bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Divided Lives of Women in Literature
Authors: Pope Katherine V.
Published: May 2005

In our culture, where female independent selfhood has been defined as theologically evil, biologically unnatural, psychologically unhealthy, and socially in bad taste, women in literature, like their real life counterparts, struggle to present a restricted, socially defined image to the world and to maintain at the same time a well-hidden separate self. In this respect, the woman is an artist, who uses her imagination to create the image that society requires. The “feminine” image is defined in terms of negatives—inaction, lack of intelligence, weakness, etc.–while its creator must employ not only imagination and intelligence but great amounts of psychic energy. The woman may act out the restrictive, socially acceptable image as a way of protecting the male ego or as a way of avoiding conflict and social abuse. She may assume a more aggressive attitude toward the dichotomy, using it to gain money and social position. The discrepancy between what a woman is and thinks and what she appears to be and to think is the major subject of woman's humor. It also can become a form of revenge against the man and the society that obstruct the expression of her true self. To free herself from the dichotomy, the fictional woman may deny or even destroy the separate self, or she may withdraw from the outer world and live only in terms of the inner self, which can find neither relationship nor validation beyond itself. In order to escape the split life temporarily, the fictional woman may create a realm of fantasy, an imagined world in which either the separate self or the social image ceases to exist.
Leaving it up to the Workers: Sociological Perspective on the Management of Health and Safety in Small Workplaces
Authors: Eakin Joan M.
Published: May 2005

Small workplaces present particular challenges for the promotion of occupational health and safety. However, little is known about the social organization of work in such settings and how it relates to matters of health and safety. The research on which this article is based relates patterns of occupational health behavior to the nature of social relationships within the workplace. From a qualitative analysts of interviews with 53 small business owners, the author describes the most common approach to managing workplace health and safety: leaving it up to the workers. This posture is explained in terms of the owners' perception of risk, particularly their understanding of workplace hazards, and their assessment of the social costs of ignoring or addressing such issues. Owners tended to discount or normalize health hazards, and to believe that management intervention in employee health behavior was paternalistic and inconsistent with prevailing patterns of labor relations and norms respecting individual autonomy. Many owners understood health and safety not as a bureaucratic function of management but as a personal moral enterprise in which they did not have legitimate authority. The conceptualization of the owners' responses in terms of “social rationality” has implications for addressing problems of health and safety in small workplaces.
The Role of a Private Research Foundation in a Technical Writing Program
Authors: Kelton Robert W.
Published: May 2005

A long-term relationship between a technical writing program and a single non-university organization can have rewards as significant as short-term relationships with several such organizations. Four specific programs of interaction now in effect at Battelle Memorial Institute and Ohio State University provide Battelle personnel ready access to information on the state-of-the-art of rhetorical theory and assure them of a large pool of well trained writers as potential employees. The technical writing faculty gains confidence and a better understanding of the tasks typically performed by technical writers over long periods of time. Description of these particular programs of interaction suggests ways to foster similar programs elsewhere, even in the absence of nearby research foundations.
Research in Context: Ethnographic Usability
Authors: Dorazio Patricia , Stovall Julia
Published: May 2005

The only way to judge a product's acceptance in the workplace is through its use. However, before a product is released into the marketplace, its developers would like to predict its acceptability in the target market. One predictor of acceptability is usability test results. Typically, usability testing takes place outside of the user's natural environment in a usability test lab, an artificial environment. This article suggest ways in which ethnographic principles, historically used to describe a culture from the point of view of someone within that culture, can be used along with traditional usability testing to predict a product's acceptability in the marketplace.
Surviving “Risk Factor Frenzy”: The Perils of Incorrectly Applying Epidemiological Research in Health Education and Promotion
Authors: Robison Jonathan I. , Kline Gregory
Published: May 2005

In health education and promotion, “risk factors” for disease gathered from epidemiological research form the basis from which the majority of recommendations to individuals for lifestyle change are made. Unfortunately, many health practitioners are unaware that this type of research was never intended to be applied to individuals. The result is ongoing public confusion and anxiety concerning health recommendations and a loss of credibility for health professionals. This article: 1) briefly reviews the most commonly encountered limitations inherent in epidemiological research; 2) explores the problems and potential negative consequences of incorrectly applying epidemiological research in health education and promotion; and 3) makes recommendations to help health practitioners more skillfully interpret and incorporate into their work findings from epidemiological research.
Investigating “Sense of Belonging” in First-Year College Students
Authors: Hoffman Marybeth , Richmond Jayne , Morrow Jennifer , Salomone Kandice
Published: May 2005

A great deal of emphasis in higher education is centered on questions such as, “Why do students leave college and how can we get them to stay?” Although researchers have pointed to the import of “sense of belonging” in departure decisions, a measure of students' subjective sense of affiliation and identification with the university community has not been developed. The following is an empirical measure of “sense of belonging” which sheds light on factors that contribute to retention. Gaining greater clarity regarding factors important to the development of “sense of belonging” can help institutional policy planners evaluate the effectiveness of retention programs on their campuses, design more effective intervention strategies, and identify students at risk for departure.
A Human Relations Laboratory Approach to Death and Dying
Authors: Kopel Kenneth , O'Connell Walter , Paris Joyce , Girardin Peter
Published: May 2005

In response to a request from the hospital nursing service, the authors devised a one day human relations laboratory experience focused on death and the dying patient. The lab consisted of four exercises, two that dealt with personal feelings about death and two that dealt with professional responses to the dying patient. Details of these exercises and reactions of the participants are presented.
Patient Mislabeling of Symptoms: Implications for Patient-Physician Communication and Medical Outcome
Authors: Dirks Jerald F. , Schraa James C. , Robinson Sharon K.
Published: May 2005

Mislabeling of symptoms was studied in a group of 587 chronic asthmatic patients. Results indicated a wide variation in both the frequency and type of mislabeling, with over 26 per cent of the patients mislabeling one or more nonairways obstruction symptom clusters as being an asthma attack. Several demographic and personality factors were found to correlate with mislabeling. Finally, mislabeling was associated with medical outcome, with mislabelers being 40 per cent more likely than nonmislabelers to be rehospitalized for their asthma within six months of discharge.
The Hollow Holiday: Christmas, a Time of Death in Appalachia
Authors: Marriott Cindy , Harshbarger Dwight
Published: May 2005

An inquiry was conducted into the question of the influence of Christmas and Easter on the occurrence of death. The authors hypothesized that dying might be postponed until after these two important events resulting in a significantly increased frequency of death after these holidays. Obituaries were read for 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after each holiday for 6 alternate years beginning in 1960 and ending in 1970. Chi square analyses were calculated for each week. The results indicated a significant peak 2 weeks after Christmas (p < .05). The Easter data did not corroborate the authors' hypothesis.
Games Online: Social Icebreakers That Orient Students to Synchronous Protocol and Team Formation
Authors: Fisher M. , Tucker D.
Published: May 2005

With the advent of the Internet, schools are now able to better fulfill student's needs in terms of how they offer classes. Life is faster paced, with many people juggling work as well as study, so the ability for a university or college to offer classes online is now an option that many schools are deciding to focus on in order to cater to the needs of students. However, with the move away from the traditional face-to-face classroom interaction to a more impersonal computer classroom, many instructors have to deal with the fact that their online classes are not offering the same kind of feel of community that a traditional classroom can offer. Online classes are social classes that rely heavily on one's ability to communicate effectively in a group setting. Community, the sense of belonging to a group of same interest, is something very key to the success of many face-to-face classes. How does one transfer that same community and closeness to an online class for students that may have never met each other in real life and have only ever interacted together across the Internet?
Nurses as Technical Writers: What They Need to Know
Authors: Spears Lee A.
Published: May 2005

Acquaintance with the writing of nurses would help instructors design assignments for nursing students who enroll in basic technical writing courses. Based on secondary research, samples of nursing documentation, and interviews with seventy-six bedside nurses, thirty nurse managers, and five nurse consultants, this study discusses the importance of writing tasks for nurses and describes the most common documents nurses generate. Good writing skills for nurses improve healthcare delivery and promote empowerment in a predominantly female profession. However, most of the bedside nurses and all the nurse managers and consultants believe nurses have significant writing problems. This article suggests instruction in six communication principles and several types of assignments that would help prepare nursing students in technical writing courses for future writing activities.
The Effect of Navigation Tools on Learners' Achievement and Attitude in a Hypermedia Environment
Authors: Farrell Inez H. , Moore David M.
Published: May 2005

Navigation tools can be used to direct the amount of learner control and student interactivity available in a hypermedia environment. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if varying the amount of learner control and interactivity through the use of different navigation tools (linear, menu, and search engine) would influence the achievement and attitude of learners of different academic abilities. Results indicated a significant difference for high ability students using the search engine navigation tool. A significant difference in positive attitude was found for all ability levels using the menu navigation tool.
Dream Consciousness in Problem Solving
Authors: Brodsky Stanley L. , Esquerre Johanna , Jackson Robert R.
Published: May 2005

The conventional paradigm for understanding dreams is to divide human experience into two realms: the sleep state in which dream thought appears and the waking state in which conscious thought appears. The study of lucid dreaming during the sleep state has challenged this dichotomy from the sleep component. Lucid dreaming can have conscious thought and control. The present report describes an experiment which suggests that the essence of dream thought may consciously be applied in the waking state. Forty-six college students were asked to apply an operational definition of dream consciousness to four problem solving tasks. A wide variety of responses were produced, and a normal distribution of dream thought was observed. The implications for considering dreams and conscious thought were discussed.
Emotional Intelligence
Authors: Salovey Peter , Mayer John D.
Published: May 2005

This article presents a framework for emotional intelligence, a set of skills hypothesized to contribute to the accurate appraisal and expression of emotion in oneself and in others, the effective regulation of emotion in self and others, and the use of feelings to motivate, plan, and achieve in one's life. We start by reviewing the debate about the adaptive versus maladaptive qualities of emotion. We then explore the literature on intelligence, and especially social intelligence, to examine the place of emotion in traditional intelligence conceptions. A framework for integrating the research on emotion-related skills is then described. Next, we review the components of emotional intelligence. To conclude the review, the role of emotional intelligence in mental health is discussed and avenues for further investigation are suggested.
Physical Illness, Psychiatric Illness, and the Acceptability of Suicide
Authors: Deluty Robert H.
Published: May 2005

The present study assessed whether attitudes toward suicide vary as a function of the type of illness that precipitates the suicide. The participants in the study were 455 college students who were administered a questionnaire consisting of one of seven scenarios describing a fictitious man who has decided to kill himself, as well as a series of evaluative questions about the man and his decision. The man was portrayed as suffering from chronic, severe depression in five of the scenarios (the scenarios differed in their descriptions of the depression); from chronic, severe physical pain in the sixth scenario; and from terminal bone cancer in the seventh. Evaluations of the suicide were most favorable when it occurred in response to terminal physical illness, less favorable in response to chronic, non-terminal physical illness, and least favorable in response to chronic psychiatric illness.
Malaria Eradication and the Selective Approach to Health Care: Some Lessons from Ethiopia
Authors: Gish Oscar
Published: May 2005

Analysis of the failure of the World Health Organization's global malaria campaign has contributed to the formulation of the primary health care concept as the basic international strategy for health improvement. The Primary Health Care Conference held in Alma-Ata in 1978 was to have ended the period of vertical disease control programs, such as the one against malaria, stressing instead the integration of these programs into horizontal community-based health systems. Malaria control programs, however, have not been integrated well—or in some cases at all—into primary health care networks. An analysis of the Ethiopian experience, as part of the worldwide malaria eradication program, illustrates the political and economic forces that have worked against the move from vertical to integrated malaria control activities, and from vertical to integrated health programs more generally.
The Influence of Personality Type on a Distance Course in Accounting
Authors: Barkhi Reza , Brozovsky John
Published: May 2005

Although distance education technology is being promoted as a method of reaching students who cannot be residents on campus, the dynamics of this technology on education are not well understood. While some individuals find a distance course interesting and useful, others perceive it as frustrating. We compare the perception and performance of individuals with different personality types in a traditional face-to-face (FTF) classroom with those in a distance classroom facilitated by two-way audio-video (AVM) technology. The results indicate that individuals with certain personality types perceive distance education as less appropriate than would those with other personality types. The performance of individuals is not linked to their personality types and more importantly their performance is not related to their perception of how appropriate the communication mode is for the learning environment. Performance, however, is influenced by the communication mode utilized for the traditional or distance course.
Patient-Centeredness and its Correlates among First Year Medical Students
Authors: Krupat Edward , Hiam C. Michael , Fleming Michael Z. , Freeman Phillip
Published: May 2005

Objective:

This research was performed to study the attitudes that medical students hold concerning their relationships with patients, and whether such attitudes are gender-related, affect career plans, and influence their evaluation of psycho-social and biomedical issues.

Methods:

One hundred fifty-three first year students at the Boston University School of Medicine completed the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), a scale that differentiates between a patient-centered vs. doctor-centered orientation toward medical practice, indicated their interest in community and primary care practice, and rank ordered psycho-social and biomedical clinical issues in terms of their perceived relative importance.

Results:

The data revealed that female medical students were more patient-centered, and that (across sexes) patient centeredness was positively associated with an interest in community and primary care practice and the ranking of psycho-social issues.

Conclusions:

These findings indicate that differences in the practice attitudes of males and females exist very early on in medical training, and that these differences are associated with anticipated career choices. They also suggest that the PPOS may prove useful in measuring the attitudes of practicing physicians toward their clinical roles and might predict physicians' behavioral strategies and patient medical outcomes.
Measure Development: The Children's Attitudes toward Technology Scale (CATS)
Authors: Frantom Catherine G. , Green Kathy E. , Hoffman Eleanor R.
Published: May 2005

The impact of technology on the current and future lives of society's youth makes it especially important to understand technology from their perspective. Although today's children have become the benefactors of an evolving technological society, few studies have addressed the assessment of their attitudes toward technology. This study describes the development of the Children's Attitude Toward Technology Scale (CATS) with 574 children in a rural school district. Principal components analysis of the CATS followed by varimax rotation indicated that item intercorrelations could be explained by two factors entitled “interest/aptitude” and “alternative preferences.” Subscales at two test administrations demonstrated good internal consistency and moderate test-retest stability. Significant differences were found on interest scores when comparing elementary and middle school students and on items reflecting alternative preferences. In addition, attitudes varied according to gender on subscales. Initial analyses suggest this new measure to effectively assess children's interests/aptitudes toward technology. Further study is needed to validate the measure.
A New Technology in Dental Education Findings and Reactions
Authors: Bass Ronald K.
Published: May 2005

This article describes the conversion of slide/tape presentations to synchronized microfiche audiotape presentations under a project at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM #1B0BLM-3244-2). The objectives of the project are identified and the resulting outcome of each objective is described. The success of the project and strong student endorsement have resulted in continuing use of the new format.
An Analysis of the High Attrition Rates among First Year College Science, Math, and Engineering Majors
Authors: Daempfle Peter A.
Published: May 2005

Increases in attrition rates among science, mathematics, and engineering (SME) majors have produced a variety of deleterious effects for the society. This article attempts to clarify and interpret the interaction of those characteristics of the structure and culture of undergraduate SME programs that perpetuate high loss rates among their first year college majors. The interaction of instructional factors, differing high school and college faculty expectations for entering SME undergraduates, and epistemological considerations was found to contribute to a higher dissatisfaction among SME majors as compared with non-SME majors and the resulting attrition. Significant support was not seen for the contribution of commonly cited explanations of SME attrition such as cognitive factors and large class sizes.
Science Interviews: Asymmetric or Symmetric
Authors: Ramsey Shirley A.
Published: May 2005

Findings from a matched study of science writers and their scientist sources seem to portray two basic approaches to the science interview: 1) an asymmetric, carefully controlled interview that produces an overview or “wrap-up” of scientific inquiry within the context of an article generally known as interpretive or explanatory, written for readers of publications such as The New York Times, the Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, the Chronicle of Higher Education, or Popular Science; and, 2) a symmetric, intense, less controlled interview situation that produces more technical articles of greater depth and breadth, perhaps of one scientist's research or of an important era in a scientific domain, written for readers of publications such as New Yorker, Psychology Today, Science, and Discover. The first type of interview emphasizes two language principles—singularity and parsimony—through use of items on a questionnaire representing tight organization, precise wording, unity, and others; the second type of interview emphasizes two other language principles—redundancy and complexity—through use of items such as clarification, figures of speech, and others. “Understanding” as an item was more highly correlated with use of figures of speech and other items represented in the second type of interview.
The Spontaneous Occurrence of Mental Visualization in Thinking
Authors: Antonietti Alessandro , Colombo Barbara
Published: May 2005

Undergraduates were asked to rate how frequently they experienced visual images in a wide set of everyday-life situations. Results showed that imagery often occurs in undirected thinking, such as in daydreaming, or when external stimuli elicit automatically a visual representation; conversely, images are seldom reported in goal-oriented thinking, such as memorizing, judging, problem-solving, planning, and decision-making. Further, the most frequent images refers to spatial representations or to single, static, concrete elements; images about more complex, dynamic, and abstract contents are less frequent. The use of mental visualization is affected selectively by gender and by the course of study attended. Finally, factor analysis stressed the distinction between stimulus-elicited and fantasy images and images used intentionally in cognitive tasks. Findings suggested that in common-life reasoning individuals do not take advantage of the properties of imagery supported by experiments about the cognitive functions of visualization.
Emotionally Directing Visual Sensations: I. Generating Images That Contextualize Emotion and Become “Symbolic”
Authors: Kunzendorf Robert G. , Hartmann Ernest , Thomas Lindsey , Berensen Lauren
Published: May 2005

After being relaxed or aroused, 330 college students served as subjects in one of three imaging conditions. In the imaging condition with emotion induced first, subjects were instructed to generate an emotion, to envision an image, and to intensify the emotion while continuing to image. In the imaging condition with emotion induced later, other subjects were instructed to envision an image, to set it aside, to generate an emotion, to retrieve the image, and to intensify the emotion while continuing to image. In the imaging condition with no induced emotion, a third group of subjects envisioned an image without receiving any instruction to generate an emotion. Subjects' descriptions of their imagery were rated by two judges, initially, on scales of Symbolic Value and Bizarreness and, two months later, on scales of Obvious Contextualization and Emergent Contextualization. Symbolic Value ratings were positively correlated with Emergent Contextualization ratings and with Emergent/Obvious Contextualization ratios. Also, the imaging condition with “emotion induced later” yielded higher Symbolic Value ratings and higher Emergent/Obvious Contextualization ratios than the other two conditions. These quantitative findings, along with qualitative analyses of the imagery descriptions themselves, support the authors' hypothesis that symbolic imagery contextualizes emotion and, thereby, seems to “stand for” objects of emotion that are no longer present (but are not necessarily “unconscious”).
Translating the Message for Your Students … Overcoming Problems and Maximizing the Possibilities in Medical Writing
Authors: Kowal John Paul
Published: May 2005

Medical and science writing are identified as areas of specialization for writers. The role of creative distractions and the use of the nonconscious are explained. Research, self-judgment, criticism, and practice exercises are cited as methods to solve basic problems. Solutions to the problems of specialization, expertise, and the “shifting audience” problem are also offered. The creative possibilities in medical and science writing are illustrated in the juxtaposition of fiction and nonfiction writing. Four major areas of career opportunities are presented for the medical or science writer.
Preventive Services in Occupational Health and Safety in Europe: Developments and Trends in the 1990s
Authors: Walters David R.
Published: May 2005

This article outlines the legislative requirements for preventive services in health and safety in 13 European countries and considers the implementation and coverage of such services. The author identifies the predominant models of preventive services operating in the European Union, then assesses the influence of the E.U. Framework Directive 89/391 on the development and integration of preventive services and the role of workers in their organization and accountability. Significant differences exist in the extent and functions of preventive services in European countries, including differences in coverage between southern and northern European countries, different degrees to which employees in small enterprises and large enterprises are covered by preventive services, and overall differences in legislative approach.
Agricultural Pesticide Use in Developing Countries: Health Effects and Research Needs
Authors: Wesseling Catharina , McConnell Rob , Partanen Timo , Hogstedt Christer
Published: May 2005

Large worker populations in the Third World are exposed to increasing amounts of pesticides, including pesticides severely restricted and banned in industrialized countries. Studies on knowledge, attitudes, and practices indicate that unsafe use of pesticides is the rule in Third World countries. Surveys of acute poisonings show high rates in these countries, despite underregistration. The scarce studies on chronic health outcomes demonstrate neurotoxic, reproductive, and dermatologic effects. Exposure assessment consists mainly of Cholinesterase testing, and few studies have quantified dermal and respiratory exposure. The few intervention studies demonstrate the need for evaluation of the impact of preventive measures and policies. There is no evidence that widespread “safe-use” programs have greatly affected exposure and morbidity. It was concluded that research should focus on simple methods for surveillance of exposure and on surveillance of acute illness and its causes in order to develop and evaluate rapid local interventions. Studies on chronic effects should be carried out in selected countries, aiming at long-term and broader interventions. Policies that promote the use of pesticides should be critically evaluated. North–South and South–South research collaborations must be encouraged to address this global health problem.
Personality Neuroticism and Depression after Stroke
Authors: Morris Philip L. P. , Robinson Robert G.
Published: May 2005

Aim:

The aim of this study was to determine whether personality neuroticism or extroversion traits are associated with post-stroke depression.

Method:

Ninety-four stroke inpatients undergoing rehabilitation were examined two months post-stroke for the presence and severity of depression and a retrospective assessment was made of life-time neuroticism and extroversion.

Results:

Depressed patients ( N = 35) had higher neuroticism scores than non-depressed patients. Neuroticism was correlated positively with depressive symptomatology. Extroversion was not associated with depression diagnosis or depressive symptomatology.

Conclusion:

We conclude that personality neuroticism may be a risk factor for depression following stroke.
Introduction: Structural Barriers to Change in the Workplace
Authors: Johnson Jeffrey V.
Published: May 2005

This article introduces the second series of articles in the Special Section on work organization and health. Empirical research has indicated that increased control–at both an individual and collective level–is a fundamental component of preventive psychosocial interventions aimed at ameliorating the impact of occupational stress-related disorders. However, practical intervention activities oriented toward enhancing levels of worker control have met structural obstacles at the level of the state, the occupational sector, and the workplace. The articles in this issue address these obstacles and suggest strategies for overcoming them from historical sociological, occupational health policy, and action research orientations.
The Death of Jesus, Christian Salvation, and Easter-Week Atrocities against Jews: A Suicidological Approach
Authors: Kaplan Kalman J.
Published: May 2005

A question ignored by suicidologists is the degree to which major Christian theologians have stressed that Jesus gave up his life voluntarily as an act of salvation for mankind and that it was not taken by another. Indeed His death, in Durkheim's terms, is an “altruistic suicide” and is offered as a standard of love for others. Nevertheless, the Jewish people have been historically blamed for His death with many anti-Jewish persecutions occurring coincidentally with the Christian Holy Week. The believing Christian can be seen as a survivor of “altruistic suicide,” certain New Testament passages as a suicide note, Easter Week as the anniversary date of Jesus' death, and anti-Jewish persecutions during this period as displacement of survivor guilt into aggression toward Jesus' family of origin.
A Study of Psychiatric Emergencies: Part I. Demographic Data
Authors: Tyson Robert L. , Miller Sheldon I. , Browning Charles H.
Published: May 2005

Psychiatric emergency evaluation and treatment are an increasingly important part of current psychiatric practice. Psychiatry residency training has been affected accordingly. Of particular importance has been the need to characterize the emergency population seen and to describe the changes in this population over time. At University Hospitals of Cleveland over the past nine years the psychiatric emergency population has doubled. There has also been a shift to a younger age group, evidence of better motivation, reduced incidence of hospitalization, and increased use of medications. At this hospital, Negro females constituted the largest group and contained the highest percentage of patients receiving medications. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed.
Racism, Society, and Disease: An Exploration of the Social and Biological Mechanisms of Differential Mortality
Authors: Cooper Richard , Steinhauer Michael , Miller William , David Richard , Schatzkin Arthur
Published: May 2005

Racial differentials in mortality provide important insight into the nature of mass disease in capitalist society. Not only are the differentials sizable in magnitude, they are consistent for multiple causes of death and appear to evolve in response to social development. The relationships among social factors and the biological and physical agents of disease can be identified through racial contrasts and a pattern of causation which applies to both the minority and majority populations described. Furthermore, the impact of exploitation as the primary disease-mediating factor under capitalist social relations can be estimated. This paper attempts to combine an analysis of bio-medical mechanisms with Marxist social theory in a comprehensive framework for the study of the social origins of racial differentials.
The Drug Business in the Context of Canadian Health Care Programs
Authors: Ruderman A. Peter
Published: May 2005

Outpatient prescription drugs are one of the few health benefits for which Canadians must usually pay out-of-pocket. Prescription drug insurance is becoming a popular fringe benefit in collective agreements, and some provinces are moving toward the inclusion of prescription costs in public medical care programs even in the absence of federal cost sharing. The drug business in Canada is characterized by oligopoly and imperfect competition, but government intervention in quality control and in retail pricing practices has proven effective; the total amount of money involved is trivial compared with the overall cost of health services; the issue is not particularly contentious at the present time; outpatient prescription drugs are likely to become a benefit under federal-provincial cost-shared health care programs at some future date.
Education and Family Planning among Black American Women
Authors: Turner Castellano B. , Darity William A.
Published: May 2005

The factors which relate to family planning and fertility-related attitudes and practices among black Americans are not well understood. This study evaluates the importance of three demographic factors (level of education, age, and region) in predicting such fertility related variables. Black women between the ages of fifteen and forty-five ( N = 1,074) living in either a northern or a southern city were interviewed. The fertility-related variables included knowledge of, attitudes toward, and usage of various family planning methods; desired, ideal, and actual family size; and fears of race genocide. Using a three-factor (education, age, and region) Analysis of Variance for each of the dependent variables, education emerged as the most powerful and the only consistent predictor of the several fertility-related variables. Only desired number of children was unrelated to level of education. Such findings provide support for the contention that black fertility levels would be the same as that among whites, if access to equal educational opportunity were available to Blacks.
The Paradox of Nursing Terminal Patients in a Belgian General Hospital
Authors: Timmermans Stefan
Published: May 2005

This article presents an empirical analysis of how nurses deal with terminal and dying patients in two inpatient wards in a Belgian general hospital. The starting point for the analysis is the observation that nurses often feel dissatisfied with their terminal caregiving. These feelings are traced back to KUbler-Ross' psychodynamic conception of terminal care. Based on the everyday practice of nurses interacting with terminal patients, a broader definition of terminal care is suggested: Terminal care or care of dying patients includes specific physical, social, religious and psychological services, given to a terminal patient and the family or significant others, to obtain as high a level of comfort as possible. The implications of this definition are further examined for the problem of burnout and stress.
A Community Health Education Program on Malaria in Nigeria
Authors: Ogbudimkpa Jerry Emeka , Creswell William , Lambert Barbara , Kingston Rodney E.
Published: May 2005

This study determined the effect of a health education program on malaria disease control among the citizens of Nkanu-local government area, a community in Nigeria. Participants consisted of subjects that used the Nkanu community hospital for their health care. Initially, 300 subjects were randomly selected for the study (150 experimental and 150 control) from Ama-nkanu village, but only 202 subjects completed the study. Results of the pre- and posttest on field tests and that of posttest on knowledge acquisition demonstrated significant differences between the two groups on knowledge and environmental improvements. The treatment group performed better than the control group on the knowledge test. On the environmental tests, the experimental group also demonstrated noticeable changes (improvements) when compared to the control group.
Applying Minimal Manual Principles for Documentation of Graphical user Interfaces
Authors: Nowaczyk Ronald H. , James E. Christopher
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the need to include computer screens in documentation for software using a graphical user interface. Minimal manual principles emphasize the need to reduce verbiage. However, some suggest that depiction of screens in documentation can help the user coordinate documentation with computer screen displays. Documentation including button, icon, and screen information was varied with software designed for file transfers. College students used one of the three manuals designed along minimal manual principles. Students who used a manual with screens were significantly slower in transferring files and found it less helpful than students using either a manual with button and icon information or one with textual information only. Therefore, documentation for graphical user interfaces should include few, if any, screens. However, there appears to be a benefit for including icon and button information in the documentation.
Addressing the Health Needs of the Aged in the U.S.A.
Authors: Elwood Thomas W.
Published: May 2005

The segment of the population consisting of those sixty-five years of age and older will continue to grow in both absolute and relative terms. The fastest rate of growth will occur among those in the oldest age brackets where there is a greater amount of disability. Certain health problems are associated with behavioral factors that are sometimes amenable to educational interventions. This paper discusses structural aspects of the health care system that make such intervention efforts more difficult. An incomplete array of health programs, inadequate benefits, and lack of suitable training for health professionals are among the items considered.
Misconceptions and Attitudes Toward Suicide among Teachers and Prospective Teachers in Hong Kong
Authors: Chan David W.
Published: May 2005

The misconceptions and attitudes toward suicide among 299 Chinese teachers and prospective teachers in Hong Kong were assessed using a 30-item questionnaire of common misconceptions, risk factors, and issues related to terminal illness and religious beliefs. With few common misconceptions, the general agreement on the unacceptability of suicide and the rejection of the notion of non-intervention provided grounds for optimism. The uncertain views on risks of suicide threats and concrete planning and on ethical and religious issues were areas for concern. Implications of the findings related to cultural beliefs and to teacher training for school-based prevention programs as well as the caution needed to be exercised in interpreting the present findings based on a sample of young teachers and prospective teachers in Hong Kong are discussed.
The Politics of Paying Physicians: The Determinants of Government Payment Methods in England, Sweden, and the United States
Authors: Marmor T. , Thomas D.
Published: May 2005

This paper most generally seeks to account for why governments pay doctors as they do. It evaluates the hypothesis that, among western industrial countries, widely known physician preferences on method of pay determine subsequent policy, whatever the bargaining arrangements and distinctive national political setting. Two bodies of data are used: primary studies of payment method decisions in Sweden, England, and the United States, and secondary information on methods of payment employed throughout the world complied by Glaser. The data proved consistent with the factual hypothesis. The explanation offered stresses the structural imbalance between the political resources (and willingness to use them) of physicians and governments on questions of payment method. This account has policy implications quite different from those stressing the impact of bargaining forms and settings in payment method decisions.
Pathfinder: A Microcomputer Experience in Interpreting Graphs
Authors: Dugdale Sharon
Published: May 2005

This article describes the design, implementation, and testing of a microcomputer package intended to improve students' understanding and skills in interpreting graphs of physical phenomena. In this package students interpret graphs in order to reproduce the events described by the graphs. Students may also construct events and challenge others to reproduce the events from the graphs they generate. Some previous work is described briefly to provide context for the activities. The package was used with students in grades nine through twelve. Students taking the college preparatory mathematics classes differed from those taking general mathematics in their choices of activities and in the strategies they used. There was evidence that students' strategies changed as they gained more experience.
Can the Primary Care Physician Be Better Trained in the Psychosocial Dimensions of Patient Care?
Authors: Drossman Douglas A.
Published: May 2005

Our modern health care system has tended to emphasize technological competence and subspecialization. The primary care internist/family physician has received limited training in the behavioral aspects of medicine and, resultingly, is less able to obtain and apply the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively help the patient handle those mutually interacting somatic, psychological and sociological dimensions of his illness. Through the use of selected case histories, the author has attempted to illustrate how utilization of these skills, obtained during a supervised fellowship program, leads to psychological growth and better understanding of his role as physician. Ultimately this effects clinical improvement in his medical patients with longstanding difficulties.
Rating Depression and Anxiety after Mastectomy: Observer versus Self-Rating Scales
Authors: Grandi S. , Fava G. A. , Cunsolo A. , Saviotti F. M. , Ranieri M. , Trombini G. , Gozzetti G.
Published: May 2005

Paykel's Clinical Interview for Depression (CID), an observer-rated scale, and Kellner's Symptom Questionnaire (SQ), a self-rating inventory, were administered to twenty-six patients with breast cancer: 1) the day prior to discharge after mastectomy or lumpectomy, 2) after six months, during a follow-up outpatient visit. There were no significant changes in depression and anxiety (except for self-rated anxiety) and, indeed, there were very high test-retest correlations. Observer and self-rated assessments were significantly related, and these correlations improved on outpatient follow-up. DSM-III-R diagnoses of affective illness (mood and anxiety disorders) based on pre-established cut-offs of the CID, showed considerable stability, particularly as to major depressive illness.
Phenomenological Variations in Attention across Low, Medium, and High Susceptible Subjects
Authors: Pekala Ronald J. , Kumar V. K.
Published: May 2005

Phenomenological aspects of attention were assessed across 434 subjects in reference to baseline conditions of eyes-open or closed sitting quietly and an hypnotic induction condition. An attention questionnaire, assessing twelve dimensions of attention, was constructed and subjects completed it retrospectively in reference to the baseline condition and hypnosis. Reliability analyses indicated acceptable reliability for most dimensions. Regression and correlational analyses suggested adequate validity. Comparisons between baseline and hypnosis indicated significant phenomenological intensity differences between stimulus conditions on many attention dimensions. Comparisons among low, medium, and high susceptibles in reference to baseline and hypnosis also yielded many significant intensity differences. In addition, significant interactions between conditions and groups for many of the attention dimensions suggest that hypnosis, in comparison to the baseline conditions, potentiated intensity differences in attention for high, vis-a-vis low (and medium), susceptible subjects.
Critique of The Nazi War on Cancer
Authors: Epstein Samuel S.
Published: May 2005

In this brief critique of Robert Proctor's The Nazi War on Cancer, the author points out how the Nazi enthusiasm for cancer prevention and genocide is an extreme illustration of the politicization of science.
Does Investor-Ownership of Nursing Homes Compromise the Quality of Care?
Authors: Harrington Charlene , Woolhandler Steffie , Mullan Joseph , Carrillo Helen , Himmelstein David U.
Published: May 2005

Quality problems have long plagued the nursing home industry. While two-thirds of U.S. nursing homes are investor-owned, few studies have examined the impact of investor-ownership on the quality of care. The authors analyzed 1998 data from inspections of 13,693 nursing facilities representing virtually all U.S. nursing homes. They grouped deficiency citations issued by inspectors into three categories (“quality of care,” “quality of life,” and “other”) and compared deficiency rates in investor-owned, nonprofit, and public nursing homes. A multivariate model was used to control for case mix, percentage of residents covered by Medicaid, whether the facility was hospital-based, whether it was a skilled nursing facility for Medicare only, chain ownership, and location by state. The study also assessed nurse staffing. The authors found that investor-owned nursing homes provide worse care and less nursing care than nonprofit or public homes. Investor-owned facilities averaged 5.89 deficiencies per home, 46.5 percent higher than nonprofit and 43.0 percent higher than public facilities, and also had more of each category of deficiency. In the multivariate analysis, investor-ownership predicted 0.679 additional deficiencies per home; chain-ownership predicted an additional 0.633 deficiencies per home. Nurse staffing ratios were markedly lower at investor-owned homes.
Belief in the Existence and Nature of Life after Death: A Research Note
Authors: Dixon Richard D. , Kinlaw Bonnie J. R.
Published: May 2005

The authors posed two questions regarding the notion of an afterlife to respondents in a recent thanatological investigation. Respectively, these concerned belief in a personal afterlife and—among those who considered it at least somewhat likely—how “good” or “bad” they thought that it would be for them. Virtually all individuals who thought that they were going to experience an afterlife also thought that it was going to be a favorable existence for them.