bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Class-Related Distinctions in American Cultural Tastes
Authors: Holbrook Morris B. , Weiss Michael J. , Habich John
Published: May 2005

Previous studies by Bourdieu and others have shown a tendency for cultural tastes to serve as status markers that distinguish members of social classes differing in economic capital (money, income, wealth) and cultural capital (family background, education, training). However, questions remain concerning the extent to which such findings—especially those obtained over 20 years ago in France—can be meaningfully generalized to the contemporary United States. The present study explores this issue using a large-scale database that covers a broad range of cultural activities pursued by a comprehensive sample of American geodemographic clusters. The results support the Bourdieusian view by showing clear contrasts in differential cultural preferences among groups varying in income, education, and various demographic characteristics.
A Sense of Humor
Authors: Marlowe Leigh
Published: May 2005

Each major behavior science has a variety of distinct perspectives on our species' capacity for humor. Some psychological, sociological, and anthropological approaches are explained in this article. No theory accounting for or method of studying humor has gained a plurality of adherents in any of these disciplines. This article presents a social psychological analysis, emphasizing the interpersonal and intergroup functions of humor production, expression, and appreciation, with particular attention to gender-based socialization of language and its individual and social consequences. Historical and contemporary examples of women in humor are discussed, in addition to implications of feminist humor for future relations between women and men.
An Investigation of Context Effects for Item Randomization within Testlets
Authors: Pomplun Mark , Ritchie Timothy
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the statistical and practical significance of context effects for items randomized within testlets for administration during a series of computerized non-adaptive tests. One hundred and twenty-five items from four primary school reading tests were studied. Logistic regression analyses identified from one to four items for each test as having statistically significant differences in item difficulty when administered in different positions in the testlet. Subsequent evaluation indicated that the effect sizes for most of these items were in the small category, and no consistent characteristic was identified to support a causative factor for these items. In addition, the few items flagged at each grade and their small effect sizes would argue against any effect on students' total scores. These results not only extended the study of context effects to primary school grades and computerized tests, but also supported testlets as useful to balance psychometric and practical testing needs. Further research into context effects due to item randomization within testlets should increase the number of items per testlet and the content areas studied.
Clarifying and Re-Clarifying the Measurement of Death Attitudes: A Comment
Authors: Kass Richard A. , Durlak Joseph A.
Published: May 2005

Rigdon and Epting have challenged our factor analytic procedures, particularly our interpretation of the multidimensionality of several death scales. However, we believe our analysis and conclusions are justified and that the logic behind Rigdon and Eptings' alternate analysis is not compelling.
Perspectives on the Distribution of Obsidians in San Diego County, California
Authors: Hughes Richard E. , True Delbert L.
Published: May 2005

Artifact-to-source assignments were made on over 200 obsidian artifacts from San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties, California, using non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis. In addition to providing new data on the spatial distributions of Obsidian Butte and Coso Hot Springs volcanic glasses in extreme southern California, results of the present study call into question the empirical utility of previous distance-decay models. Present data indicate that Coso Hot Springs obsidian was conveyed much more widely than previously believed. Previous predictions about the source-specific composition and percentage of obsidian in the entire chipped stone inventory in late prehistoric site assemblages in San Diego County were not sustained by observed empirical results.
Teaching in High-Tech Environments: Classroom Management Revisited
Authors: Sandholtz Judith Haymore , Ringstaff Cathy , Dwyer David C.
Published: May 2005

The addition of computers to classrooms influences not only instruction but also classroom management, producing both unexpected problems and benefits. This article summarizes the experiences of thirty-two elementary and secondary teachers as they adapted to teaching in high-access-to-technology classrooms.

Using a three-stage model, this article presents the teachers' classroom management concerns, their strategies for solving problems, and their abilities to utilize the technology to their advantage. Teachers moved from frustration to success in coping with changes brought about by the introduction of technology to their classrooms.

This article highlights three main issues relevant to practice and research. First, classroom management is not a skill that is mastered once and for all. Second, this article provides further support to the belief that educational change takes time. Finally, it illustrates that teacher change is not unidirectional. Teachers progress through stages of concern in an idiosyncratic manner.

If I had my druthers, I don't think I would ever look at a computer again. One of my students got into the Corvus network and lost lots of information because he doesn't know what he is doing. It's a typical situation, and it's caused a major problem because now the computers are down. There are so many variables like this that we deal with on a day to day basis that I didn't anticipate being part of this program. I'm anxious for the weekend so I don't have to do anything with computers (AT, November 16, 1988).1
Planning for Primary Health Care: The Case of the Sierra Leone National Action Plan
Authors: Decosas Josef
Published: May 2005

The National Action Plan for Primary Health Care, a planning document of the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health for the restructuring of the country's rural health services, is analyzed in its social, economic, and historical context. It appears to be an attempt of the national government to gain control over the highly devolved health care delivery system, but the state has neither the political will nor the power to achieve this goal. The utility of the document is therefore in doubt, which raises two important questions: Whose interests does this plan serve, and at whose cost?
Ceilidh as a Course Management Support System
Authors: Benford Steve , Burke Edmund , Foxley Eric , Gutteridge Neil , Zin Abdullah Mohd
Published: May 2005

This article describes a course-management system, called ceilidh, which was developed for teaching computer programming. The core of the system is an automatic-assessment facility. Ceilidh includes extensive administration and progress monitoring facilities as well as support for other forms of assessment including short-answer marking. Ceilidh has been in use at Nottingham for three years and recently supported a programming class of 160 students. It is also currently at the core of a thirty five site UK national pilot funded under the UFC's Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP).
Older Adults' Attitudes, Concerns, and Support for Environmental Issues in the “New West”
Authors: Wright Scott D. , Caserta Michael , Lund Dale A.
Published: May 2005

The natural environment has been a missing topic from education and public policy forums concerning an aging society. This study examines demographic trends and several socio-demographic influences on attitudes, concerns, and active support for environmental issues among older adults in a retirement “hot spot” in the New West. A sample of 394 older adults in southwestern Utah was obtained from questionnaires mailed to those randomly selected from a larger dataset, and through hand-distributed questionnaires at selected RV parks. We found a high degree of variability among respondents in regard to environmental attitudes and concerns. Despite a personal attitudinal desire to protect the environment, most older adults did not want to become involved in protective actions for the environment. We found that residency status and religious affiliation emerged as the strongest relationships with measures of attitudes and concerns, and willingness to support the environment. The most influential factors associated with willingness to take action in support of the environment were having higher levels of active/social concerns, and higher levels of awareness of environmental consequences. The New West is one of the fastest-growing areas for demographic aging, and the opinions and actions of older adults will play a significant role in the stewardship and sustainability of natural resources, particularly in retirement hot spots.
The Effect of Subject Matter and Degree of Realism on Aesthetic Preferences for Paintings
Authors: Kettlewell Neil , Lipscomb Sara , Evans Liz , Rosston Karl
Published: May 2005

A sample of 240 college students was shown color slides of fifty paintings and asked to rate each on a Likert scale as to perceived attractiveness. Ten different categories of subject matter were presented, and each category was shown in five different degrees of realism ranging from highly realistic to abstract. An analysis of variance showed highly significant effects for subject matter. degree of realism and their interaction. The results are seen as being contrary to what would be expected from a “relativist” position with respect to art but consistent with that expected from a “universalist” position.
The Costs of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Automotive Manufacturing
Authors: Punnett Laura
Published: May 2005

Inadequate application of ergonomic principles to the design of workplaces and individual jobs has adverse consequences for worker health and safety, especially in terms of strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal disorders. In addition to the human pain and suffering, other losses are externalized to workers, with adverse financial and psychosocial impacts. There are also costs to employers through workers' compensation claims, scrap, and decreased production quality, medical insurance premiums, labor turnover, and adverse impacts on labor relations, although many of these are not linked by traditional accounting methods to ergonomic problems per se. Data collected in five plants of two major U.S. automotive manufacturing companies in the last decade have been used to estimate some of the costs associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), only some of which resulted in workers' compensation claims. In one plant in 1984–85, the payroll cost of all back and shoulder disorders was at least $320 per year per worker, not including workers' compensation premiums or claims paid. A large proportion of these costs were accrued by “unreported” cases, that is, cases that either had never been reported to the plant clinic or had been reported in the past and were considered administratively to have recovered. In the other four plants, annual costs associated with in-plant medical visits for MSDs in 1989–93 were almost as high as those resulting from compensation claims. At least one-half of these disorders were estimated to be attributable to physical ergonomic exposures in the workplace and thus preventable. These data are consistent with estimates by others that the real costs to employers are at least two to three times the amount paid in workers' compensation cases, and that at least 50 percent of all work-related musculoskeletal disorders among the working population could be prevented by appropriate ergonomic job design. Furthermore, recent experience with ergonomics programs in various manufacturing and service settings shows that they are cost-effective in reducing morbidity, work absenteeism, and workers' compensation claims; payback periods for workplace modifications can be as short as a few months. Further investigations should explore the reasons that monetary costs and other impacts on profitability do not always motivate employers to improve working conditions.
Assessing Instructional Strategies and Resulting Student Attitudes regarding Two-Way Television Instruction
Authors: Denton Jon J. , Clark Francis E. , Rossing Robert G. , O'Connor Michael J.
Published: May 2005

This inquiry was conducted to examine the potential of two-way television as an instructional medium. Classroom observation data were collected from thirty-two presentations by seven medical faculty. Half of the observed presentations were from two-way television mediated lessons, while the remaining observations were made in a conventional professor-in-front-of-class mode. Comparisons of observation data from these two presentation modes revealed similar instructional strategies by the professors regardless of the presentation mode. An additional analysis revealed attitudes of students were mixed regarding instruction provided via two-way television.
Social Ecology, Human Behavior and Social Change
Authors: Reynolds Richard
Published: May 2005

Individual and group responses to programs of planned social change are discussed from a social ecological perspective. Social ecology is defined in terms of how peoples' beliefs and ideas are related to behavior in response to organized efforts at individual, group and societal change. Health educators must understand how people organize and reorganize their social knowledge of the world, including how they define the world, how they interpret the meaning of events in their lives, how they determine their courses of action and how they ultimately choose to act.
A Sound Mind in a Sound Body: To What Extent Do They Go Together before and after Psychotherapy?
Authors: Luborsky Lester , McLellan A. Thomas
Published: May 2005

As in the old adage, we found that a sound mind and a sound body were associated – the frequency of psychological symptoms was highly correlated with the frequency of physical symptoms for seventy-three patients on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist both before and after psychotherapy. The physical and psychological sets of items were each internally consistent and moderately separable from each other. Each set showed some stability over time. The physical symptoms were not associated with current stress, but with worries about physical health. The worries about physical health did not appear to reflect just needless worry since the physical health items correlated with the physicians' physical examinations items (in another sample). Both sets of items were significantly reduced during psychotherapy although the psychological set more so than the physical set. The extent of the reduction in the physical and psychological sets was correlated; the most frequently reduced physical symptoms were those that were initially most common. Reduction in psychological symptoms was moderately correlated with improvement in psychotherapy; for the physical symptoms, the correlation was also significant, but reduced.
Diversity from Simplicity: A Review of the Threat Index
Authors: Prichard Shawn , Epting Franz
Published: May 2005

This article highlights the diversity with which the Threat Index (TI) has been used in the last ten years to explore death-related topics in the empirical literature. Following a brief introduction of TI methodology and theoretical foundation, the following focal areas will be reviewed: 1) historical research questions; 2) multidimensional assessment; 3) alternative scoring procedures; 4) workshop applications; and 5) future directions. These topic areas attest to the TI's demonstrated theoretical and practical diversity as a psychometric tool, underscoring its importance to the field of thanatological research.
The Vices of Technical Writing
Authors: Gangewere Robert J.
Published: May 2005

Technical writing is a discipline with clear limitations in both language and ideology. These limits pose a special problem for the teacher, since he must keep his audience interested in a subject which does not permit a normal range of self-expression on either scientific or humanistic topics. A consequence of this classroom dilemma is that technical writing instructors tend to dwell at length upon the value of simple generalizations and also capitalize heavily upon the comic effects of bad writing. The vices of “easy generalities” and “easy comedy” must first be understood in order to be avoided.
Literature for Adults to Assist Them in Helping Bereaved Children
Authors: Schuurman Donna L.
Published: May 2005

The assignment sounded simple enough: “Describe, analyze, and evaluate literature available for adults to help them in their efforts to assist bereaved children.” Plodding into it, however, proved daunting. A Google search yielded 143,000 matches for “bereaved children” and 283,000 for “grieving children.” Reviews of death-related catalogs and books available through Amazon.com unveiled a dizzying array of options. Clearly, boundaries would need to be set. Having been instructed to include only written publications and not videos, DVDs, or other media, this is the question I opted to address: What are the “Top 20” publications for a professional wanting to start a library of written resources directed at adults who help grieving children? In my search, I enlisted the input of over 200 professionals and para-professionals in the field, in person (at the 7th Annual Children's Grief Symposium in San Antonio, Texas; among my colleagues at The Dougy Center, with a collective 40 years of work with bereaved children), and by e-mail (to selected members of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and a gathering of Women in Thanatology). I filtered through their recommendations, and landed on the 20 listed here. I also decided to focus on two reading populations: professionals and parents. In so doing, I asked myself the following questions: What kinds of publications ought a person in a professional helping role, whether a psychologist, aftercare provider, counselor, therapist, or educator, be minimally familiar with to better assist bereaved children? And, what resources might those professionals recommend to individuals who are parenting children grieving a loss through death? You will note that I have excluded publications solely geared to classroom teachers or the school environment, not because they aren't important or voluminous, but because that topic is a full article in itself, and outside the scope of my assignment. Another qualifier: with the exceptions of co-editors, I chose to limit an author to one selection in order to broaden the range of topics and contributors. Caveat emptor!
Daydreams, Nightmares, and Insomnia: The Relation of Waking Fantasy to Sleep Disturbances
Authors: Starker Steven
Published: May 2005

College students were administered an abbreviated form of the Imaginal Processes Inventory along with scales of sleep disturbance, positive mood, and dream recall. Results confirmed the earlier report by Starker and Hasenfeld that sleep disturbances were significantly associated with dysphoric patterns of daydreaming, and not associated with a positive daydreaming pattern. Correlational, factor-analytic and multiple linear regression analyses revealed sex differences possibly related to differential sensitivity to inner experience.
The Appearance of the Dead San Francisco Solano
Authors: Strauss Roland M.
Published: May 2005

When Fransiscan Monk Francisco Solano died, it was decided by the Franciscan order to have his portrait painted in an attempt to preserve his image. The limeñan artist Juan de Aguayo was called and asked to paint the dead priest. He was given no further instructions and started painting 24 hours after death had occurred. But, rather than portraying a lively image of the priest (as is frequently done in posthumous portraits), the artist seems to have painted the monk exactly how he found him (Figure 1). Possible reasons for this peculiar form of artistry are discussed.
Poverty Crisis in the Third World: The Contradictions of World Bank Policy
Authors: Burkett Paul
Published: May 2005

Politicians, the mainstream media, and orthodox social science have all been telling us of a final victory of capitalism over socialism, suggesting that capitalism is the only viable option for solving the world's problems. Yet, the global capitalist system is itself entering the third decade of a profound structural crisis, the costs of which have been borne largely by the exploited and oppressed peoples of the underdeveloped periphery. While the World Bank's latest World Development Report recognizes the current poverty crisis in the third world, its “two-part strategy” for alleviating poverty is based on an inadequate analysis of how peripheral capitalist development marginalizes the basic needs of the third world poor. Hence, the World Bank's assertion that free-market policies are consistent with effective antipoverty programs does not confront the class structures and global capitalist interests bound up with the reproduction of mass poverty in the third world. The World Bank's subordination of the basic needs of the poor to free-market adjustments and reforms in fact suggests that the real purpose of its “two-part strategy” is to ensure continued extraction of surplus from third world countries by maintaining the basic structure of imperialist underdevelopment.
School-Relevant Effects of Educational Uses of Microcomputers in Kindergarten Classrooms and Homes
Authors: Hess Robert D. , McGarvey Linda J.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of microcomputer use on school-readiness skills of kindergarteners. Three classes ( N = 88) were provided with microcomputers and eleven software programs, of which nine focused on prereading skills, one on premathematics skills, and one on both. One of the three classes ( N = 22) was also provided with micros to use at home. Two classes ( N = 98) constituted a comparison group. Students were pre- and posttested on items selected to assess reading readiness, mathematics readiness, Piagetian operations, and keyboard knowledge. The computer-use group gained more on reading readiness and keyboard knowledge; moreover, the home-use group gained more than classroom-use students. No sex differences appeared in gain scores. Teacher implementation strategies and the techniques that nonreaders used to deal with software are described.
A Case of Bilateral Ptosis with Unsteady Gait: Suggestibility and Culture in Conversion Disorder
Authors: Al-Sharbati Marwan M. , Viernes Noona , Al-Hussaini Ala'Adin , Zaidan Ziad A. J. , Chand Pratap , Al-Adawi Samir
Published: May 2005

We report a case of a 14-year-old girl who presented, following a sudden onset, with bilateral ptosis, gait disturbance, difficulty swallowing and loss of appetite, right hypochondriacal pain, and frontal headache. Protracted neurological and medical examinations were unremarkable; neither was precipitating psychological stresses evident. The condition, which manifest as typical conversion disorder, lasted for one year. “Treatment” involving electrical stimulation of both eyes muscles and legs with positive reassurance resolved the symptom. This case supports the view that conversion disorder, not only involves a strong element of suggestion, but also incorporates socio-cultural sanctioned prescription.
Trauma and Dissociation in Conversion Disorder and Chronic Pelvic Pain
Authors: Spinhoven Philip , Roelofs Karin , Moene Franny , Kuyk Jarl , Nijenhuis Ellert , Hoogduin Kees , Van Dyck Richard
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to: a) assess the link between sexual and/or physical abuse and dissociation in conversion disorder and chronic pelvic pain patients; and b) assess whether this effect is independent of level of general psychopathology.

Method:

This report examines data from four separate samples. Fifty-two patients with chronic pelvic pain, 61 patients with non-epileptic seizures, and two samples of patients (102 and 54) with predominantly motor or sensory types of conversion disorder were studied.

Results:

Using point-biserial correlations no compelling evidence for a consistent and positive association of sexual and/or physical abuse with dissociation was found. After statistically controlling for level of psychopathology using multiple regression analyses, in most of the cases the association of abuse with dissociation was no longer statistically significant. Only physical abuse predicted level of somatoform dissociation over and above level of psychopathology.

Conclusion:

In future clinical studies of dissociation in patients with conversion disorder and chronic pelvic pain more complex models may be needed with less exclusive reliance on historical antecedents such as childhood abuse and more emphasis on recent potentially traumatizing experiences or co-morbid psychiatric disorders.
Medical Selection: Auschwitz Antecedents and Effluent
Authors: Seidelman William E.
Published: May 2005

Medical selection in Auschwitz represents the penultimate application of the traditional paradigm of medicine: the physician as gatekeeper and decision maker. The historical evolution of that role is considered in the context of public health, medical police, quarantine, and immigration. In Nazi Germany the physician was assigned responsibility for selection on behalf of the state. The ethical implications of medical selection are considered in the context of medicine today in an age of sophisticated biotechnology, constrained resources, and an aging population; an age in which the medical profession has yet to establish a fundamental system of values.
Differences in Eeg Power and Coherence Measures Related to the Type of Presentation: Text versus Multimedia
Authors: Gerlic Ivan , Jausovec Norbert
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the cognitive processes of students while learning physics using EEG methodology. Forty students (20 experts, and 20 novices in the domain of physics) learned material presented by text and in a computer supported multimedia format while their EEG was recorded. Alpha power measures which are inversely related to mental effort as well as coherence measures that provide information about the cooperation between brain areas were analyzed. The results taken altogether suggest that learning the multimedia lessons was rather demanding, yet provoked less transfer of information between brain areas and had no beneficial influence on the amount of learned material. Another finding was that experts in the domain of physics learned more than did novices, regardless of the type of presentation. EEG patterns differed mainly in the lower alpha band, thus pointing to the superior control of attentional processes in experts.
Testing Computer Programming Skills—Paper and Pencil versus a Computer and Compiler
Authors: Gomm Stacie , Waters Sandie Hailey , Feng Jui
Published: May 2005

Having students write programs is the best method to test students programming ability. Most of the time these tests are administered via paper and pencil whereas the homework is completed using a computer and compiler. So why not use a computer and compiler to administer programming tests? This article describes an experiment done in a Java Programming class where both methods of testing were compared. There was no significant difference in students' scores between the two types of testing, but there was a significant difference in the time it took students to complete the test. It took them much longer to complete the test using a computer and compiler. Students were surveyed and they unanimously preferred the computer and compiler method of testing even though it took them longer to complete the test.
Retrospective Analysis of a Home Care Hospice Program
Authors: Brescia Frank J. , Sadof Matthew , Barstow Janice
Published: May 2005

This is a retrospective study of patients who died in the Overlook Hospice Home Care Program during a six-month period. Parameters to define and document quality palliative care were measured and differences between the patient population who died at home and those who died in the hospital setting were also recorded. Among the patients who died at home, there was no symptom complex which was perceived as unmanageable by the patient's family, nurse, or physician. We could not predict which patients would be able to die at home in this study. In the future, more complete documentation of patient status, specific symptoms, and whether these symptoms are relieved will be necessary.
Sibling Bereavement in Late Life
Authors: Hays Judith C. , Gold Deborah T. , Pieper Carl F.
Published: May 2005

Elders are more likely to confront the death of a sibling than any other kinship bereavement. Yet we know almost nothing about the impact of sibling deaths on older adults. We used attachment theory to generate hypotheses about the impact of this life event on physical health, mood, social support, and economic outcomes in late life. At the Duke University site of a large multi-center epidemiologic study (EPESE), 3173 elderly community-dwellers provided data on bereavements experienced in the past year as well as on demographic, health-related, and socioeconomic characteristics. Bereaved siblings were more functionally and cognitively impaired than bereaved friends and rated their overall health as worse than bereaved spouses or bereaved friends who were similarly impaired. Brothers and sisters bereaved of a brother reported excess financial hardship and mood impairment, respectively. Terminal care programs should screen for excess risk among surviving siblings and plan for assisting these survivors in adaptation to this loss.
Indian Subcontinent
Authors: Taylor Carl E.
Published: May 2005

The countries of the Indian subcontinent provide some of the world's most evident case studies of the deleterious effects of population pressure. They also have undertaken some of the world's most massive family planning programs. India was the first country to declare a national population policy and to mount a nationwide family planning program. Pakistan and present day Bangladesh had a prolonged period during which the national family planning program had a separate organization with extremely high priority and official support. Continuing famines and two major wars in 25 years have contributed to high mortality. Nonetheless, population growth in these countries continues its inexorable upward curve. On the other hand, these programs must also be credited with some real successes and the birth rates in several Indian states are falling.
Attitude and Peer Influences on Adolescent Substance Use: The Moderating Effect of Age, Sex, and Substance
Authors: Musher-Eizenman Dara R. , Holub Shayla C. , Arnett Mitzi
Published: May 2005

Many studies have suggested the importance of peer influence and personal attitudes (e.g., expectancies, resistance self-efficacy, and perceived harm) in predicting adolescent use of illegal substances. The present study examined these variables in relation to self-reported use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana for 213 younger adolescents (12–15 years old) and 219 older adolescents (18–22 years old). A series of logistic regressions was performed to assess variables relating to use of each substance by age group and gender. Friends' use was significantly related to substance use for both age groups, both sexes, and all substances examined in this study. Perceived harm was not significantly related to use for any group. Finally, outcome expectancies and resistance self-efficacy were differentially related to use depending on age, gender, and substance. The implications of these findings for prevention programming and future research are also discussed.
Effects of Cooperative Tutoring on Academic Performance
Authors: Franklin Godfrey , Griffin Ray , Perry Nancy
Published: May 2005

Experimental subjects were assigned to study in groups based on their cognitive style as measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). Whyte, Knirk, Casey and Willard found that when computer-based instruction is used, enhanced academic performance resulted from cooperative learning groups consisting of field independent and mixed (field independent, field dependent) students [1]. However, they found that lower academic performance results from learning groups consisting only of field dependent learners. In another study Dwyer and Moore reported that field independent students performed more efficiently on a series of visually and verbally oriented tests than did field department subjects [2]. Experimental subjects scoring above average on the GEFT were designated field independent. Subjects scoring below the GEFT mean were identified as field dependent. Subjects were assigned to one of three groups (field independent, field dependent, and mixed, i.e., both field independent and field dependent). A group of controls received the identical instruction as that of the experimental students but did not participate in any cooperative tutoring. Instead, control group subjects were directed to study independently. Experimental and control student performance was compared on a series of multiple choice exams. Results indicated enhanced performance for the peer tutoring subjects. There was no evidence of improved performance resulting from group assignment based on cognitive style.
The Techniques of Teletraining—New Enhancements
Authors: Kundu Mahima Ranjan
Published: May 2005

In this era of technology-based training and education, audio and video teletraining has become an effective tool for Distance Education. This article describes the potential benefits of teletraining, needs assessment for teletraining decisions, and the teletraining design techniques to deliver complex training systems and educational programs to enhance distance learning in remote education/training sites in a cost-effective manner.
Economic Growth, Income Equality, and Population Health among the Asian Tigers
Authors: Siddiqi Arjumand , Hertzman Clyde
Published: May 2005

The “Tiger” economies of Southeast Asia provide examples of developing nations where economic growth and increasing income equality are compatible and, when occurring together, are associated with superior health trends over time. The degree of income inequality in the Asian Tigers declined during the period of rapid economic growth. Traditionally, economists have viewed economic growth and relative parity in income distribution as incompatible, or trade-offs. This poses a public policy dilemma, since a reasonable propensity to increase a nation's overall economic well-being would mean forsaking measures that increase income parity. The Asian Tigers, however, have shown that this need not be viewed as a trade-off. Economic growth and a simultaneous increase in income equality are possible and, with respect to health outcomes, desirable. The authors propose a variety of mechanisms through which income inequality can enhance economic growth, and discuss policies in education, agricultural land reform, and housing that influence the simultaneous attainment of income equality and economic growth.
The Fifth Dimension: Application of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Inquiry-Based Learning, Computers, and Telecommunications to Change Prospective Teachers' Preconceptions
Authors: Blanton William E. , Simmons Erin , Warner Mark
Published: May 2005

The literature on teacher education indicates that prospective teachers (PSTs) enter teacher preparation with flawed preconceptions of teaching, learning, and pupils. This paper reports the results of research and development on a programmatic effort to change PSTs preconceptions by participation in a learning system designed to promote learning interactions mediated through computer technology and telecommunications. Participants for this study were thirty-seven undergraduate PSTs enrolled in two sections of an Introduction to Teaching course (CI 2800). The core activities of CI 2800 are: 1) participating in class devoted to lecture, reading discussion, student presentations; 2) participating in the Fifth Dimension after-school program two times per week; 3) writing detailed field-notes on experiences and observations in the Fifth Dimension; 4) interacting with undergraduates at other campuses about the Fifth Dimension through e-mail and distance learning; and 5) participating in a web-based learning system. A ten-item test was designed to determine attitudes and beliefs toward teaching, learning, and pupils. Data analysis was a comparison of responses on the pre-test and post-test and triangulated with articulation from field-notes and notes conferencing [1]. Results suggests that teacher education students participating in the learning system we have designed transform their beliefs about education away from the belief of learning as a linear process toward a definition of learning as a social process involving active participation of children in socially constituted practices.
The Current State of the Concept of a Psychosomatic Disorder
Authors: Weiss Jonathan H.
Published: May 2005

In general usage, the concept “psychosomatic disorder” is taken to refer to a category of somatic illness that has certain proposed characteristics. The viability of this category is examined by evaluating the supportability of its proposed characteristics. The conclusion is reached that the category is a very tenuous one at best. It is suggested, however, that it is possible and useful to distinguish between the core concept “psychosomatic,” which represents an approach to explanation, and the elaborated concept “psychosomatic disorder,” which is a nosological concept. Finally, two systems are described that attempt to systematize the relationship between psychological and somatic variables in the context of somatic illness.
Trends in Care and Services for Elderly Individuals in Denmark and Sweden
Authors: Cates Norman
Published: May 2005

Both Denmark and Sweden have achieved a reduction in institutionalization of elderly individuals; 23 percent nursing home care in Denmark from 1980–89 and 34 percent overall institutionalization in Sweden from 1970–1985. This was accomplished by increasing home care and housing with services and adaptations. Further increases in growth of the elderly population combined with modest economic expansion will be the forces responsible for finding additional alternatives to costly institutional care. Community-based services and care have not been demonstrated at this time to be less costly than institutional care. An illustration of an innovative model of nursing home care in Denmark is described. The medical model of care was abandoned in favor of a self-care model for the purpose of fostering independent living and decision-making as long as possible. In Sweden, a reduction in demand for beds in a long-term care hospital has been achieved through a tightly coordinated system of care and services among the various health and social service professionals.
Are Learning Styles Relevant in Web-Based Instruction?
Authors: Harris Rorie N. , Dwyer William O. , Leeming Frank C.
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the impact of learning style on performance in a Web-based learning environment. Specifically, Introductory Psychology students with different learning styles, as measured by Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (LSI-IIa), were randomly assigned to one of two Web-based training modules that differed only in terms of their number of multimedia enhancements and user interaction options. Outcome measures included an online final test over the material presented in the modules and an online survey measuring participants' reactions to the modules. The potential impact of learning style was also assessed with respect to the students' final grade in the lecture course. Results indicated that neither student learning style nor online course module version had any impact on mean test score or on reaction to the online module. Furthermore, learning style was not related to the students' overall performance in the lecture course. The implications of these results for considering learning styles in the design of Web-based instruction are discussed.
The Effects of Print and other Text Media Developments upon the Law in America
Authors: Ryesky Kenneth H.
Published: May 2005

The law has long been shaped by the technical aspects of compiling, writing, storing, and accessing textual verbiage. Text media technology affects all areas of the law, from its intellectual basis to its promulgation, dissemination and enforcement. From America's Colonial period, the operative state of the art of printing has accordingly shaped the development of the law in America, and has caused it to grow in a different direction from the law of England. Since the Colonial period, the state of the art of text media technology has made quantum evolutionary leaps forward, impacting American law in the process. Artifacts of these text media technologies are to be found in the statutes, legislative histories, judicial decisions, and other legal materials. Modern technology has accelerated the pace of text media technology development, and has impacted the law accordingly. Current developments continue to impact the law on an ongoing basis, and future developments in text media technology can be expected to leave their impact upon the law.
Recognizing Individual Potters in Nineteenth-Century Colonoware
Authors: Espenshade Christopher T. , Kennedy Linda
Published: May 2005

The individual craftsperson is often lost in the broad patterns of normative analysis. Recent South Carolina research has attempted to refocus on the individual and how that individual interacts within and between communities. The technological and stylistic analysis of slave-made pottery from three contemporaneous, 19th-century slave settlements in Beaufort County, South Carolina, was aimed at recognizing individual potters. Suspected potter-level idiosyncracies allowed for the modeling of five potters, or one to two potters per community. The results also suggest that no ceramic exchange occurred between the slave rows, even though they were all in proximity and two were elements of a single plantation. The findings have implications for understanding the use context of late Colonoware, and for delineating potter-topotter variation within the well-entrenched tradition.
A Perspective on the Corporate Transformation of Health Care
Authors: Salmon J. Warren
Published: May 2005

The ever-increasing ownership of health service providers, suppliers, and insurers by investor-owned enterprises presents an unforeseen complexity and diversity to health care delivery. This article reviews the history of the for-profit invasion of the health sector, linking corporate purchaser directions to the now dominant mode of delivery in managed care. These dynamics require unceasing reassessment while the United States embarks upon implementation of national health care reform.
A Critical Review of the Concept of Pathological Grief following Pregnancy Loss
Authors: Janssen Hettie J. E. M. , Cuisinier Marian C. J. , Hoogduin Kees A. L.
Published: May 2005

It has often been suggested in the literature on pregnancy loss, that parents run a high risk of complicated or pathological grief as a result of the specific characteristics of such loss. What confuses the issue is that pathological grief has been defined in various ways. In the interest of improving professional care, it is important to ascertain how pathological grief manifests itself and which parents are most likely to have problems coping with pregnancy loss and therefore develop pathological grief reactions. Given the lack of clarity regarding the concept of pathological grief following pregnancy loss, this article reviews empirical studies on pathological grief following pregnancy loss according to four subtypes derived from general bereavement literature: chronic grief, delayed grief, masked grief, and exaggerated grief. It can be concluded that in the first six months following pregnancy loss, psychological complaints, behavioral changes, and somatic complaints are fairly common responses. Approximately 10-to-15 percent of the women develop a psychiatric disorder during the first two years following such loss, and less than 10 percent seek specific psychiatric care. Parents often mourn the loss of their baby for more than a year; one in five women is unable to accept pregnancy loss after approximately two years. A delayed grief reaction occurs in about 4 percent of parents and seems to occur most often in men. It is suggested that developing pathological grief following pregnancy loss may be more uncommon than had previously been thought, and the long-held idea that parents run a higher risk of pathological grief following pregnancy loss seems partly to result from flaws in the empirical studies in this field. A large majority of women seem to be able to recover from pregnancy loss in due time, drawing on their own strength.
Effects of Administering Feedback following Extended Problem Solving
Authors: Gibbons Andrew S. , Robertson Daniel J. , Duffin Joel R. , Thompson Ben
Published: May 2005

This article reports the results of research on the effects of detailed feedback on problem solving. In this study, 54 undergraduate college students were randomly assigned to one of six feedback conditions. Each student worked through two problem tasks within a computer-based electrical circuit board simulation. Feedback was given between problems and varied according to 1) the model from which it was generated and 2) the amount and nature of verbal commentary. Results indicated that highest performance was associated with feedback based on an expert model supplemented with provided textual commentary, suggesting that under some circumstances expert-model based feedback messaging may be more effective at facilitating student performance gains.
Teaching Transracial Communication in an Advanced Business Communications Course
Authors: Mooney Sally Cole
Published: May 2005

Because today's emphasis on equal opportunity employment has created a multiethnic business community, every advanced business communications course should include a unit on transracial communication. Arthur L. Smith's Transracial Communication is a useful text for such a three-week unit [1]. Supplemented with several additional articles, it provides material for individual projects and for class discussions on Black dialect, slang, and body language; symbolic imperialism in America; and interracial credibility blunders. While participating students will not immediately become skilled transracial communicators, they will become more aware of the assumptions underlying their words and less likely to reveal ethnocentrism in their business communications.
Verbal Interaction and Problem-Solving within Computer-Assisted Cooperative Learning Groups
Authors: King Alison
Published: May 2005

Verbal interaction and problem-solving behavior of small cooperative peer groups were observed while these groups worked on a computer-assisted (non-programming) problem-solving task. The purpose of the study was to identify problem-solving behaviors which relate to success within this context. Thirty-six fourth grade students were assigned to groups of three to form six groups of high and six of average academic ability. All groups used a nonprogramming version of Logo turtle graphics to reproduce a given line design on the computer screen. Results indicate that there was no relationship between success and ability, and that successful groups asked more task-related questions, spent more time on strategy, and reached higher levels of strategy elaboration than did unsuccessful groups. High ability groups made a greater number of long task statements than did average groups, bindings are discussed within the theoretical frameworks of social cognition and modeling. Instructional implications, including those for the development of computer-assisted learning materials for peer group problem solving, are also discussed.