bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Variations in Health Perception between Black and White Elderly
Authors: Boyer Eunice
Published: May 2005

In a sample of 414 residents of public housing for the elderly, health perception is significantly lower among Black residents than among Whites. The relationship of health perception to several measures of objective health status, to cultural background, to social participation, and to morale is analyzed separately for the two ethnic groups. The relationship of measures of health to health perception is more direct among Whites than among Blacks, except for an Index of Daily Well-Being, in which the relationship is similar for both groups.

Social participation also influences health perception. With Blacks, participation in church-related activities is the most direct influence. While health perception is related to morale, life orientation (an index of morale) is higher for Blacks than for Whites.

The implications for health education professionals seem to lie in the lack of direct links between objective measures of health and self-perception of health for Blacks. The need for health education, so that there may be a realistic appraisal of one's own health condition, is shown here. The relatively low educational level of many older citizens, especially elderly Blacks, suggests that newspaper releases are not an adequate tool for health education for the elderly.
Characteristics and Course of Major Depression in Older Primary Care Patients
Authors: Schulberg Herbert C. , Mulsant Benoit , Schulz Richard , Rollman Bruce L. , Houck Patricia R. , Reynolds Charles F.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Identify the morbidity patterns displayed by older primary care patients experiencing depressive symptomatology who do and do not meet criteria for a major depression.

Method:

Patients ages sixty and older presenting at two ambulatory internal medicine centers were administered the CES-D. Among those scoring ⩾ 11, 104 completed a comprehensive assessment of their psychiatric symptomatology, medical illness, and functional abilities. The assessment battery was again administered six months later.

Results:

The point prevalence of major depression in older primary care patients is estimated at 9 percent based on SCID interviews. Patients meeting criteria for this diagnosis compared to those who are symptomatic but not experiencing a major depression described more extensive psychopathology but also significantly more limitations in performing social and functional roles. At six-month follow-up, only 11.5 percent of those initially diagnosed with a major depression were considered fully recovered.

Conclusions:

Major depression is a prevalent disorder in older primary care patients which affects their ability to perform expected social and physical roles. Mechanisms for delivering efficacious treatments in routine medical practice are of a high priority.
Teenage Suicide Expressions: Echoes from the Past
Authors: Peck Dennis L.
Published: May 2005

A typology of suicide expressions gathered from official case records demonstrates the varied reasons individuals document to justify their acts of self-destruction. Intended to highlight the psychosocial conditions affecting the writer, the statements suggest these youthful committers reacted to external constraints and a perceived lack of succorance from significant others.
The Relationship to Death as a Source of Stress for Nurses on a Coronary Care Unit
Authors: Price Trevor R. , Bergen Bernard J.
Published: May 2005

This paper attempts to understand one of the ways in which nurses on a coronary care unit may be subjected to stress around the problem of establishing a meaningful relationship to death. The themes that nurses expressed during the course of a support group which they had requested are analyzed and discussed. The paper focuses on the stress felt by the nurses over responsibility for controlling illness and death which indicated an unconscious confusion between the feeling of being responsible for the care of an ill or dying patient and the feeling of being responsible for the occurrence of the patient's illness or death. The possible source of this stressful confusion in medicine's and society's own relationship to death is discussed.
The Marketing of Empowerment and the Construction of the Health Consumer: A Critique of Health Promotion
Authors: Grace Victoria M.
Published: May 2005

Health promotion claims to be empowering. However, this claim is not without major problematic contradictions and inconsistencies. The way in which health promotion is also controlling is identified in this article. To understand why the discourse of health promotion is traversed by this empowering/controlling contradiction, the discourse is critically analyzed, revealing a parallel with the structure of the discourse of marketing. Health promotion, rather than fulfilling its promise of empowerment, effectively constructs the individual subject as a “health consumer” in accordance with the model of consumer capitalism.
Pain Site: How Much Does it Matter?
Authors: Kreitler Shulamith , Gohar Hannah , Ezer Tamar , Niv David , Eldar Ann
Published: May 2005

The medical and lay attitudes toward site of pain impressed us as being paradoxical. Though commonly used as a basic means for classifying and characterizing pain, it is not always considered in research and little is known about its psychosocial and clinical aspects. Our purpose was to examine the demographic, clinical, psychiatric, emotional, and pain-descriptive correlates of pain site, specifically in the head, upper back, and low back. The subjects were eighty-four pain patients selected randomly from two pain clinics. They were administered questionnaires assessing demographic and clinical features, trait anxiety and anger (Spielberger's STPI), inhibited anger (Kreitler and Kreitler), psychiatric tendencies (BSI, Derogatis), alexithymia, and pain experience (McGill Pain Questionnaire and Meaning Pain Scale). The results were that the three groups of patients differed in a great number of correlates that enabled a significant discrimination between them, especially good between pain in the upper and lower body parts. The psychological profiles of the groups have implications for sickness behavior (highest for low back), susceptibility to pain distraction (highest for headache), and accessibility to psychological interventions (highest for upper back). Pain site was shown to be an important factor for characterizing pain and defining the limits of generalizations about chronic pain.
The Impact of Hospice Care on Families
Authors: Godkin Michael A. , Krant Melvin J. , Doster Nancy J.
Published: May 2005

The impact of a hospital-based Hospice service for late-stage cancer patients, on the families of fifty-eight bereaved spouses was studied, retrospectively. Hospice care in general was rated significantly higher when compared to the prior care ( p < .001) received by patients and families. Hospice care contributed to improved family functioning and well-being, with the vast majority of spouses reporting feelings of increased support, improved coping by all family members and increased closeness, when compared to prior care. Consequently, over three-quarters of the families reported being emotionally prepared, and prepared in a practical sense, for the death of their loved one. Families appear to be coping reasonably well during bereavement especially those who reported feeling emotionally prepared for the death. Health problems were reported as a large problem in 15 percent of the respondents, which compares favorably to previously documented research on bereavement and illness. These findings indicate that a Hospice mode of care, with its support of families during terminal and bereavement stages, impacts significantly on families' abilities to cope with the terminal phase and adapt afterwards.
Describing Acupuncture: A New Challenge for Technical Communicators
Authors: Karanikas Marianthe
Published: May 2005

Acupuncture is increasingly popular as an alternative medical therapy. Its description presents a challenge for technical communicators. Traditional Chinese medical explanations of acupuncture are unscientific, and scientific explanations of acupuncture are inconclusive. Technical communicators must translate acupuncture theory (traditional and scientific) for not only lay-people, but also for both traditional Chinese and Western health practitioners. Further research is needed.
Attitudes Toward and Desire for Assisted Suicide among Persons with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Achille Marie A. , Ogloff James R. P.
Published: May 2005

This study aimed at investigating attitudes toward assisted suicide among individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the differences in health status (illness severity and functional disability) and psychosocial adjustment (depression, perceived stress, social support, and coping) between those in favor of and those against assisted suicide. This study also aimed at describing the characteristics of terminally-ill individuals who acknowledge contemplating assisted suicide. Forty-four individuals diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were surveyed about their attitudes and the circumstances that would make them contemplate assisted suicide and filled out standardized measures of mood, stress, social support, coping, and illness status. Seventy percent of the sample found assisted suicide morally acceptable and 60% thought it should be legalized. In addition, 60% of patients agreed they could foresee circumstances that would make them contemplate assisted suicide, but only three (7%) indicated they would have requested it already if it had been legal. Willingness to contemplate assisted suicide was associated with reports of elevated levels of depressive symptoms and reports of hopelessness. Results highlight the need to assess psychological status carefully when terminally ill individuals begin contemplating assisted suicide or voice a request for it.
Assessment of Social Relationships in Elderly Patients
Authors: Oxman Thomas E. , Berkman Lisa F.
Published: May 2005

This article provides an overview of measures for assessing the importance of social relationships to the outcome of illness in the elderly. Review of the evidence associating social relationships with the variability in health outcome emphasizes the need for separating social relationships into three components: Social network structure and composition; Type and amount of social support provided through the network; and, perceived adequacy of the social support. Because of physical and social changes during the life cycle, care must be exercised in selecting and interpreting social relationship measures for use with the elderly. Available measures relevant for assessing the three components of social relationships in the elderly are described.
Familiar and Fluent! Style-Related Processing Hypotheses in Aesthetic Appreciation
Authors: Leder Helmut
Published: May 2005

In order to discover general laws in the appreciation of artworks, an explanation of the mere-exposure hypothesis is extended to features which are typical of artworks. Artistic style—the way things are depicted—is discussed as a possible dimension along which increasing familiarity reveals changes in the preference structure. Empirical data from studies in which familiarity and style were varied seem to support the main hypothesis, but also reveal specific limitations. Generally, the pictorial fluency of an artificial style affected appreciation more than familiarity with a given style.
Enhancing Outcomes in an Indicated Drug Prevention Program for High-Risk Youth
Authors: Thompson Elaine A. , Horn Michael , Herting Jerald R. , Eggert Leona L.
Published: May 2005

This study examined the net effects of refining a high school-based indicated drug prevention program. The Personal Growth Class ( PGC), tailored to meet the needs of high-risk youth, was designed to increase control of drug use, school performance, and emotional well-being. The program integrates social support and life-skills training. Process evaluation revealed the need for program enhancements to address underestimated levels of depression, anger, and suicidal behaviors prevalent among high-risk youth and to ensure that core content was being emphasized consistently. Youth participating in Late cohorts received the refined PGC with enhanced skills training. Study participants ( N = 280) were youth, primarily ages fifteen to seventeen, at high-risk for school failure or dropout. Indicators of emotional well-being (e.g., depression, stress, anger, self-esteem, personal control), drug involvement, and school performance were compared for Late versus Early cohorts. Regression analyses revealed the Late versus Early cohorts showed significantly greater decreases in hard drug use, depression, perceived stress, and anger; and greater increases in self-esteem. The results support arguments that effective indicated prevention programs should target specific high-risk youth employing strategies to counteract the multifaceted risk factors they experience and enhance needed protective factors.
Compliance and the Modification of Hypnotizability
Authors: Burgess Cheryl A. , Du Breuil Susan C. , Jones Bill , Spanos Nicholas P.
Published: May 2005

This study compared compliance-induced reporting bias in subjects who attained high hypnotizability scores following skill training and subjects who obtained equivalent scores without benefit of skill training (naturals). Low hypnotizables in one condition were administered the Carleton Skills Training Package and later posttested for hypnotizability. Control subjects were posttested without benefit of skill training. As in previous studies, skill-trained subjects attained substantially higher posttest hypnotizability scores than controls. In a final session, skill trained subjects, untrained naturals matched against the skill trained subjects on hypnotizability scores, and low hypnotizable controls were tested in a suggested deafness paradigm designed to assess compliant responding. Skill-trained subjects and matched naturals reported significantly greater suggested deafness than did the controls. However, only the matched naturals exhibited significant levels of compliance-induced reporting bias. These findings indicate that skill-trained subjects exhibit no more compliant responding than do natural high hypnotizables.
Communication: Is it the Transmission of Information?
Authors: Almaney Adnan
Published: May 2005

The way a person defines a term could have a significant effect on his behavior. In this article, the writer probes the behavioral pitfalls of defining communication as the “transmission” of information, and offers an alternative definition that may enhance communication effectiveness.
Disorientation in Hypermedia Environments: Mechanisms to Support Navigation
Authors: Dias Paulo , Gomes Maria João , Correia Ana Paula
Published: May 2005

The problem of navigation in hypertext is quite often associated with (dis)orientation. We begin this article by making a review of several mechanisms to support navigation after having done a brief presentation of the phenomena “getting lost in the hyperspace.” To simplify and clarify our explanation we have assembled the various proposals of support to navigation into the following: 1) solutions regarding the tools to support navigation, 2) solutions regarding interface and navigation metaphors, and 3) solutions regarding hardware and other approaches to deal with this problem. The analyses made of each mechanism to support navigation intend to offer different points of view about the pros and cons of their use.
Treatment of Chronic Pain in the General Psychiatric Hospital
Authors: Getto Carl J. , Franks Ronald D. , Willett Allan Brock
Published: May 2005

Patients with chronic pain present many diagnostic and therapeutic challenges to primary physicians and psychiatric consultants. The authors present a series of twelve patients with chronic pain who were hospitalized on the psychiatric ward of a general hospital. Ten of the twelve patients presented decreased their medication use and were markedly improved at the end of their brief stay. Treatment goals, attitudes and interventions are discussed.
Income Inequality, Social Cohesion, and Class Relations: A Critique of Wilkinson's Neo-Durkheimian Research Program
Authors: Muntaner Carles , Lynch John
Published: May 2005

Wilkinson's “income inequality and social cohesion” model has emerged as a leading research program in social epidemiology. Public health scholars and activists working toward the elimination of social inequalities in health can find several appealing features in Wilkinson's research. In particular, it provides a sociological alternative to former models that emphasize poverty, health behaviors, or the cultural aspects of social relations as determinants of population health. Wilkinson's model calls for social explanations, avoids the subjectivist legacy of U.S. functionalist sociology that is evident in “status” approaches to understanding social inequalities in health, and calls for broad policies of income redistribution. Nevertheless, Wilkinson's research program has characteristics that limit its explanatory power and its ability to inform social policies directed toward reducing social inequalities in health. The model ignores class relations, an approach that might help explain how income inequalities are generated and account for both relative and absolute deprivation. Furthermore, Wilkinson's model implies that social cohesion rather than political change is the major determinant of population health. Historical evidence suggests that class formation could determine both reductions in social inequalities and increases in social cohesion. Drawing on recent examples, the authors argue that an emphasis on social cohesion can be used to render communities responsible for their mortality and morbidity rates: a community-level version of “blaming the victim.” Such use of social cohesion is related to current policy initiatives in the United States and Britain under the New Democrat and New Labor governments.
The National Health Service Plan: Further Reform of British Health Care?
Authors: Lewis Richard , Gillam Stephen
Published: May 2005

Less than three years after initiating a series of health service reforms, the Blair government has launched another plan for the U.K. National Health Service. This article considers the origins and contents of the plan. A major investment program is designed to bring health care spending up to European averages over the next five years. In return, the government seeks to challenge the existing settlement between organized medicine and the state through tighter regulatory control, altered contractual frameworks, and a new public-private concordat. The plan does not represent a radical change in government policy but rather reaffirms existing approaches to increasing access to health services, integrating health and social care, and empowering users. Notwithstanding arrangements to increase the autonomy of health service organizations, the plan increases central control through a range of new bodies and regulatory frameworks. It represents an incremental adjustment of the existing tax-funded system. Should this reinvigoration of the state monopoly fail, alternative sources of funding will no doubt have to be reconsidered.
The Plain Style in Scientific and Technical Writing
Authors: Whitburn Merrill D. , Davis Marijane , Higgins Sharon , Oates Linsey , Spurgeon Kristene
Published: May 2005

The ornate style practiced before the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century too often led to obscurity and verbal games rather than clarity and the pursuit of truth. In reacting against ornateness, however, scientists developed the ideal of a plain style that is itself problematic. The writer's posture is essentially defensive; he is more concerned with what not to do than what to do in his writing. The practice of amplification, useful for audience adaptation, has been abandoned, and rhetorical devices that promote the personal touch are no longer taught. Recent experiments indicate that classroom exercises involving rhetorical devices can help promote economy and clarity, encourage more personal and aggressive writing, strengthen the idea that writing is an art, and arouse writer and reader interest. The study of stylistic devices in use before the scientific revolution can be fruitful for modern scientific and technical writing.
Business and the Pushcart Vendors in an Age of Supermarkets
Authors: Bergthold Linda A.
Published: May 2005

The subject of this article is the impact of the political participation of business on the substance, process, and power of State policymaking about medical care in the 1980s. The article focuses on organized business coalitions, how and why they emerged to participate in the health policy debate, and the impact of these interests on health policy itself. It asks the question, How and to what extent has the emergence of business as an actor in health care politics changed both the process by which health policy is formulated at the state and federal level and the substance of health policy itself? It comes to the conclusion that business involvement has varied in impact and intensity from state to state, that business participation ultimately reinforces the control of the private sector over medical care resources, that business power can be used to decrease the autonomy and power of medical providers and is consistent with and reinforces current trends toward privatization and corporatization of the medical care system, and that the political participation of business has produced a degree of structural change in the medical care system. These changes have profound implications for unorganized consumer constituencies and their access to the policy process.
A Post-Apocalyptic View of Archaeology
Authors: Moeller Roger W.
Published: May 2005

To appreciate the demise of archaeology from its former state of grace, I needed to view the juxtaposition of anthropological theory, my military background, and the real world. During an 18-month period, I was on a long journey through the dark recesses of my past. As I look forward, I see a faint point of light in a very dark tunnel. I am afraid to look down lest I see tracks; afraid to listen too closely lest I hear a train's sharp whistle.
Reframing Cognitive Therapy to Integrate Recent Research on Emotion, Imagery, and Self-Talk
Authors: Kunzendorf Robert G. , McGlone Michelle , Hulihan Deborah , Boulia Katherine , Portuese Jaclyn , Dinsmore Thomas , Bramhall Elizabeth
Published: May 2005

The current research was designed to demonstrate that people concoct stories to explain lingering emotions, when the true source of emotion has passed without conscious integration. While viewing a DVD recording of nine abstract paintings in succession, subjects observed a) subliminal pictures of disgusting stimuli in the inter-painting intervals; b) supraliminal pictures of disgusting stimuli in the inter-painting intervals; or c) no pictures in the intervals. Over half of the subliminally stimulated subjects who experienced disgust failed to identify any of the disgusting stimuli and concocted stories about the source of their disgust. Future-oriented stories were more prevalent in subjects who were “desirous of explanations” and who had a futuristic attribution style, whereas past-oriented stories were more prevalent in subjects whose attribution style was not futuristic. The current results, like other findings reviewed in the introduction to this study, are not consistent with the theoretical underpinnings of cognitive therapy. Alternative research-based reasons for the effectiveness of cognitive therapy are suggested, and clinical cases integrating these suggestions are discussed.
The Political Economy of Controlling Transnationals: The Pharmaceutical Industry in Sri Lanka, 1972–1976
Authors: Lall Sanjaya , Bibile Senaka
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the experience of Sri Lanka in reforming the structure of production, importation, and distribution of pharmaceuticals in the period 1972–1976. It highlights the actions and reactions of transnational pharmaceutical corporations to these reforms, and traces the achievements and problems of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation which was set up to implement the reforms. The roles of political leadership in regulating the power of drug transnationals, and of the medical profession in resisting reform, seem to be of crucial significance. Developing countries wishing to lower the present high cost of drug delivery must proceed with great care and immense caution, since complex problems of quality control, bioequivalence, medical acceptance, and consumer reeducation are involved.
An Explanatory Model for Munchausen by Proxy Abuse
Authors: Rand Deirdre C. , Feldman Marc D.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

In Munchausen by proxy (MBP) abuse, a caretaker fabricates or induces illness in another person to obtain emotional gratification. In representative cases, a mother is the perpetrator and her child is the victim. In view of the limits of current explanatory models, we use personal accounts of MBP perpetrators, physicians, and family members as a window into understanding this counterintuitive behavior.

Method:

As subspecialty clinicians and consultants, we supplemented our extensive direct experience with MBP with a review of published reports of MBP located via MEDLINE and PsycINFO (1980 onward). We also examined the books devoted to the subject and incorporated personal accounts of MBP perpetrators and of family members and professionals involved with them.

Results:

Factors contributing to the onset and continuation of MBP are the perpetrator's experiencing a particular drive (e.g., intense anger or frustration); lacking or overcoming internal inhibitions against abusive actions; and overcoming external inhibitions, such as the potential intercession of a spouse or pediatrician. As a result, the MBP parent experiences release from unpleasant emotions and a sense of renewed control. MBP behavior gains “habit strength” each time it occurs.

Conclusions:

Psychodynamic explanations of MBP, while favored by some authors, are inherently speculative and tend to be low in predictive value. We suggest broadening these traditional explanations by emphasizing observable behaviors and verifiable background factors. The behavioral perspective we outline helps explain how MBP behavior is learned, why it is more prevalent among mothers, and why it is so difficult for perpetrators to stop.
The Relationship between Aesthetic Judgment and Dogmatism
Authors: Fairhall John H. , Punch Keith F.
Published: May 2005

The relationships among a set of five aesthetic judgment variables, and between those variables and dogmatism, were examined through the responses to eight paintings of a sample of 504 tertiary students. The judgment variables—evaluation and boldness—were calibrated from an Art Judgment Inventory, and dogmatism was measured by a shortened form of Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale. The judgment variables correlate as would be expected with each other, and dogmatism shows a consistent negative relationship with the judgment variables.
Instructional Strategies for Simulation-Based Learning
Authors: Duchastel Philippe
Published: May 2005

Simulation is defined broadly here as a situation that enables relationships in a model to be explored and observed. The key features of instructional simulation (structural modeling, fidelity, interactivity and artificiality) are set out as a basis for considering instructional strategies that are appropriate to simulation. Instructional goals are also, it is argued, a strong determiner of approach. Broad instructional strategies for simulation are simplification and support, the former emphasizing graded levels of model complexity, and the latter help to keep the student involved and in tune with the model. Specific instructional strategies emphasize the distinction between procedural and process simulation. How these instructional strategies can be important for ITS development is discussed.
Comparison of Two Cognitive Rating Scales in Medically Ill Patients
Authors: Burch Earl A. , Andrews Susan Ring
Published: May 2005

Patients with acute, complex behavioral syndromes combined with impaired comprehension and communication are difficult diagnostic challenges. Using a structured mental status interview can significantly reduce the chance of overlooking the presence of cognitive dysfunction. The authors tested the applicability of the cognitive portion of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-COG) as a screening instrument on a psychiatric consultation service. The ADAS-COG compared favorably with the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), but appeared to be less influenced by educational level. The advantages and disadvantages of using each of these tests on a psychiatric consultation service are discussed.
The Prevention of Health Risks in Cuba
Authors: Guttmacher Sally
Published: May 2005

Cuba still has a double burden of health risks. It must contend with some risks to health that persist in underdeveloped rural areas, and it must also deal with the risk factors associated with modern, urban living conditions. The economic and social changes fostered in the postrevolutionary period have reduced the relative importance of the first set of factors, but the changes have also introduced or intensified a myriad of factors derived from their own successes. In this article, the risk factors of greatest concern in contemporary Cuba are described, and the strategies adopted to combat these risk factors, together with the ways in which such strategies are shaped by Cuba's social and economic development are discussed.
Blaming the Aged Victim: The Politics of Scapegoating in Times of Fiscal Conservatism
Authors: Minkler Meredith
Published: May 2005

The ideology and process of victim blaming have undergone profound changes as a consequence of recent sociopolitical developments. This paper examines a newer and more pernicious form of victim blaming, with particular attention to the ways it has been directed at the elderly in American society. Several contexts are presented within which we may view recent budget cuts affecting the elderly in order to analyze the scapegoating of the aged as a primary “cause” of the fiscal crisis. These contexts include the cyclical nature of social problems, which expand or contract in accordance with the dominant needs of the economy; the “fiscal crisis mentality”; the philosophy and tactics of decentralization; and the Reagan Administration's move toward an “ideological definition of reality.” Each of these contexts is seen as fitting within the overarching context of the current economic crisis and the intensified class conflict and related outcomes which it has generated. Unlike the victim blaming of the 1960s and early 70s, which defined “the elderly” as a social problem and devised solutions (e.g. expanded Social Security benefits, Medicare and Medicaid) for dealing with that problem, the victim blaming of the 1980s is seen as defining these earlier “solutions” as part of the problem. Not only are the aged problematic, but ameliorative programs are seen as “busting the federal budget” and in need of dismantling and/or shifting to other levels of government and the private sector. Education grounded in political-economic analyses of the “aging problem,” aimed in part at overcoming structurally induced divisiveness among oppressed groups, is suggested as an important deterrent to the increased polarization which the current fiscal crisis mentality has nurtured.
Picking up the Pieces: Disaster Intervention and Human Ecology
Authors: Harshbarger Dwight
Published: May 2005

Disasters and community life are intimately related. This paper focuses upon the relatively neglected problems of “picking up the pieces” after a disaster has struck. The aftermath includes problems associated with the provision of temporary shelter and survival needs, through the short-range rehabilitation of the community, and on to meeting the psychosocial needs of the survivors which may persist for months or years. Mental health workers should re-evaluate the type of resources they have available to offer disaster victims and the most effective means of utilizing their energies and skills. This paper also serves as the introduction to a symposium on the topic of disaster intervention and human ecology.
The Development of Quasi-Markets in Welfare Provision in the United Kingdom
Authors: Glennerster Howard , Le Grand Julian
Published: May 2005

In the late 1980s, governments in many western economies began to introduce competition between public agencies providing health, education, and other forms of social welfare. Government became a contracting agency separating funding from provision. The United Kingdom went farthest in legislation passed between 1988 and 1990. The authors review some possible explanations for this fundamental change. The article draws on public choice theory and broader political science approaches and reviews the evidence on the impact of the changes. The gains from these changes may be small, and the result may be only the build up of pressure for more spending in the longer term.
The Work Environment Board and the Limits of Social Democracy in Canada
Authors: Sass Robert
Published: May 2005

A Work Environment Board was established to deal with all workplace health and safety issues within the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan from 1978 to 1982. The Board was an experiment, established because of the observed deficiencies of the mandatory joint occupational health and safety committees that were legislated by the province in 1972. The administrators of the occupational health and safety program observed the problems faced by workers on these committees. An experiment was therefore established in one of the province's crown corporations that would transform the joint committee into a Work Environment Board with wider powers to deal with work environment matters within the corporation. In addition, a Work Environment Fund was established to enable the worker members on the Board to do their own research and to get the information they wanted. The Work Environment Board was frustrated by the fact that corporate leaders were not prepared to extend worker rights on the health and safety committees within the respective mines. Rather, they viewed health and safety reforms as part of an overall strategy of quality of work life. The social democratic government was not prepared to extend worker rights and to threaten management prerogatives. Now that there are three New Democratic Party (social democratic) governments in Canada, it appears that these governments are prepared to initiate technical improvements, but not the extension of worker rights in work environment matters.
Paternal Bereavement in Older Men
Authors: Goodman Marcene , Black Helen K. , Rubinstein Robert L.
Published: May 2005

Styles of coping with the death of an adult child were explored in a study that examined the behavioral and affective aftermath of loss in older men. Twenty-five fathers aged sixty to eighty-eight who had lost an adult child were studied through ethnographic interviews based on life history review. Three general styles of adjustment to loss were identified. Men who described themselves and their careers in superlative terms appeared most likely to adjust well to the loss. These men tended to “conquer” the loss by intellectualizing it, psychologically relegating the loss to the periphery of daily life, or capitalizing on their self-esteem to reestablish control over life. A second group of men used avoidance, denial, or a dependence on others as primary agents of adjustment. While this latter group presented as only slightly less self-complacent than the above, they were less able to diffuse or appease accompanying feelings of helplessness through self-aggrandizement. For them, recovery from the death of a child seemed more tied to external than to self-affirming mechanisms. Immersion in second marriages, bereavement support groups, or religion became outlets for relief and sources of regeneration. Two men who candidly described their lives with regret and disappointment, constituted a third group. Lacking the conviction of self-worth that lead other men in the sample to triumph over the loss, they displayed no determination to rescue themselves or be rescued from grief. For both men, mourning was a continuing process that seemed to relate to the futility of unrealized self-potential as well as the loss of a child. Results suggest that, for men, narcissism may be a potent antidote for loss that can buffer, neutralize, and even erase the pain of losing a child.
Toward Technical Authorship
Authors: Henry Jim
Published: May 2005

Recent theory views technical communication not as a “transmission” of a message from sender to receiver but as a complex process involving an articulation of meanings, in which the technical communicator serves as a mediator. Ethnographies composed by practicing technical communicators demonstrate ways in which this mediation takes place. As such, the mediation casts the work of technical communicators in new light, allowing us to understand their work as “authorship.” This article draws upon practitioner research to present some of the facets of such authorship.
Depression Dependent Parkinsonism: Case Report
Authors: Rosse Richard B. , Peters Jon
Published: May 2005

With increasing depression a patient's Parkinsonian tremors increased. With successful treatment of the patient's depression with Imipramine, the tremors disappeared, but slowly began again after drug noncompliance resulted in recurrence of depression. Evidence suggesting a relationship between depression and extrapyramidal dysfunction is discussed. The need for a greater understanding of the role of the extrapyramidal system in emotion and behavior and the connections between the extrapyramidal system to limbic and cortical structures are noted.
Numerical Types and Inspectional Types: Evaluating Shape Characterization Procedures
Authors: Andrefsky William
Published: May 2005

Projectile point data are used in testing and evaluating various numerical shape classification procedures. Inspectional point types play the role of a control population while clustering algorithms, attribute section, and standardization techniques are tested. The most effective numerical procedure identified for the classification of projectile point form is a combination of k-means analysis, ratio scale measurements between attributes, and standardization of interval measures to a mean of zero and standard deviation of one.
Thanatology Research from Québec: A Different Emphasis
Authors: Mishara Brian L.
Published: May 2005

Researchers must be acutely aware of the emotional, environmental, and cultural context of studies as well as the dynamic interactions which are continually changing this context. This characterization of a major trend in French-speaking research in Quebec is well exemplified by the series of lectures on Death, Distress, and Solidarity that gave rise to the articles published in this special issue of Omega. The contributors have attempted to incorporate the best aspects of European critical thinking within an interdisciplinary and contextual approach, showing clear awareness of the sociopolitical forces that affect our relationship with mortality. The author illustrates some of his points by discussing the Kurosawa film, Ikuru, which recounts the transformation of an obsessive bureaucrat after he learns that he has terminal cancer.
An Update on the Kevorkian-Reding 93 Physician-Assisted Deaths in Michigan: Is Kevorkian a Savior, Serial-Killer or Suicidal Martyr?
Authors: Kaplan Kalman J. , O'Dell Jyll C. , Dragovic Ljubisa J. , McKeon M. Catherine , Bentley Emily , Telmet Kaja L.
Published: May 2005

This report presents an update of the Kevorkian-Reding physician-assisted (or physician-aided) deaths to include the ninety-three publicly acknowledged cases as of November 25, 1998. These deaths are divided into ten distinct time phases. The following trends emerge. Over two-thirds of the decedents are women, the ratio of females to males varying widely with phase. The proportion of women seems to be highest when Kevorkian is free to act as he wants and lowest when he seems to be acting under legal or political restraints. Based on autopsy results, only 29.0 percent of the cases are terminal, this percentage being higher among men (37.9%) than among women (25.4%). However, 66.7% of the decedents were disabled, no significant difference emerging between men and women. Further, five out of the six decedents showing no apparent anatomical sign of disease at autopsy were women. Over 80 percent of the physician-assisted deaths are cremated, approximately twice as high a proportion as that emerging for suicides in Michigan and four times as high as cremations occurring with regard to overall deaths. Finally, death by carbon monoxide decreases dramatically with time phase while the use of the contraption dubbed the “suicide machine” increases, suggesting an increasing routinization over time. Finally, during the ninth and tenth phases, Kevorkian's aims and his own suicidality emerge more clearly, involving 1) harvesting of organs and 2) threat of starving himself in prison if he is convicted. Phase 10 can be seen as an escalation from assisted-death1 to overt euthanasia, repeating the same need for a demonstration (Thomas Youk) that was first exhibited in Phase 1 (Janet Adkins).
A Simulation Approach to the Measurement of Change in Ceramic Frequency Seriation
Authors: Hatch James W. , Whittington Stephen L. , Dyke Bennett
Published: May 2005

This paper examines the problems encountered by users of ceramic frequency seriation in distinguishing chronologically meaningful trends from the background stochastic “noise” inherent in all ceramic assemblages. Aspects of manufacture, breakage and discard behavior are found to be important in the creation of “noise” in the archaeological record. A computerized model (POTS), which simulates both chronological changes and background “noise” in the ceramic assemblages of hypothetical villages, is used to evaluate the effects of sample size on the chronological accuracy of seriated sherd deposits. It is concluded that in order to maximize the utility of frequency seriation as a chronological ordering device, users should be concerned with the statistical adequacy of their sherd samples and that additional experimentation is needed with artificial data sets generated under ethnographically controlled conditions.
Defining the Situation: Reflection of Life Styles in Funeral Eulogies
Authors: Hendricks Jon , Hendricks Carol D.
Published: May 2005

The nature of funeral orations was analyzed. Based on participant observation of over 100 funeral services in central Pennsylvania the nature of the variables which condition eulogies was assessed and two orientations outlined. For those individuals who were seen as the victims of life or who lacked an element of control over their own life-situation, death was treated as a release, which enabled them to realize their true potential. For the group who experienced a modicum of control and success in their lives, death was viewed as unfortunate fate. For both groups conceptions of the afterlife included the most salient desires and frustrations of the earthly life as well as a continuation of the personal integrity of the deceased.
Response Distortion in Adolescents Who Smoke: A Pilot Study
Authors: Stein L. A. R. , Colby Suzanne M. , O'Leary Tracy A. , Monti Peter M. , Rohsenow Damaris J. , Spirito Anthony , Riggs Suzanne , Barnett Nancy P.
Published: May 2005

A wide range of data are obtained with self-report. Information obtained from persons using substances is generally reliable and valid, however, many studies show that some proportion of self-reports regarding substance use are inaccurate. This study examines self-reported response distortion in adolescents who received a brief intervention to reduce their smoking. Findings indicate that age and ethnicity of respondent may influence reported response distortion. Factors that appear to influence under- and over-reporting include social desirability and fear of repercussion. Response distortion does not appear to affect rated usefulness of the intervention, nor does intervention type appear to influence whether respondents thought the researcher wanted them to report less use. Results point to the need for further research regarding adolescents and response distortion.
Principles of ICT in Education and Implementation Strategies in Singapore, the Province of Alberta in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea
Authors: Pich Anthony , Kim Bokyeong
Published: May 2005

This article is intended to examine the issues surrounding the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education, primarily in primary education. The theoretical basis for the use of ICT as an integrated educational technology across the curriculum, and specific cases, where these theories have been implemented by education policy-makers, and, in turn, at the classroom level by individual teachers, were examined. Specifically, we examined educational technology applications using ICT and the Internet that are available to supplement teaching resources and are provided either directly by educational authorities or originate from other sources. The specific cases described here are from Singapore, the Province of Alberta in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea. This article will argue that ICT should be used as an educational technology that is included across subject areas as a means for students to both increase their ICT proficiency and to accomplish subject-based learning goals.
Why Technical Writers? A Case for Training Technologists to Speak for Themselves
Authors: Steiner Carol J.
Published: May 2005

Why are technical writers needed to “translate” the work of technologists into accessible communication? This article looks briefly at the situation that creates the need for technical writers and then argues for a change in that situation so technologists can communicate for themselves. The argument is based on Martin Heidegger's philosophy of meaning, language, and communication. It recommends greater, active involvement of technologists with the “real world” in which their technology will be used, including involvement with people with whom and for whom the technology is being developed. Key concepts presented are that meaning lies in socially-agreed relations among things in the world, not in words or in the relations between words and things; that language actually manifests rather than represents reality; and that technical writers are incapable of fully appreciating and communicating the meaning of what technologists do because they come from a different discipline which constructs meaning differently. It argues that a change in technology practice will engender a new attitude and approach to technical communication that can make technical writers unnecessary except as communication teachers who help develop the communication skills of technologists.