bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Executive Function Deficits of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Culbertson William C. , Moberg Paul J. , Duda John E. , Stern Matthew B. , Weintraub Daniel
Published: April 2004

The aim of the study was to investigate the utility of the Tower of London-Drexel (TOLDX ) in assessing the executive deficits associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We sought to determine whether the TOLDX would differentiate between (a) patients with PD and healthy control participants (HCP), (b) demented and nondemented patients, and (c) depressed and nondepressed patients. A new TOLDX score, stimulus bound, was introduced to assess utilization behaviors. Furthermore, the convergent and divergent validity of the TOLDX was examined. The TOLDX total move, rule and time violation, and stimulus-bound scores of patients with PD significantly differed from the HCP. Demented and nondemented patients also differed significantly in their TODX performance, with the stimulus-bound score being the most significantly differentiating score. However, the depressed and nondepressed patients did not differ in their TOLDX performance. Support was found for the convergent and divergent validity of the TOLDX. The clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Assessing Dimensions of Competency to Stand Trial
Authors: Rogers Richard , Jackson Rebecca L. , Sewell Kenneth W. , Tillbrook Chad E. , Martin Mary A.
Published: April 2004

Four decades of forensic research have left unanswered a fundamental issue regarding the best conceptualization of competency to stand trial vis-à-vis the Dusky standard. The current study investigated three competing models (discrete abilities, domains, and cognitive complexity) on combined data ( N = 411) from six forensic and correctional samples. Using the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial–Revised (ECST-R), items representative of the Dusky prongs were used to test the three models via maximum-likelihood confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Of the three, only the discrete abilities model evidenced a good fit, indicating that competency to stand trial should consider separately each defendant’s factual understanding of the proceedings, rational understanding of the proceedings, and ability to consult with counsel. ECST-R competency scales, based on the current CFA, have excellent alphas (.83 to .89) and interrater reliabilities (.97 to .98).
Emotional Risk Factors and Postconcussional Disorder
Authors: Evered Laeeq , Ruff Ronald , Baldo Juliana , Isomura Angelica
Published: April 2004

Emotional risk factors were examined in 129 litigant and nonlitigant patients diagnosed with Postconcussional Disorder (PCD) following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI). According to Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) criteria, four subgroups emerged: (a) 14.7% met criteria for an Axis I disorder, (b) 24.8% for an Axis II disorder, (c) 24.0% for bout Axis I and II disorders, and (d) 36.4% fell below threshold for psychopathology. Thus, 63.5% endorsed emotional pathology. Of the four groups, those with both Axis I and II psychopathology presented the greatest number of emotional complaints in a clinical interview and manifested the lowest neurocognitive test scores. Motor skills, verbal abilities, memory functioning, and IQ were primarily affected. With the exception of post-morbid emotional complaints, no significant differences were identified between litigants and nonlitigants. Our analysis suggests that the combination of both Axis I and II psychopathology is associated with greater impairment following MTBI.
Appropriateness of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale for Non-White Individuals
Authors: Gutierrez Peter M. , Osman Augustine , Kopper Beverly A. , Barrios Francisco X.
Published: April 2004

Analyses of data collected from 480 university students (approximately 56% White and 44% Black) challenge the utility of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) for use with individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds. This size sample allowed for an examination of the psychometric properties and cultural relevance of the MAST for non-Whites. Correlations between scores on the MAST, suicide, and depression measures were in the expected directions for Whites but not for Blacks or Latinos. The White sample data fit the four-factor model of the MAST, but the model required several modifications to fit the data from the Black sample. Verification of the cultural relevance of the MAST and a revision of the scale are recommended to improve its usefulness.
Media, Public Opinion, and Foreign Policy
Authors: Soroka Stuart N.
Published: April 2004

This article examines relationships between media content, public opinion, and foreign policy in the United States and the United Kingdom. The investigation proceeds in two stages. First, an agenda-setting analysis demonstrates a strong connection between the salience of foreign affairs in the media and the salience of foreign affairs for the public. Second, two potential effects of varying issue salience on foreign policymaking are examined: (1) issue priming and (2) policymakers’ reactions to issue salience. Analyses rely on a combination of U.S. and U.K. commercial polling data and the American National Election Study. Results point to the importance of mass media and issue salience in the relationship between public opinion and foreign policy.
The Things They Cared About
Authors: Bennett Stephen Earl , Rhine Staci L. , Flickinger Richard S.
Published: April 2004

Pew Research Center polls in 1989, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002 show that Americans pay more attention to media accounts of nonpolitical stories than those about national, international, and local politics. Although Americans’ attentiveness to political news rose between 2000 and 2002, attention to media accounts of politics remained below where it had been in 1989. For the most part, the relative rankings of attentiveness to different kinds of news stories remained the same. The authors also explore the factors that predict attention to political news.Finally,heed paid to media stories about politics appears to affect two important facets of democratic citizenship: political knowledge and participation.
Members of Congress and Presentation of Self on the World Wide Web
Authors: Gulati Girish J.
Published: April 2004

The Internet has become an important means by which members of Congress communicate with their constituents. Although a number of studies have examined the content and features of congressionalWeb sites, how members of Congress present themselves on theWeb has yet to be addressed. A content analysis of the images displayed on the home pages of 100 senators and 244 House members who served in the 107th Congress reveals two distinct presentations: an “insider” style and an “ outsider” style. The results vary, moreover, by chamber, seniority, gender, and race. Within each party, the most significant differences were by gender, with Democratic women the most likely to present themselves as outsiders and Republican women the most likely to present themselves as insiders.
Note: A Comparative Study on the in Vitro Antiradical Activity and Hydroxyl Free Radical Scavenging Activity in Aged Red Wines
Authors: Kefalas P. , Kallithraka S. , Parejo I. , Makris D. P.
Published: April 2004

The antiradical and hydroxyl free radical scavenging activities were estimated in twenty-five, aged red wines from different areas in Greece. The antiradical activity (AAR) was determined by means of the wellknown DPPH• method, and its values ranged from 24.7 to 125.1. A novel, chemiluminescence-based, highly sensitive assay was applied for determination of the hydroxyl free radical scavenging activity (SAHFR), which varied from 1.62 to 12.22 mM quercetin equivalents. The values from the two assays correlated very well (r2 =0.8542, P<0.001), which confirmed an important relationship between SAHFR and AAR. This tendency in aged red wines, which may be significant in evaluating the antioxidant behaviour of red wine polyphenols, is discussed on the basis of previous research and relevant data.
Kinetics of Solute Gain and Water Loss During Osmotic Dehydration of Orange Slices
Authors: Chafer M. , Perez S. , Chiralt A.
Published: April 2004

The effect of the osmotic solution (sucrose and dextrose syrups) on the kinetics and process yield was evaluated on osmotic dehydration of orange (Valencia Late var.). Processes were carried out at 30 C, using 35, 45, 55 and 65 Brix solutions and by applying a vacuum pulse (100 mbar for 10 min) at the beginning of the process. Kinetics of sugar gain-water loss and mass changes were analysed by separately considering peel and pulp fractions of orange slices. Mass transport properties of orange slices in osmotic treatments were different for pulp and peel fractions due to the different contributions of the mechanisms involved. Faster water and solute transport were observed in the peel impregnated with the osmotic solution. Sugar gain in sucrose solutions was enhanced in comparison with dextrose treatments, whereas diffusional water loss was faster in samples treated with dextrose. These effects made the process yield higher for sucrose treatments. An increase in the osmotic solution concentration implied higher mass transport rates, but did not notably affect process yield.
Note: Evaluation of Aroma Compounds in Wine Vinegars: Effect of Previous Neutralisation of Samples
Authors: Morales M. L. , Troncoso A. M.
Published: April 2004

Determination of twenty volatile compounds in two Sherry wine vinegars was performed by gas chromatography before neutralisation employing NaOH or MgO at pH 6. Substantial decreases for most of the volatile compounds were registered for neutralised vinegars; losses accounted more than 50% of the original content for acetaldehyde, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate. Similar results were found when the neutralisation process was carried out in a synthetic vinegar solution. Results from sensory analysis (triangular and descriptive tests) were consistent with those obtained by analytical methods. Therefore, neutralisation resulted a very drastic pre-treatment for the evaluation of major volatile compounds in vinegar samples analysis and could lead to misleading results.
Note. Hydrolysis of Onion and Kinetics of Non-Enzymatic Browning of its Hydrolysate
Authors: Kim J. M. , Ra K. S. , Suh H. J.
Published: April 2004

Enzymatic hydrolysis of onion was performed by three different commercial enzyme products (Econase, Rapidase and Viscozyme) for preparation of onion hydrolysates. The hydrolysis yield was determined through the analysis of reducing and total sugar contents in final hydrolysates. Total sugar contents after 2 h-hydrolysis with Econase, Rapidase and Viscozyme were 59.6, 64.1 and 62.2 mg/mL, respectively, and reducing sugar contents of 28.5, 42.7 and 35.9 mg/mL in the same order. According to these results Rapidase was more suitable for the hydrolysis of onion than the other enzymatic products. The effect of temperature on non-enzymatic browning reaction kinetics of the onion hydrolysate was determined. The browning index variation was adequately described by both the first- and the zero-order kinetic. However, the zero-order kinetic model was preferred because its fitting was higher. The values of kinetic constants were 0.081 (60 C), 0.185 (70 C), 0.270 (80 C) and 0.377 (90 C). According to the Arrhenius model, the activation energy for browning index in the range 60–90 C was 21.9 kJ/mol.
Educating Clinicians to Assess Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Illness
Authors: Youssef Fatma , Wong Rita
Published: April 2004

Quality of life (QoL) is a multidimensional construct that communicates an individual’s overall sense of well-being and life satisfaction. Health care practitioner and patient/family agreement on primary contributors to QoL are key to the provision of effective health care. This is particularly important in guiding treatment choices and measuring outcomes in individuals with chronic health conditions. The concept of QoL has changed over time. It encompasses social, cultural, and political factors that affect people’s decisions regarding QoL. Culture is a way of life that shapes the way people make meaning out of illness and suffering. Home care practitioners should strive to be aware of the cultural influences on a client’s health care decision making. The purposes of this article are to (a) describe the dimensions of QoL, (b) discuss cultural influences on QoL, (c) explain common measurement tools used to assess health-related QoL, and (d) provide suggestions to home health practitioners for implementing strategies to foster patient-centered care and outcome assessment that emphasizes QoL.
The Utilization of Contract Therapists in Home Health Care
Authors: Raptosh Danelle A.
Published: April 2004

In the ever changing arena of home health care, there always remains the need to provide quality care and services in a cost-efficient and acceptable manner. Occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology services have experienced similar workforce fluctuations to that of the nursing field. In an effort to remain a comprehensive home health provider, agencies may find themselves utilizing independent contractors. In considering this use, an agency must be knowledgeable about what defines an independent contractor. Once the decision has been made to go forward into contractual relationships, the agency must remain aware of federal and state regulations and evolving definitions of independent contractors. The hiring and management of independent contractors also become important issues.
A Day in the Life of a Visiting Nurse: An Expose from a Seasoned Home Care Nurse
Authors: Wenner Audrey D.
Published: April 2004

“A Day in the Life of a Visiting Nurse” follows a home care nurse and highlights her adventures and misadventures, ranging from visits with sweet, grandmother types to clients with black snakes breeding in the bathroom. Join her on her daily rounds as she overcomes variables of weather, traffic, and personality idiosyncrasies to provide quality care to those in need.
Personal Best
Authors: Koup Ruth Gamaldi
Published: April 2004

Agencies must recognize the importance of providing ongoing educational opportunities that focus on personal growth and development for both participants and the person developing the programs. It is essential to recognize when specific programs should be offered to provide the support needed to help coworkers deal with the additional stress that required changes may produce. This reaction to change can have a negative effect on home life, work performance, and overall health. Developing programs and workshops that are agency specific can be accomplished in many different ways and does not have to be a high-cost endeavor. Utilizing the employees’ existing skills helps to keep costs down and provides insights to problem resolution that may not be possible from an outside source. There is an untapped wealth of knowledge and talent at every workplace that can be mobilized to accomplish remarkable tasks when given the opportunity to do so.
The Evolution of Documentation in Home Health
Authors: Herb Suzanne
Published: April 2004

There is evidence of an evolution in documentation in home health that has its roots in government agencies and mandates. Agencies from Medicare and Medicaid to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act supervised by the Department of Health and Human Services have made clinicians accountable for the care they give and the personal health information they collect. The need for in-home care, the care provided, and the outcomes of the care given are evidenced by documentation. The documentation allows for reimbursement. Patient care and the time needed to complete and document that care have become complicated and timely. Has this affected patient care? Clinicians vary in their opinions. However, all agree that the criteria and methods of documentation have evolved from the simple to the complex.
Connecting New Nurses and Home Care
Authors: Breakwell Susan
Published: April 2004

Home health providers have traditionally held that nurses must have a minimum of 1 year of experience before considering becoming a home health nurse. As the number of nurses working continues to lag behind the number of nurses needed, home health agencies may want to reconsider their stance on hiring newly licensed registered nurses (RNs). This article explores the current and projected shortage of nurses. Establishing partnerships between nursing education programs and home health agencies can create a win-win situation for all concerned. Ideas for developing effective partnerships are discussed. Home health agencies are encouraged to consider ways in which they can develop new nurses in home health through a variety of strategies.
HIPAA: the Big Picture for Home Care and Hospice
Authors: Wilson Heather P.
Published: April 2004

The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are a new regulatory challenge faced by home care and hospice agencies. Compliance with these regulations will have a significant impact on daily operations and requires the implementation of new systems and processes. This article provides an overview of the three major components of administrative simplification: the transactions rule, the privacy rule, and the security rule. The emphasis of this overview is on the major purposes and requirements of these federal regulations and their implications for home care and hospice programs.
Transition from Academia to Home Health Practice
Authors: Goodling Sandra M.
Published: April 2004

When a professor leaves a long-time teaching position in baccalaureate nursing to work in a nursing staff position in home health care, this change engenders certain, perhaps conflicting, expectations from the professor and the agency. Tension may exist because of differences between the two roles in the level of independent functioning, the level of authority, communicating with physicians, professional competence, and time constraints. Supportive agency staff helps to minimize the conflicts through a tailored orientation. This article reviews role change theory as it pertains to this transition, discusses differences between academia and home health practice roles as they affect employment, makes recommendations for agencies and faculty to help with this role transition, and relates one nursing professor’s experiences during her orientation to a new home health staff position.
Building Community Capacity Around Chronic Disease Services through a Collaborative Interorganizational Network
Authors: Provan Keith G. , Nakama Leigh , Veazie Mark A. , Teufel-Shone Nicolette I. , Huddleston Carol
Published: April 2004

This article presents the findings of a study examining the evolution of a network of health and human service organizations operating in a rural community on the Southwest border. The aim of the networkwas to build the capacity of the community to provide chronic disease education, prevention, and treatment services by developing collaborative relationships among a broad range of organizations. The impetus for the effort was based on receipt of a Turning Point grant. The findings, based on two waves of data collected 1 year apart, demonstrate how network structure and attitudes toward collaboration evolve as a community attempts to build capacity to address its health needs.
Does Graduated Licensing Empower Parents to Place Greater Restrictions on Their Newly Licensed Teens’ Driving?
Authors: Beck Kenneth H. , Shattuck Teresa , Raleigh Robert , Hartos Jessica
Published: April 2004

This investigation sought to determine if Maryland’s new graduated licensing programwas associated with greater levels of parental involvement in, and restriction on, teens’ unsupervised driving. Separate samples of teens with provisional licenses were interviewed by telephone before ( n= 424) and after ( n= 600) the new program took effect. The findings indicated that teens in the new program reported significant increases in the frequency of parental driving instruction and supervised driving during the permit phase. There were no differences in amounts of instruction or supervised driving after provisional licensure. Also, teens in the new program reported greater overall amounts of parental restriction on their driving; however, few specific restrictions showed increases. Programs that encourage parents to regulate, restrict, monitor, and supervise the driving privileges of their teens during their provisional period of licensure are recommended. Graduated licensing laws and programs benefit from specific behavioral interventions targeted to, and implemented by, parents.
“How Can We Stay Healthy when you’re Throwing All of this in Front of Us?” Findings from Focus Groups and Interviews in Middle Schools on Environmental Influences on Nutrition and Physical Activity
Authors: Bauer Katherine W. , Yang Y. Wendy , Austin S. Bryn
Published: April 2004

This study aimed to identify factors in school physical and social environments that may facilitate or compete with programs and policies to improve student physical activity and nutrition. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with students, faculty, and staff of two public middle schools. Participants identified numerous aspects of the school environments as significant. Competition, teasing and bullying, time, and safety were described as major barriers for students to be physically active during physical education class, on sports teams, and before and after school. The quality of the food served, easy access to nonnutritious snacks, limited time for lunch period, and weight concerns emerged as significant reasons why students do not eat nutritious meals in school. When developing programs and policies to improve the health of students, environmental influences that undermine efforts to improve student health behaviors must be addressed.
Linking Perceptions of the Community to Behavior: Are Protective Social Factors Associated with Physical Activity?
Authors: Brennan Laura K. , Baker Elizabeth A. , Haire-Joshu Debra , Brownson Ross C.
Published: April 2004

Although the relationship of psychosocial factors to physical activity has been explored, there is increased interest in how perceptions of the community environment influence behavior.However, few methodological studies have incorporated perceptions of the social and community environment (protective social factors) or addressed key measurement issues.Computer-assisted telephone interviews were administered to a national sample of 1, 818 U.S.adults.Unadjusted and multivariate-adjusted odds ratios were calculated to compare active and inactive participants by Protective Social Factors (PSF) scores and selected sociodemographics. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis suggested strong PSF scale psychometric properties (• =. 92). After adjustment for potential confounders, a 10-point rise in the PSF score resulted in a 12% increased likelihood of meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/American College of Sports Medicine recommendations. Additional analyses indicated that greater perceived PSFs were associated with meeting these recommendations among Whites but not among African Americans.
A Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of Antihunger Advocacy Organizations
Authors: Laraia Barbara A. , Dodds Janice , Eng Eugenia
Published: April 2004

Food insufficiency is a major public health problem that has been linked to poor nutritional intake, poor diabetes management, poor cognitive development in children, and other adverse health outcomes. Since the 1960s, antihunger advocacy organizations (AHAOs) have fought to alleviate hunger at the local, state, and federal levels. Few studies have investigated the organizational structure, programs, advocacy activities, and outcomes of these organizations, although many organizations have been instrumental in advocating for state and federal food policy, creating measurements for hunger, and conducting research. Four state-level AHAOs were studied by using multiple case study methodology and grounded theory for analysis to assess organizational effectiveness. The findings highlight a conceptual framework that identified 19 important organizational characteristics that reflect organizational capacity, performance, achievement, and effectiveness. The conceptual framework may be useful in assessing effectiveness of public health organizations and coalitions.
The Development of a Feasible Community-Specific Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program: Triangulation of Methods and Sources
Authors: Nakkash Rima , Soweid Rema A. Afifi , Nehlawi Mayssa T. , Shediac-Rizkallah Mona C. , Hajjar Theresa A. , Khogali Mustafa
Published: April 2004

Triangulation of methods, sources, and investigators can lead to amultidimensional understanding of a particular issue. In this study, the combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, and information from community and coalition members resulted in the development of a tailored community-specific intervention. Three components were triangulated after analyzing each separately. A household survey of community members between the ages of 25 and 64 years was conducted to identify knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to cardiovascular disease and to assess risk factor levels. Focus group discussions were conducted with community members to describe facilitators and barriers to healthy lifestyles, as well as possible interventions. Natural group discussions with coalition members analyzed the relevance, feasibility, affordability, acceptability, and sustainability of specific intervention activities. Results from the different components were compared and contrasted. Areas of added information, validation, and contradiction were analyzed and guided the development of intervention activities.
Keeping the Focus on Public Health: The Struggles of a Tobacco Prevention Task Force
Authors: Shillis Jacquie A. , Hall Beverly A. , Sneden Gail G. , Gottlieb Nell H.
Published: April 2004

This case study examines a nonlegislative task force as it struggled to reach internal consensus despite external-political constraints. The study highlights the convergence of politics and science, revealing complex issues likely to be confronted by advocates and public health officials. Three themes capture participants’experiences: context, sizing up the opportunities and constraints; task force process, tacit strategy to operate outside the political context and play the science card; and aftermath, a glass half full. The task force took advantage of ambiguous parameters, crafting a comprehensive statewide plan to reduce tobacco use and breaking out of the common public health paradigm of allowing budget considerations to drive program design. These internal victories could not sustain a policy success in the legislature. However, the group’s product sets science-based standards for future program development, and the task force’s process provides valuable insights into other states developing tobacco prevention and control policies.
Ready to be Physically Active? The Effects of a Course Preparing Low-Income Multiethnic Women to be more Physically Active
Authors: Collins Rakale , Lee Rebecca E. , Albright Cheryl L. , King Abby C.
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of a preintervention physical activity preparatory course on physical activity, and social, cognitive, and transtheoretical constructs. The sample included 82 low-income, multiethnic women (75% Latina) who completed an 8-week course designed to prepare them to become more active prior to randomization into a 10-month physical activity intervention. Participants completed precourse and postcourse measures. Paired-comparison t tests showed increases in knowledge, perceived social support for exercise, minutes of walking per week, and total cognitive and behavioral processes following the preparatory course. Perceived barriers and self-efficacy for exercise did not change from precourse to postcourse. Preintervention preparatory courses may be an effective way to increase social and cognitive constructs associated with physical activity behavior, potentially yielding a greater effect from subsequent interventions.
Prospective Analysis of Peer and Parent Influences on Minor Aggression among Early Adolescents
Authors: Simons-Morton Bruce G. , Hartos Jessica L. , Haynie Denise L.
Published: April 2004

The research examined the influence of parent and school variables on minor aggression among early adolescents. Sixth-grade students ( N = 1,081) were interviewed at the beginning of the school year (Time 1) about aggressive behaviors and selected psychosocial variables and at the end of the year (Time 2) about aggressive behaviors. Aggression increased over time and was greater for boys than girls at both time points. In path analyses, Time 1 aggression was directly associated with Time 2 aggression and indirectly associated through affiliation with Time 2 problem-behaving friends. School engagement was associated indirectly with Time 2 aggression through affiliation with problem-behaving friends. Parenting behavior was negatively and directly associated with Time 2 aggression and indirectly through Time 2 affiliation with problem-behaving friends. The findings indicated that selection and previous behavior predicted peer affiliation and parenting and school engagement protected against early adolescent aggression.
National Study of Behavioral and Life Changes Since September 11
Authors: Torabi Mohammad R. , Seo Dong-Chul
Published: April 2004

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9-11), terrorism poses a continuous threat to those living in the United States. A substantial number of people may have experienced behavioral and life changes since the attacks, with possible implications for public health. This study investigated behavioral and life changes American people have experienced since the attacks. Using random-digit dialing that included unpublished numbers and new listings, a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of 807 U.S. adults ages 18 or older was interviewed. Logistic regression analyses indicated that gender, age, race/ethnicity, and employment status were significant predictors for experiencing different outcome variables. The qualitative data obtained from an open-ended question regarding life changes were analyzed and synthesized. The 9-11 events have considerably affected Americans’ lifestyles and behavior, which may have various implications for public health policy makers and educators.
Sociocultural and Behavioral Contexts of Condom Use in Heterosexual Married Couples in India: Challenges to the HIV Prevention Program
Authors: Bhattacharya Gauri
Published: April 2004

This article examines sociocultural expectations of sexual behavior and the reasons why not using condoms may be logical to married heterosexual couples in India. Married women who report monogamous sexual relationships with their husbands are a high-risk group for HIV infection in India. Based on the public health model and a population-based perspective on HIV infection prevention, this article illustrates the underlying mechanisms that link the role of women in society, holistic health beliefs, and cultural beliefs about the transmission of HIV with the precursors to nonuse of condoms. The author concludes that promoting condom use requires an emphasis on family health, not only as contraceptives. Challenges for reducing the social stigma and developing a comprehensive policy on HIV prevention and AIDS treatment and care are discussed.
Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means
Authors: Bandura Albert
Published: April 2004

This article examines health promotion and disease prevention from the perspective of social cognitive theory. This theory posits a multifaceted causal structure in which self-efficacy beliefs operate together with goals, outcome expectations, and perceived environmental impediments and facilitators in the regulation of human motivation, behavior, and well-being. Belief in one’s efficacy to exercise control is a common pathway through which psychosocial influences affect health functioning. This core belief affects each of the basic processes of personal change—whether people even consider changing their health habits, whether they mobilize the motivation and perseverance needed to succeed should they do so, their ability to recover from setbacks and relapses, and how well they maintain the habit changes they have achieved. Human health is a social matter, not just an individual one. A comprehensive approach to health promotion also requires changing the practices of social systems that have widespread effects on human health.
Automatic Performance Tuning for Fast Fourier Transforms
Authors: Mirkovi\#263; Dragan , Johnsson Lennart
Published: April 2004

In this paper we discuss architecture-specific performance tuning for fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) implemented in the UHFFT library. The UHFFT library is an adaptive and portable software library for FFTs developed by the authors. We present the optimization methods used at different levels, starting with the algorithm selection used for the library code generation and ending with the actual implementation and specification of the appropriate compiler optimization options. We report on the performance results for several modern microprocessor architectures.
Statistical Models for Empirical Search-Based Performance Tuning
Authors: Vuduc Richard , Demmel James W. , Bilmes Jeff A.
Published: April 2004

Achieving peak performance from the computational kernels that dominate application performance often requires extensive machine-dependent tuning by hand. Automatic tuning systems have emerged in response, and they typically operate by (1) generating a large number of possible, reasonable implementations of a kernel, and (2) selecting the fastest implementation by a combination of heuristic modeling, heuristic pruning, and empirical search (i.e. actually running the code). This paper presents quantitative data that motivate the development of such a search-based system, using dense matrix multiply as a case study. The statistical distributions of performance within spaces of reasonable implementations, when observed on a variety of hardware platforms, lead us to pose and address two general problems which arise during the search process. First, we develop a heuristic for stopping an exhaustive compiletime search early if a near-optimal implementation is found. Secondly, we show how to construct run-time decision rules, based on run-time inputs, for selecting from among a subset of the best implementations when the space of inputs can be described by continuously varying features. We address both problems by using statistical modeling techniques that exploit the large amount of performance data collected during the search. We demonstrate these methods on actual performance data collected by the PHiPAC tuning system for dense matrix multiply. We close with a survey of recent projects that use or otherwise advocate an empirical search-based approach to code generation and algorithm selection, whether at the level of computational kernels, compiler and run-time systems, or problem-solving environments. Collectively, these efforts suggest a number of possible software architectures for constructing platform-adapted libraries and applications.
Towards an Accurate Model for Collective Communications
Authors: Vadhiyar Sathish S. , Fagg Graham E. , Dongarra Jack J.
Published: April 2004

The performance of the MPI's collective communications is critical in most MPI-based applications. A general algorithm for a given collective communication operation may not give good performance on all systems due to the differences in architectures, network parameters and the storage capacity of the underlying MPI implementation. Hence, collective communications have to be tuned for the system on which they will be executed. In order to determine the optimum parameters of collective communications on a given system in a time-efficient manner, the collective communications need to be modeled efficiently. In this paper, we discuss various techniques for modeling collective communications.
Using New Closed-form Solutions to Set up Design Rules and Numerical Investigations for Global and Local Buckling of Sandwich Beams
Authors: Leotoing L. , Drapier S. , Vautrin A.
Published: April 2004

This paper is dedicated to the study of global (at the sandwich scale) and local (at the component scale) buckling in sandwich structures. This approach relies on the basis of an analytical model able to capture both local and global instabilities [Leotoing, L., Drapier, S. and Vautrin, A. (2002). First Applications of a Novel Unified Model for Global and Local Buckling of Sandwich Columns, European Journal of Mechanics A/SOLIDS, 21(4): 683–701]. Results from this model are used to provide simple design rules by assessing the combinations of geometrical and material parameters which control these instabilities. From there, design diagrams are extracted which permit very quickly to select sandwich configurations more susceptible to develop local or global phenomena. These design diagrams constitute a precious guide at the predesign stage of sandwich structures. Then, two distinct FE models are presented and compared. The ability of a reduced size FE model to capture local as well as global instabilities is demonstrated. Eventually, the predicted loads and wavelengths from both FE simplified model and analytical model are shown to correlate very well. Thus, analytical wavelengths give accurate evaluations of the mesh element size for a low time-consuming but accurate FE model which can be easily extended to fully non-linear computations of sandwich panels.
Sharing Public Space
Authors: L’Aoustet Olivier , Griffet Jean
Published: April 2004

This article presents a field study conducted in a public park in a major city of southern France. Using a comprehensive approach and an ethnographic method, the goal is to gain insight into the everyday activities that govern the use of public space. By granting meaning to actions considered useless and insignificant, the purpose of this article is to understand how the sharing of public space, in particular the overcrowding observed in Borely Park, participates in youth socialization. People’s experiences and interactions in a public park create ties between them. The sharing of places, and the impressions generated as a result, help bring peers closer together while also bridging the generation gap. Through its description of how the youth use this metropolitan park, this study highlights the importance of the sense dimension in the building of societies. Finally, this work argues that youth are continually learning to live together without really realizing it.
Cyberbrides and Global Imaginaries
Authors: Schaeffer-Grabiel Felicity
Published: April 2004

Through interviews with Mexican women who attend “Vacation Romance Tours” in Guadalajara to meet, date, and perhaps marry U.S. men, the author argues that women’s participation in these international matchmaking industries cannot be understood within the framework of the trafficking of women. Mexican women are not merely commodities for men to buy and consume. The majority of women come from middle-class, professional backgrounds and are influenced by fantasies of “the American way of life.” Just as men imagine women to be ideal mothers and wives, women construct men as utopic commodities who represent their path to self-improvement. U.S. men embody the opposite of Mexican men and the Mexican nation: more equitable and communicative marriage partners, a stable middle-class lifestyle, more mobility, and access to education and sometimes careers. By defining Mexican men as macho, women degrade the Mexican nation to construct themselves as having a more cosmopolitan affinity with the U.S. nation.
Edinburgh
Authors: Jamieson Kirstie
Published: April 2004

This article examines the temporal and spatial boundaries of Edinburgh’s festival identity. It unravels Edinburgh’s festivals in terms of the spaces and identities they produce and their functions. Although there is no one definitive standpoint from which a festival city such as Edinburgh can be objectively mapped, the bounded appeal of live performance, outdoor reveling, and alternative ways of using the city during festival time reveal how the festival gaze manipulates urban identity, public space, and play. By engaging with the spatiality of Edinburgh’s festival culture, the festival identity upon which the city self-consciously relies is explored through the concepts of carnivalesque, play, and the transformation of identity.
The Word Between
Authors: Lloyd Justine
Published: April 2004

There is neither a first nor last word and there are no limits to the dialogic context (it extends into the boundless past and the boundless future). Even past meanings, that is, those born in the dialogue of past centuries, can never be stable (finalized, ended once and for all)—they will always change (be renewed) in the process of subsequent, future development of the dialogue. At any moment in the development of the dialogue there are immense, boundless masses of forgotten contextual meanings, but at certain moments of the dialogue’s subsequent development along the way they are recalled and reinvigorated in renewed form (in a new context). Nothing is absolutely dead: every meaning will have its homecoming festival. (Bakhtin, 1986, p. 170)
Global Brands as Embodied “Generic Spaces”
Authors: Yakhlef Ali
Published: April 2004

By and large, branding literature provides a view of global brands as primarily signifying, semiotic devices. This semiotization of brands is due to a cultural bias that favors the discursive world of signs over lived practices and experiences. Taking Best Western global brand and using Lefèbvre’s tripartite conceptualization—spatial practice, representation of space, and spaces of representation—it is argued that global brands can be seen as generic spaces. However, whereas generic spaces are most commonly regarded as disembodied spaces, in this article, it is argued that they actually are lived, embodied, and specific experiences.
Becoming a Committed Insider
Authors: Hundeide Karsten
Published: April 2004

In this paper I explore and exemplify the processes through which youngsters become committed insiders of countercultural youth groups and how under-aged (child) soldiers go through a similar process of transformation to become members of what I will call a ‘community of military terror’. Finally, I discuss the extent to which the experience of more extreme counter-cultural groups and communities can be accommodated into the ‘community of practice’ concept (Lave, 1988; Wenger, 1998), and, when not possible, the modifications needed to achieve accommodation.
Sociogeneses, Activity and Ontogeny
Authors: Billett Stephen
Published: April 2004

Understanding relations between the social and cognitive contributions to thinking and acting has become a pressing goal for psychological theorizing. Central to understanding these relations is the negotiation and construction of knowledge that is comprised of the inter-psychological processes that engage both cognitive and social experiences. This paper proposes that these processes can be understood through a complex of relations among different sociogenetic sources and between those sources and individuals’ agency as constituted by their life histories or ontogenies. Rather than a single sociogenetic source, the social contributions are held to have historical-cultural and situational geneses. However, through inter-psychological processes these contributions are mediated by individuals’ unique and socially shaped cognitive experiences. Findings from an investigation of the same vocational practice (hairdressing) conducted in four different work settings are used to identify tentative relations between the sociogeneses of the goal-directed activities that individuals engage in, and how these individuals represent their knowledge in memory. Together, these findings tentatively elaborate particular sociogenetic contributions to individuals’ thinking and acting, and relations between particular elements and phases of goal-directed activities and, hence, their impact on cognitive change (development).
Clinical Diagnosis as a Multiplicity of Self-Positions: Challenging Social Representations Theory
Authors: Hermans Hubert J.M.
Published: April 2004

This contribution is written as a challenge to Schmitz, Filippone and Edelman’s (2003) analysis of the clinical diagnosis ADHD from the perspective of social representations theory. The focus of the present article is on the implications of a clinical diagnosis for the organization and reorganization of the self. As an illustrative example, a client is presented who seemed to be ‘enslaved’ to the diagnosis depression, incorporating it as a central element in the construction of his identity. Two observations were discussed: (a) a precious memory of the contact with a former teacher who served as ‘protected area’ in the client’s self; (b) an increasing opposition between ‘I as depressed’ as a dominant I position and ‘I as a fighter’, an emergent I position in the self. These observations led to the question whether social representations theory takes sufficiently into account the self as a dynamic multiplicity of relatively autonomous parts of a system that is capable of organizing and reorganizing itself.
Beside Rupture—Disquiet; Beyond the Other—Alterity
Authors: Sim’o LÌvia Mathias
Published: April 2004

In this commentary, I analyze Zittoun and her collaborators’ idea of symbolic resources as mediators of the representational work demanded by ruptures or discontinuities in the experience of ordinary life (Zittoun, Duveen, Gillespie, Ivinson, & Psaltis, 2003). These remarks are mainly centered on the ideas of disquieting experienceand alterity, approached from the lens of semiotic-cultural constructivism, which seems to allow a more in-depth discussion of the I–world relationship suggested by the authors.
Interpreting Sperber: A Response
Authors: Sneddon Andrew
Published: April 2004

In ‘Naturalistic Study of Culture’ (2003), I criticized the account of the explanation of culture that Dan Sperber offers in Explaining Culture(1996). I argued that Sperber unduly overemphasized the explicit propositional, or propositionally expressible, beliefs of native members of cultures to be explained. The result was a neglect of the importance of skills and overt activities in the constitution of a culture, and of the tacitly represented know-how that is an important part of the cognitive underpinning of such skills and activity. In his response, Sperber (2003) argues that I have badly misrepresented his position. He claims that he does not represent culture as inert. Moreover, he claims to give a very important role to tacit representations in the explanation of culture. Further, he objects to my characterization of his position as reductive. He cites portions of Explaining Culture in response to my criticisms. My present purpose is to examine Explaining Cultureclosely to show that I did not misrepresent Sperber’s position, and that therefore my original arguments stand.
Speaking the Self into Becoming?
Authors: Chaudhary Nandita
Published: April 2004

The self is an alluring topic for debate, and Boesch’s (2003) article creates ample space for playing with ideas and positions on personhood. I have chosen specific portions of the article to lead towards discussions of self and ‘I’, the notion of an inner self, multiplicity of the self, and the cultural configuration and language of selfhood. This commentary has been sprinkled with examples of self-related experiences from Indian communities in order to demonstrate the important ways in which cultures can diverge in the organization of activity around being a person. Hopefully, these examples will help to distract readers from aspects of their own cultural and personal lives while entering into different perspectives on sociality and individual existence. I end by questioning whether, despite its attractions, the self has become somewhat overexposed to academic attention in the recent past.