, which posits that the way power is distributed in a community affects the way that stories are selected and framed by local mass media.