bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Site, Vendor, and Consumer Characteristics on Web Site Trust and Disclosure
Authors: Metzger Miriam J.
Published: April 2006

This study examines the role that communication plays in fostering trust and disclosure in electronic commerce exchanges. In particular, this research explores how characteristics of online vendors and consumers interact with Web site communications to affect consumer behavior online. The study relies on two relatively recent models of electronic exchange, the Internet consumer trust model and the electronic exchange model, to examine the effectiveness of certain trust and assurance mechanisms (i.e., privacy policies and seals), as well as e-tailer reputation and individuals' concern for privacy and data security, on trust and disclosure of personal information to commercial Web sites. Results suggest that the vendor characteristic of reputation is important in influencing e-tailer trust and that the content of privacy assurances do not affect trust or disclosure. The findings have important implications for both theoretical models of electronic exchange and for firms engaged in electronic commerce.
Risk-Appraisal Versus Self-Report in the Prediction of Criminal Justice Outcomes
Authors: Walters Glenn D.
Published: April 2006

Twenty-seven individual pairs of effect sizes from 22 prospective studies employing one or more of the following five risk-appraisal procedures: Historical-Clinical-Risk Scales (HCR–20), Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form (LCSF), Level of Service-Inventory (LSI), Psychopathy Checklist (PCL), Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG), and one or more self-report measures were subjected to meta-analysis. Although risk-appraisal procedures displayed an advantage over self-report measures in recidivism prediction, the two methods produced comparable results when the meta-analysis was restricted to investigations using content-relevant self-report predictors. Incremental validity analysis of 72 risk-appraisal/self-report contrasts revealed that bothsets of measures accounted for criminal justice outcomes beyond the variance attributable to the alternate method.
The Level of Service Inventory–Revised Profile of English Prisoners
Authors: Hollin Clive R. , Palmer Emma J.
Published: April 2006

This reconviction study follows a previous needs analysis, using the Level of Supervision Inventory–Revised (LSI-R), with English prisoners. LSI-R scores at prison discharge and reconviction data are available for a sample of the original population. The reconvicted offenders have a higher LSI-R total score, are in higher risk bands, and have higher levels of need on several subscales. With statistical control of key variables, the difference in total score remains, but differences in subscale scores largely disappear. Multivariate analysis reveals a robust effect of LSI-R total score, but not subscale and risk band scores, in contributing to models of both reconviction and time to reconviction. The study provides support for risk assessment with the LSI-R in the English prison service.
Effectiveness of the Direct Supervision System of Correctional Design and Management
Authors: Wener Richard
Published: April 2006

The direct supervision system of correctional management and design was first used in adult detention facilities in 1974. Since then, it has been adopted by hundreds of prisons and jails and accepted as best practice by professional associations and accrediting organizations in corrections. Research assessing its success has taken the form of detailed case studies, comparisons among different facilities, and comparisons within the same facility or system over time. Overall, reports have been consistent in finding that direct supervision has led to reduced assaults and other serious incidents, and lower costs. Findings on the quality of working environments for staff are positive but mixed. Methodological issues and recommendations for future research are considered.
Classifying Juvenile Offenders According to Risk of Recidivism
Authors: Schwalbe Craig S. , Fraser Mark W. , Day Steven H. , Cooley Valerie
Published: April 2006

Structured risk assessment instruments are increasingly used in juvenile justice systems to support judicial decision making. They help juvenile justice authorities identify youths with a higher likelihood of repeat delinquency and reduce discretion associated with disposition decision making. To be effective, these instruments should be accurate across diverse populations. This study describes the predictive validity of the North Carolina Assessment of Risk (NCAR) in a sample of 9,534 adjudicated juveniles in North Carolina. Results show the predictive validity of the NCAR to differ by gender and race/ethnicity. Closer inspection reveals that risk factors for recidivism differed according to demographic group and that brief risk assessment instruments such as the NCAR leave other risk factors unmeasured. The results support the utility of risk assessment for juvenile justice decision making and suggest strategies to improve the validity of risk assessment for all offender groups.
Jesus, ‘Son of God’ and ‘Son of David’: The ‘Adoption’ of Jesus into the Davidic Line
Authors: Levin Yigal
Published: April 2006

The authors of both the first and third Gospels, by insisting on both Jesus' divine paternity and his Davidic descent, pose a conundrum: if Jesus was not Joseph' biological son, in what sense is he the Davidic Messiah? Most modern scholars assume that Joseph must have adopted Jesus in some form or another, thus giving him Davidic status, and many even point to such adoption as a ‘Jewish custom’. This article examines this assumption and shows that adoption was unknown in Jewish law of the period. Furthermore, such adoption was well known in Roman law, especially among the aristocracy. In the case of such emperors as Augustus, whose adoptive fathers had been deified posthumously, this gave them the status of divifilius, ‘son of god’. The inclusion of such a Roman concept into the Gospels may be an indication of the Gentile, rather than Jewish, cultural backgrounds of the evangelists.
Why the Daughter of Herodias Must Dance (Mark 6.14-29)
Authors: Janes Regina
Published: April 2006

To some modern scholars' disapproval, Mark's and Matthew's John the Baptist dies because of two women and a dance. Historically improbable, but theologically essential, the episode in Mark makes theology through narrative structure, juxtaposing the Baptist's death with the raising of Jairus's daughter through the dance of Herodias's daughter and paralleling Jairus's daughter's rising with Jesus' in Mark's original ending, 16.8. While the two daughters point to resurrection and Jesus' feeding the faithful, Herodias confirms John's identity as Elijah by acting the murderous Jezebel to Herod's sympathetic Ahab. Matthew and Luke embrace Mark's Elijanic identification of the Baptist but alter the Herod-Herodias story to accommodate different theological interests. Erasing the Herodian family altogether, John imitates Mark's structural placement of the Baptist as integral to the promise of resurrection.
Adapting Efficacious Interventions
Authors: Solomon Julie , Card Josefina J. , Malow Robert M.
Published: April 2006

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has infected approximately 1.5 million people in the United States. Type 1 translation research (basic research, methods development, and efficacy trials) has yielded multiple efficacious behavioral HIV prevention programs. Type 2 translation research (dissemination and effectiveness studies) has been less prevalent or successful. Adaptation of efficacious interventions for culturally diverse populations has received increasing researcher attention, and empirical validation of adaptation procedures promises to help bridge the gap between Type 1 and Type 2 studies. In this article, the authors briefly discuss the development, testing, and dissemination of efficacious HIV prevention programs and then focus on research-based principles and processes that can guide researchers'adaptation efforts and steps that researchers can take to help empower practitioners to conduct science-based adaptation. Greater collaboration between researchers and service providers to test adaptation frameworks promises to benefit both research and practice.
Translational Research in Childhood Obesity Prevention
Authors: Reynolds Kim D. , Spruijt-Metz Donna
Published: April 2006

This article explores the state of translational research in childhood obesity prevention. Five phases of translational research and emerging findings from basic science that could be useful in the design of obesity prevention programs are described. Few intervention studies have been published, and these are dominated by Phase 3 trials (efficacy), conducted in school settings, with a limited number of studies finding significant effects on Body Mass Index or adiposity. Cost-benefit analyses are lacking. Research is needed to translate basic science findings into novel interventions (Phases 1 and 2) and to translate programs with known behavior change capability into dissemination trials (Phase 5). Translation can be facilitated by enhanced communication between basic science and prevention science researchers, the development of interventions for underused settings, using novel strategies, support by institutions and funding agencies for translation, and the design of interventions with translation in mind.
Translation in Tobacco and Drug Abuse Prevention Research
Authors: Pentz Mary Ann , Jasuja Guneet Kaur , Rohrbach Louise Ann , Sussman Steve , Bardo Michael T.
Published: April 2006

The purpose of this article is to describe the translation of research on tobacco and drug abuse prevention from basic science to program development to large-scale program dissemination, and from animal to human studies. Where relevant, continuity of translation is discussed by referring to two variables that have been studied for their potential relationship to drug use risk in both animals and humans: sensation and novelty seeking and low impulse control. Review of the research indicates relatively slow translation until the early 1990s. The authors recommend several mechanisms to promote more rapid translation across types of research that encourage reciprocal rather than unidirectional transmission of knowledge to expedite the development and diffusion of more timely, targeted drug abuse prevention programs.
Interagency Communication Networks During Emergencies
Authors: Kapucu Naim
Published: April 2006

This article examines the problem of effective interagency communication among organizations and the role of information technologies to achieve effective communication and decision-making goals in emergencies. It explores what factors contribute to effective interorganizational communication and decision making and what factors inhibit their development. The theoretical framework draws on the literature of emergency communication and social capital, with a particular focus on communication and decision making under conditions of uncertainty. The study applies this framework to study the relationships that emerged among public, private, and non-profit organizations following the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001, in New York City. The article indicates the importance of developing a strong communication system with other organizations before a disaster occurs to establish appropriate communication in which effective interagency coordination will take place at the time of a disaster.
Appraising Emotion Work
Authors: Mastracci Sharon H. , Newman Meredith A. , Guy Mary E.
Published: April 2006

In an era when greater responsiveness is required of government workers, the authors test whether there is a blind spot in employee performance appraisals that prevents rewarding the most effective workers. Emotional labor—work that is relational and involves the manipulation and expression of emotions—is labor intensive and is required of many public service workers if they are to perform their jobs well. The authors hypothesize that rationality, or “left brain” work, remains privileged whereas relational work remains marginalized and unrewarded. To investigate whether there is a disconnect between the required performance of emotional labor and annual appraisals that acknowledge its performance, the authors review appraisal instruments used by public agencies in Illinois. Results confirm that 86% of the instruments identify the performance of emotion work at only a perfunctory level or lower. The lack of acknowledgement renders such labor invisible and contributes to depressed wages of those whose jobs require it.
Privatization of Prisons
Authors: Lukemeyer Anna , McCorkle Richard C.
Published: April 2006

The number of state and federal prisoners has increased dramatically over the past 30 years, but public willingness to finance prisons has not kept pace. One response has been a renewed interest in privately managed prisons. Proponents of privatization contend that private contractors, unencumbered by government procurement and personnel procedures, can provide better quality prison services at lower costs. This article uses the 1995 Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional Facilities to examine claims of improved quality. The authors find that privately managed prisons perform better on some, but not all, measures of quality of confinement. Specifically, bivariate comparisons suggest that private facilities outperform both state and federal facilities in terms of the proportion of institutions that are able to avoid inmate assaults on staff members or other inmates. Even when the authors controlled for other causal variables, private prisons remained significantly less likely than federal prisons to experience violence.
Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Toward Proactive Social Equity Scholarship
Authors: Oldfield Kenneth , Candler George , Johnson Richard Greggory
Published: April 2006

An analysis of data from the premier public administration journals in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States shows academic public administration has taken both a narrow and a conservative approach to four social equity issues, including gender, race, sexual orientation, and social class. The findings show these periodicals (a) seldom and sometimes never publish articles on the four themes; (b) confine nearly all their social equity writings to race and gender; sexual orientation and social class receive little or no attention; and (c) only publish such papers long after the matter has become fashionable in most other social circles. The article concludes by suggesting ways American public administration can develop a more intellectually diverse, proactive professoriat, thereby allowing for publishing more—and more timely—articles about emerging social equity topics.
Social Contract Theory
Authors: Jos Philip H.
Published: April 2006

Social contract theorists of the 17th and 18th centuries provide diverse accounts of human nature and the social processes that shape conflict, cooperation, and compliance. These ideas are applied to the challenges of contemporary public administration, specifically; the effort that often underlies both the search for public administration's identity and professionalization more generally: the effort to build consensus on shared values and ideals and ensure ethical practice with a minimum of external policing. A consideration of social contract theory yields a heavy dose of realism when it comes to this objective but invites neither despondency nor complacency.
Nursing Homes and Suffering: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
Authors: Forbes-Thompson Sarah , Gessert Charles E.
Published: April 2006

The quality of residents’ life is now widely recognized as a principle measure of the quality of care provided by nursing homes. This article is focused on the profound psychosocial and existential suffering that was experienced by many of the nursing home residents who were part of a larger study that examined end-of-life experiences in nursing homes. Data were collected using a case study approach, incorporating observations, interviews, and document review. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze data. The narratives of two residents are used as exemplars. Through these narratives, specific examples of physical, psychosocial, and existential suffering are revealed. Suffering as an essential aspect of the human condition is explored within the context of nursing homes as systems of care for older adults. Attention to suffering is integral to quality of life, yet few nursing homes have integrated the diagnosis and relief of suffering into their routine work.
A Broader Look at the “Accountability” Movement
Authors: Hays Steven W. , Sowa Jessica E.
Published: April 2006

Based on a 50-state survey, this article provides an analysis of the impacts of civil service reform on human resource management (HRM) systems. The most fundamental conclusion is that public employees in a majority of states are being directly affected by human resources reforms. In particular, the civil service's traditional job protections are eroding because of decentralization of HRM authority, the active declassification of workers, restrictions on due process rights, and the efforts of activist governors. The implications of these phenomena on the professional civil service—and the notion of a public management career—are examined.
At-Will Employment in Government
Authors: Coggburn Jerrell D.
Published: April 2006

Supplanting civil service systems’ procedural protections with at-will employment policies is a recent and important phenomenon in public service. This article examines the state of Texas, an at-will employer. It reports a 2005 survey of the state's human resource directors focusing on the at-will doctrine and its use and effects. Respondents agreed that at-will employment enhances employee responsiveness to agency administrators but held mixed opinion of its effects on other employee behaviors (e.g., risk taking, whistle-blowing, decision making, sensitivity to issues of fairness) and agency performance. The article calls for governments to take a more holistic view of at-will employment when considering its adoption.
The Rise of At-Will Employment and Racial Inequality in the Public Sector
Authors: Wilson George
Published: April 2006

This article assesses several likely consequences of moving from a traditional tenure to an at-will system of employment for patterns of racial inequality in the public sector. On the basis of these consequences, it is argued that an at-will system may negate the long-standing status of the public arena as the labor market niche for African Americans. The broad discretion of employers may increase susceptibility of African Americans to discrimination-induced job dismissals. In addition, employment at will may reduce the social-psychological benefits traditionally associated with government employment.
Civil Service Reform Today
Authors: Bowman James S. , West Jonathan P.
Published: April 2006

A nonpartisan public service is a priceless asset in American governance. The articles in this issue provide insight into contemporary civil service reform. How the debate is finally resolved will affect the integrity of democracy in the years ahead.
The Effect of Pre-movement Time and Occupant Density on Evacuation Time
Authors: Guanquan Chu , Jinhua Sun
Published: April 2006

The effect of occupant pre-movement time and occupant density on evacuation time is presented in this article. Two hypothetical scenarios, a simple room and a multi-compartment building, are presented as building environment. The occupant pre-movement time, an important component of the evacuation time in buildings, follows probability distribution. It is characterized by normal distribution to study its effect on evacuation time for different occupant densities. Moreover, when pre-movement time is characterized by explicit values, the effect of pre-movement time on evacuation time is also studied. Probability distribution of the total evacuation time is also studied under different pre-movement times characterized by normal distributions. Based on congestion and queue analysis, some phenomena of simulation results are interpreted theoretically.
Professionals and Saints
Authors: Solari Cinzia
Published: April 2006

Russian-speaking homecare workers deploy two divergent discursive practices—professionalism and sainthood—in understanding carework. These two meaning-making systems have consequences for how this work is performed and experienced by workers. Surprisingly, the division is not based on gender. Instead, immigration laws filter Jewish and Orthodox Christian immigrants from the former Soviet Union into two separate sets of resettlement institutions. The characteristics of these separate institutional settings shape the discursive tools available to these two groups, leading Jewish refugees to deploy professionalism while Orthodox Christian immigrants deploy sainthood. These discursive practices affect gendered identities, allowing workers in some cases to renegotiate hegemonic notions of masculinity and create new models of “feminine” caregiving.
Poor Women's Discourses of Legitimacy, Poverty, and Health
Authors: Reid Colleen , Tom Allison
Published: April 2006

In this study, we sought a better understanding of how poor women made meaning of their poverty and health. Twenty research participants used varied, multiple, and at times contradictory discourses that shaped their identities as both legitimate and powerful and illegitimate and powerless. We identified four discourses in the women's talk—illegitimate dependencies, legitimate dependencies, overwhelming odds, and critique and collectivism. These four discourses revealed complexes of meanings and networks of interpretation that subverted, accommodated, and reinterpreted dominant discourses of poverty and health. This examination is relevant for feminist researchers attempting to understand the impact of dominant discourses in the lives of socially marginalized women who continually struggle to establish and strengthen claims to legitimacy and moral worth.
Whose Threshold? Women's Strategies of Ritualization
Authors: Berry Jan
Published: April 2006

This article looks at the growing practice of women's ritualization, in which women are devising and enacting their own rituals to mark life events. It examines Turner's work on liminality and offers a feminist critique. It then goes on to explore women's ritual as a conscious and intentional strategy, drawing on Catherine Bell's work and extracts from interviews. Finally, it poses questions about the ways in which women's ritual may be seen as subversive of the status quo.
Ecofeminism and Process Philosophy
Authors: Christ Carol P.
Published: April 2006

In this article Carol Christ illustrates the ways in which process philosophy offers dynamic alternatives to dualistic habits of thought. She highlights how the Goddess is the most relational in the process and therefore the most sympathetic to the unfolding of the universe and those who inhabit it, human and non-human alike. Change she asserts is good, indeed divine, a statement in bold contrast to the Western tradition which attempts to fix and control all things. The individual and her relationship to the environment becomes an active process, with neither reduced to mere things, and both ever changing in relationship. The article offers a resounding challenge to those still stuck in dualistic metaphysics and the world that springs from them.
Religion and Eating Disorders: Towards Understanding a Neglected Perspective
Authors: Grenfell Joanne Woolway
Published: April 2006

This article seeks to explore a neglected perspective in pastoral theology: namely that of the influence of conservative family culture and church practice on the spiritual, emotional, and physical development of young Christian women, particularly in the area of disordered eating patterns and negative self-image. It shows the ways in which hidden tensions, particularly within somewhat marginal Christian communities, or for groups which seek to define themselves strongly against prevailing secular cultural norms, can play themselves out in the inner conflicts of vulnerable young women. Such conflicts often centre on their difficulties in trying to define themselves in relation to their family and culture when they may have neither the opportunity nor the language to articulate the burden of such hidden conflicts. The author suggests models of pastoral care which involve working with Christian tradition and scriptural narratives to help Christian communities, and particularly women within them, to redefine assumptions about female roles and norms, and to develop a more open and physically grounded spirituality.
Art at the Edge: The Painter Marlene Dumas
Authors: Dröes Freda
Published: April 2006

In this acticle I want to introduce the work of the painter Marlene Dumas. The human condition (m/f) and religion are important themes in her work. I explore the question if she is a feminist, religious or neither but an artist with just provoking ideas? In my opinion she is in her provoking ideas at the edge of both feminism and religion.
An Application of a Plastic Optical Fiber Sensor and Genetic Algorithm for Structural Health Monitoring
Authors: Kuang K. S. C. , Maalej M. , Quek S. T.
Published: April 2006

This article demonstrates the potential of a new extrinsic plastic optical fiber (POF) sensor for vibration-based structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. A simple genetic algorithm (GA) is used in conjunction with the POF sensor. The construction and principle of operation of the intensity-based POF sensor used in the study is described, highlighting the advantages of the present sensor over previous designs based on glass fiber. A series of mechanical tests are conducted to evaluate the performance of the POF sensor and the results demonstrate the potential of the sensor for SHM. To assess the potential of the POF sensor for vibration-based damage identification, the sensor is attached to a beam to measure the global dynamic response of a carbon fiber composite beam. The POF sensor is surface-bonded to the cantilever beam and collocated with a polyvinyl idine fluoride-based piezofilm sensor for comparison. The time-history responses of the sensors following an impulse-type excitation of the beam are obtained and analyzed using classical Fourier transform techniques to identify the modal frequencies of the beam. Based on the basic principle that changes in structural properties will lead to changes in its vibration signatures, the sensor is used to monitor and acquire the vibration signatures. To simulate the vibration signature shifts, weights are used which are located sequentially at specific distances along the beam. The global dynamic responses of the beam are recorded using an oscilloscope following the excitation of the beam. The results show that the POF sensor is capable of detecting the relevant modal frequencies. Using a GA approach, the mass and location of the weights are identified based on the optical signal acquired through the POF sensor. This article demonstrates the potential of the POF–GA system for damage identification in a simple cantilever beam.
Position Control of a Three-link Shape Memory Alloy Actuated Robot
Authors: Ashrafiuon Hashem , Eshraghi Mojtaba , Elahinia Mohammad H.
Published: April 2006

A simple and robust position controller is proposed for a small planar three- degree-of-freedom robot arm actuated by two shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators and a servomotor. A simple model of the robot is used for controller development. The model combines robot kinematics and dynamics with crude models of SMA wire heat convection, constitutive law, and phase transformation. It is then used to estimate ‘optimal’ parameters for the position controllers. The controllers are based on variable structure control approach and their development is of an evolutionary nature starting with a simple switching surface of position tracking errors and followed by the addition of velocity and integral tracking errors, respectively. The final controller is shown to be particularly fast since it heats the SMA wires with maximum available voltage, but avoids overshoot thereby avoiding the slow natural cooling process compared. Several experiments have been performed with a desktop prototype of the robot. The experimental results verify the effective and robust performance of the controllers despite significant modeling inaccuracies during the controller parameter development process. An additional advantage of the controller is that it can be implemented on a controller board with very limited computation capacity.
Development of a Piezoelectric-actuated Fuel Modulation System for Active Combustion Control
Authors: Schiller N. H. , Saunders W. R. , Chishty W. A. , Vandsburger Uri , Baumann W. T.
Published: April 2006

The development and testing of a liquid-fuel modulation system for active combustion control applications is presented. This article focuses primarily on the actuator selection process, discussing the tradeoffs between high-bandwidth electromagnetic actuators, piezoelectric stacks, and magnetostrictive actuators. The comparison shows that a piezoelectric stack is the best candidate for our combustion control system due to its compact size, bandwidth capabilities, and relatively low cost. Using a piezoelectric stack, the fuel modulation system was capable of modulating more than 75% of the mean flow rate and successfully stabilized a single-nozzle kerosene combustor.
Lamb Waves-based Impact Damage Monitoring of a Stiffened Aircraft Panel using Piezoelectric Transducers
Authors: Monnier Thomas
Published: April 2006

The growth of the use of composite materials to replace traditional materials as primary structures remains limited by the significant inspection costs that are required to detect the appearance of internal defects. Indeed, many different damage processes can be observed in such kinds of heterogeneous media. The present article defines an in situ and nondestructive method for the impact damage monitoring of carbon/epoxy laminated composites. This structural health monitoring (SHM) method aims to improve the operational safety of the structure using integrated piezoelectric sensors. We describe the propagation of Lamb waves inside a stiffened aeronautical structure, and the definition of associated data processing systems. The detection of realistic defects thanks to the definition of a damaging parameter, based on the real time analysis of the ultrasonic signatures transmitted inside the structure is outlined.
Structural Deflection Monitoring Using an Embedded ETDR Distributed Strain Sensor
Authors: Lin Mark W. , Thaduri Jagan
Published: April 2006

Feasible application of the electrical time domain reflectometry (ETDR) technique for distributed strain measurement is investigated in this study. A prototype coaxial ETDR distributed strain sensor is embedded into a laboratory-scale reinforced concrete beam specimen, and three-point bending tests are conducted. The ETDR signal waveforms of the embedded sensor are used to determine the deflection profiles of the beam under various bending loads. The resulting deflection profiles are validated by their good agreements with the deflection measurements by LVDT displacement sensors at four discrete locations. It is shown that the ETDR distributed sensing technique has the capability to capture the variation of the load-induced axial strain along the sensing line. In addition, the ETDR distributed sensor could also clearly capture the location of localized high strain points.
Only a Piece of Meat
Authors: Feder-Alford Elaine
Published: April 2006

Patients in hospitals are often treated as objects without regard for their subjective sense of self. The following narrative is an account of the day-to-day experiences of one patient's recent hospital confinement. It is a demonstration of her loss of subjective freedom and her struggle to regain her dignity and sense of self through negotiated interactions. Main topics include patient indignities, loss of power and control, patient management work, and identity maintenance. The ethnomethodological perspective is invoked as an interpretive method of inquiry.
A Moral Epistemology of Knowing Subjects
Authors: Gunzenhauser Michael G.
Published: April 2006

This article is an analysis of “relation” in qualitative research. The analysis emerges from consideration of feminist philosophies of ethics and epistemologies, including Code's moral epistemology, and exemplars of qualitative research by Duneier and Lather and Smithies. The central argument of the article is that the quality of qualitative research reflects the quality of relation developed between the researcher and researched as “knowing subjects.” The article shows the implications of a turn to relation as following these themes: the commitment to knowing to care, engendering multiple relations, illusions of closeness, and representation of relational knowing.
Between Overt and Covert Research
Authors: Lugosi Peter
Published: April 2006

This article examines the ways in which problems of concealment emerged in an ethnographic study of a suburban bar and considers how disclosure of the research aims, the recruitment of informants, and elicitation of information was negotiated throughout the fieldwork. The case study demonstrates how the social context and the relationships with specific informants determined overtness or covertness in the research. It is argued that the existing literature on covert research and covert methods provides an inappropriate frame of reference with which to understand concealment in fieldwork. The article illustrates why concealment is sometimes necessary, and often unavoidable, and concludes that the criticisms leveled against covert methods should not stop the fieldworker from engaging in research that involves covertness.
Travel Broadens the Mind or Making the Strange Familiar
Authors: Sikes Pat
Published: April 2006

This article tells an autoethnographic story of the ways in which a specific tourist experience—visiting a “girlie” bar in Bangkok—led me to reflect afresh on themes, issues, and concerns that have always been central to my work as a researcher and academic, namely, storying lives, autobiography and/or biography, identities and careers, giving voice, Othering, representation, social justice, and making the familiar strange. Most of all, however, the experience strengthened my commitment to the need to recognize the way in which the strange is familiar and to “acknowledge how much ‘out there’is like, ‘in here’” (Neumann, 1996, p. 182).
Women's Lived Experiences With Pregnancy and Midwifery in a Medicalized and Fetocentric Context
Authors: Parry Diana C.
Published: April 2006

Increasingly, women are subjected to examination throughout pregnancy and childbirth. Historically, pregnancy and childbirth were considered a natural, normal, woman-centered event. Presently, they are conceptualized as a dangerous time when a woman's health and that of her baby are at risk, thus requiring constant medical monitoring and intervention, often under the control of male physicians. As a consequence, women negotiate their experiences with pregnancy in a medicalized and fetocentric ideological context. The collection of stories in this article reveals the social and cultural contexts of women's lived experiences with pregnancy through a feminist lens. Short stories are used to give voice to women's experiences and to assert that women are the experts of their own health and well-being. Moreover, the use of narratives contributes to the dialogue of creative analytic practice and representation fostered by qualitative inquiry and feminist epistemologies.
Voices at Mother's Kitchen
Authors: Cotanda Dionel
Published: April 2006

In this article, the author draws on memory to relive interactions with his mother and his wife as well as his own experiences before his arrival to the United States in 1960. His autoethnographic writing is an attempt to understand his departure from Cuba and his relationship with his mother and his wife. He discusses concepts of collective unconsciousness and the reluctant immigrant and how historically constituted power relations define the identity of Cuban exiles. He highlights the battle of the politics of passion and the politics of affection—two polar opposites. As the politics of affection undermine the goals of the politics of passion, the moral imperative of what ought to be is not achieved and becomes an antecedent to exile.
Influence of Face/Core Interface on Debond Toughness of Foam and Balsa Cored Sandwich
Authors: Truxel A. , Avilés F. , Carlsson L. A. , Grenestedt J. L. , Millay K.
Published: April 2006

The face/core debond fracture resistance of sandwich panels consisting of glass fiber/vinylester face sheets over a 155 kg/m 3 end-grain balsa wood core and a 200 kg/m 3 PVC foam core has been examined. The sandwich panels were prepared using a variety of resin infusion strategies with the objective of comparing face/core adhesion. The resin infusion methods include machining grooves in the core, adding a layer of continuous filament mat at the face/core interface, resin distribution medium on top of the face sheet fibers, and no infusion aid but significantly delayed gel-time by addition of cure inhibitor. The tilted sandwich debond (TSD) method is used for determination of debond fracture toughness (G C). It was found that the use of a continuous filament mat between the face and core provided the toughest interface, although the panels prepared using the resin cure inhibitor are almost as tough. Overall, the PVC foam core provided higher toughness than the balsa wood core.
African Phoenix? Explaining the Electoral Performance of the Formerly Dominant Parties in Africa
Authors: Ishiyama John , Quinn John James
Published: April 2006

In this article we address the question: what explains the varying degrees of success of the formerly dominant political parties in African oneparty states following ‘democratic’ transition? Indeed, political liberalization and democratization pose strong environmental shocks to formerly dominant parties and radically change the environment in which these parties exist. Such parties are faced with great pressures to adapt to their new environment. Why are some more successful than others? To address this question, we examine the evidence from 22 sub-Saharan African countries over 53 legislative elections from 1990 to 2003. We find that the legacies of different previous regimes, party incumbency and (to some extent) the degree of ethnolinguistic fractionalization, impact on the relative electoral success of the formerly dominant parties.
Strategizing Party Adaptation
Authors: Cheng Tun-jen
Published: April 2006

On the first electoral defeat of the age-old Kuomintang (KMT) in the year 2000, many predicted its disintegration. However, as the 2004 election unfolded, many forecast its triumphant return. This article identifies the key institutional factors that have kept the defeated party from becoming defunct, and the strategic choice that the KMT leadership has made for its political recovery. The party pursued a reform strategy before forging a pact with like-minded parties, and reestablished its leadership among the alliance of political opposition parties. Lacking a vision and unable to confront the most salient political issue in newly democratized Taiwan, the KMT is suffering an identity crisis and struggling to be a party of the present and the future.
The Changing Party of the Institutional Revolution
Authors: Langston Joy
Published: April 2006

We know little about how formerly hegemonic parties react to drastic changes in the external political environment. Under non-competitive electoral conditions, the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI) was characterized by centralized legislative recruitment and candidate selection that delivered a large percentage of coveted senate candidacies to national-level party politicians and bureaucrats. This centralized and nationalized recruitment gave the leader of the PRI enormous control over his wide-flung political elite. Since elections have become competitive, the PRI has decentralized its recruitment of senate candidates, searching out those most popular with state voters. This work compares the PRI candidates’ backgrounds from the non-competitive and competitive periods, and runs a logistical regression to ascertain if there is a relation between competition and types of party politicians winning nominations. The article demonstrates, using first-of-its-kind data on professional backgrounds of candidates (rather than sitting legislators), that legislative recruitment in a federal context has been decentralized in Mexico.
Enhancing the efficacy of antidepressants with psychotherapy
Authors: Petersen Timothy J.
Published: April 2006

Even after optimal treatment with and response to antidepressant medications during acute treatment of major depressive disorder, residual symptoms are common. Patients with residual symptoms are at increased risk of relapse and recurrence. Research suggests that psychotherapy may play an important role in enhancing the effects of antidepressant drug therapy and improving patients' long-term prognosis. Psychotherapy targets specific symptoms associated with relapse (e.g., guilt, hopelessness, negativity, low self-esteem) that antidepressants may not, reduces residual symptoms (e.g., irritability), improves coping skills for long-term disease management and promotes sustained, healthy cognitive changes. In addition, neuroimaging data suggest that psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy target different primary sites of the cortical-limbic pathway with differential top-down and bottom-up effects, resulting in modulation of critical common targets and facilitation of disease remission. The use of adjunctive psychotherapy in the acute phase of depression treatment appears to provide only a modest increase in response rates, although combined pharmaco-psychotherapy may prevent or delay relapse. Simultaneous application of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy during the maintenance phase does not consistently provide a clear advantage over maintenance pharmacotherapy. In contrast, sequential use of psychotherapy after induction of remission with acute antidepressant drug therapy may confer a better long-term prognosis in terms of preventing relapse or recurrence and, for some patients, may be a viable alternative to maintenance medication therapy.
Pharmacological approaches to the treatment of residual symptoms
Authors: Fava Maurizio
Published: April 2006

Despite the efficacy of currently available antidepressant treatment, residual symptoms are common among individuals treated for major depressive disorder and are associated with an increased risk of relapse and poor psychosocial functioning. However, distinguishing treatment-emergent side effects from residual symptoms can be challenging for clinicians. Anxiety, sleep disturbance, somnolence/fatigue, apathy and cognitive dysfunction are among the more frequent residual symptoms. Approaches to the management of residual symptoms include addressing treatment-emergent side effects and co-morbid conditions, optimizing antidepressant dosing and using augmentation therapy. Clinicians are often guided in their decisions by anecdotal impressions. Studies assessing the evaluation and treatment of residual symptoms and side effects will contribute importantly to the optimal acute and long-term management of depression.
HDLalert – a healthcare DL alerting system: from user needs to implementation
Authors: Hinze Annika , Buchanan George , Jung Doris , Adams Anne
Published: April 2006

In the health domain, there are many circumstances where clinicians (i.e. doctors, nurses, allied health professionals) and patients wish to track changes in medical knowledge. However, existing ‘news’ or ‘alert’ services provide relatively limited means for selecting which information to receive. The result is that clinicians and patients often receive information that is inappropriate, irrelevant or simply too much. In this paper, we detail alert-relevant findings from several international user studies (e.g. UK, Germany and New Zealand) incorporating both clinical staff (across several hospitals) and patients’ perceptions. These findings demonstrate the importance of context, in terms of both the user's task and immediate environment. We introduce a novel alerting architecture that can provide a finely tailored stream of alerts to the user, and provides further support to assist the interpretation of received material.
Healthcare information giving services: technologies and everyday practicalities
Authors: Clarke Karen , Rooksby John , Rouncefield Mark , Procter Rob , Slack Roger
Published: April 2006

This paper presents findings from observational studies of work practice in two ‘information giving’ services – a poisons information service and a mental health helpline – as a precursor to informing the design of such services. Our work high- lights the interactions that constitute the requesting and giving of information and the role of intermediaries in the delivery of recipient-designed information. We propose a shift of focus from the logic of information in system design to one that encompasses the practicalities of information giving.
Patient information needs: pre- and post-consultation
Authors: Attfield Simon J. , Adams Anne , Blandford Ann
Published: April 2006

This paper presents findings from a study of information seeking behaviour by National Health Service patients which explored motivational triggers for infor- mation needs. Previous research has highlighted the importance of contextual elements in users' changing information needs. This paper highlights how those needs may centre on specific events: in particular, a patient's consultation with their doctor. Patients initiate information seeking to assess whether they need clinical intervention, in preparation for the patient–doctor consultation and to verify the diagnosis or treatment stemming from that consultation. The study has revealed that having confidence in health practitioners is one key motiva- tion for information seeking. Another is a desire to use health service resources judiciously, efficiently and effectively.
Jesus as the High Priestly Messiah: Part 1
Authors: Fletcher-Louis Crispin
Published: April 2006

Recent study of the priesthood in Second Temple life and thought invites a reconsideration of Jesus’ self-understanding. The appeal to Psalm 110 and Daniel 7.13 indicates that Jesus thought that, although not of priestly lineage, nevertheless he would ultimately be the nation's king and priest after the order of Melchizedek. Mark 1–6 contains a programmatic statement of Jesus’ claim to a high priestly identity as the ‘holy one of God’ (1.24), with a high priestly contagious holiness (1.40-45; 5.25-34; 5.35-43), freedom to forgive sins (2.1-12) and the embodiment of divine presence in a Galilean cornfield (2.23-28). As true high priest he makes divine presence ‘draw near’ to God's people (1.15), where before they had to ‘draw near’ to the Jerusalem temple. The hypothesis that Jesus thought he was Israel's long-awaited eschatological high priest resolves otherwise intractable problems in historical Jesus scholarship. This is Part 1 of a two-part essay.
Demystifying Gender Differences in Mentoring:Theoretical Perspectives and Challenges for Future Research on Gender and Mentoring
Authors: Young Angela M. , Cady Steven , Foxon Marguerite J.
Published: April 2006

Issues of gender and mentoring are explored through several theoretical lenses—similarity-attraction paradigm, power dependence, social exchange, biological, and psychological theories—to provide a more comprehensive view of mentoring from a gender-based perspective. Issues related to gender and mentoring presented in past mentoring research and tenets from several theoretical bases are used to develop research propositions. The relevance of studying gender issues in mentoring is emphasized and suggestions for conducting research on gender and mentoring are presented.