bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MONETARY POLICY OVER TIME
Authors: GASPAR VITOR , SMETS FRANK , VESTIN DAVID 
Published: April 2008

Progress in stochastic macroeconomic modeling justifies revisiting Milton Friedman's program on the relation between macroeconomic stability and active stabilization policies. In the lecture, we use a standard new Keynesian model but depart from rational expectations by assuming that agents behave in line with adaptive learning, which increase the potential for instability in the economy.Optimal policy under adaptive learning displays some similarity with optimal policy under commitment in the rational expectations setting. Specifically, we find that optimal policy responds in a persistent manner when expectations threaten to become unhinged. Finally, we illustrate the dynamics associated with the change from a simple regime that ignores the expectation formation, to the optimal policy that does. The results are not unlike the behavior of the U.S. economy around the Volcker transition (October 1979).
Sickness behavior, its mechanisms and significance
Authors: Tizard Ian 
Published: April 2008

AbstractRecent studies have begun to clarify the pathogenesis of sickness behavior. Cytokines released by macrophages, dendritic cells and mast cells act on the brain to trigger behavioral changes in infected animals. The major cytokines, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and others, all act on the hypothalamus to provoke alterations in the normal homeostatic condition. These include elevated body temperature, increased sleep, and loss of appetite as well as major alterations in lipid and protein metabolism leading to significant weight loss. Some of these changes are clearly directed towards enhancing the normal immune responses. The benefits of others such as appetite loss are unclear. It is also important to recognize that other animals may recognize sickness behavior as a sign of weakness and mark the victim out for targeting by predators. As a result, some prey species may work very hard to mask their sickness, a response that serves to complicate veterinary diagnosis.
Hopelessness and terminal illness: The construct of hopelessness in patients with advanced AIDS
Authors: ROSENFELD BARRY , GIBSON CHRISTOPHER , KRAMER MICHAEL , BREITBART WILLIAM 
Published: April 2008

Objective: Understanding the construct of hopelessness in the context of a life-threatening or terminal illness is a complex and challenging undertaking. The objective of this study was to examine the construct of hopelessness in patients with advanced AIDS by examining the structure of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in this specific population.Methods: For the past three decades, the primary measure used to study hopelessness in a variety of populations has been the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Several factor analytic studies have been published using this scale, with studies of nonclinical samples typically describing a two-factor model (optimism and pessimism), whereas clinical samples have consistently generated a third factor (lack of motivation to make changes). We used confirmatory factor analysis to analyze two data sets in patients with AIDS.Results:Confirmatory factor analysis of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in two samples of patients with far advanced AIDS revealed a clear superiority for a three-factor model.Significance of results:The Beck Hopelessness Scale has unique characteristics when applied to a terminally ill population. The implications of these results for studies of terminal illness are discussed.
Spouse caregivers of terminally-ill cancer patients as cancer
patients: A pilot study in a palliative care unit
Authors: ONISHI HIDEKI , ONOSE MASANARI , OKUNO SHIGEKO , YAE SUZU , MIZUNO YASUHIRO , ITO MIZUHO , SAITO HIDEYUKI , KAWANISHI CHIAKI 
Published: April 2008

Objective: It is known that families of terminally-ill cancer
patients show levels of emotional and functional disruption and are called
“second order patients,” however, little is actually known
about the health problems of family members, especially in terms of
cancer.Methods: This study reviewed the family histories of
terminally-ill cancer patients in a palliative care unit and investigated
cancer related health problems of the spouses of terminally-ill cancer
patients.Results: We investigated the past medical history of 125
spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients and found that five spouses had
a past medical history of cancer. In these five spouses, the duration of
illness, present status of treatment and physical condition were reviewed
from the database. Of these five spouses, three patients continued to
attend an outpatient clinic regularly for checkup and one patient was
hospitalized for nephrectomy. Two spouses did not have physical symptoms
that made them unable to provide direct care for the terminally-ill
spouses, while three could not provide care because of their own physical
symptoms derived from cancer.Significance of results: Our findings indicated that some of
the spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients are not only “second
order patients” but also “cancer patients.” Our findings
also suggest that some spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients might
experience distress both as a cancer patient and as a spouse and may need
care both as a cancer patient and as a spouse.
A specialist nurse-function in neurooncology: A qualitative study of possibilities, limitations, and pitfalls
Authors: SPETZ AGNETA , HENRIKSSON ROGER , BERGENHEIM A. TOMMY , SALANDER PÄR 
Published: April 2008

Objective:Brain tumors, a cancer that affects the cortical processes, have a substantial social impact. Typically, malignant glioma is a brain tumor with a poor prognosis; few patients survive more than two years after diagnosis. In the last several years, different groups have documented how this disease affects a patient's quality of life. These findings have resulted in new ways for nurses to improve the care for these patients and their spouses. However, these initiatives have not been studied in a systematic way. This study investigates how patients with malignant glioma and their families respond to a special nurse, a nurse specifically instructed to address the needs of the patient and the patient's family.Methods: Sixteen patients and their next-of kin were included. At the time of diagnosis, the special nurse offered to serve as a resource to the patient and the patient's family. During the whole course of the disease, the nurse recorded her interactions with the patients and the patients' family. In addition, the spouses were interviewed after the patient's death. Data was analysed qualitatively with focus on tasks and relationships.Results:Four relationships between the special nurse and the family were detected: 1) a resource for the whole family; 2) a parallel resource within the family; 3) a resource for the next-of kin; and 4) a resource for the patient. Most of the patients and their families found this program beneficial. The nurse provided the patient and family with several functions. In some cases the family and nurse interaction developed into a closer relationship, a relationship based on the nurse's availability and concern for the patient's and family's welfare.Significance of Results:This close relationship underlines the importance of the nurse's professionalism and a systemic perspective for understanding the nurse's function within the milieu of a cancer patient's family.
Reducing the risk of burnout in end-of-life care settings: The role of daily spiritual experiences and training
Authors: HOLLAND JASON M. , NEIMEYER ROBERT A. 
Published: April 2008

Objective:Individuals in the helping professions are subject to unique stressors that may lead to burnout, and research has shown that those who work with dying or bereaved individuals might be particularly at-risk. This study explores how factors such as spirituality and level of training might buffer the stress of working with terminally ill clients and their families.Method:A total of 80 medical and mental health practitioners attending palliative care seminars were surveyed, with each completing validated measures of daily spiritual experiences and caregiver burnout, as well as assessments of demographic factors, their general education and training experiences specific to working in end-of-life care and bereavement settings.Results:Findings indicate that daily spiritual experiences might mitigate physical, cognitive, and emotional forms of burnout in the workplace. In addition, a negative correlation was found between the amount of end-of-life training received and burnout in the physical and cognitive domains. However, training was not related to professionals' level of emotional exhaustion.Significance of the research:Results reinforce a growing literature on the salutary effects of spirituality, and underscore its relevance as one possible form of constructive coping for professionals attending to the needs of the dying and bereaved. The study carries further implications for how the stresses of such work might be ameliorated by enhanced training efforts, as well as creative facilitation of diverse spiritual expressions (e.g., inclusive forms of ritual recognition of loss) in the workplace.
Attitudes of oncologists toward euthanasia in Turkey
Authors: MAYDA ATILLA SENIH , ÖZKARA ERDEM , ÇORAPÇIOĞLU FUNDA 
Published: April 2008

There have been intensive debates about euthanasia and attempts to change laws on euthanasia in all countries. What doctors and particularly oncologists think about euthanasia must be taken into consideration, as their voices are crucial in this dialogue. The aim of this study was to find out how Turkish doctors approach euthanasia in the context of cancer. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 85 oncologists out of a total 800 in active oncology practice.Of the oncologists surveyed, 43.8% did not object to euthanasia. Some 33.7% had been asked to perform euthanasia and 41.5% believed that euthanasia was performed secretly although it is against the law in Turkey. Forty-two doctors (50.6%) noted that they had withdrawn treatment in patients.Doctors who encounter terminally ill patients with cancer should update their knowledge about patients' rights and euthanasia. Doctors, who are often asked to perform euthanasia, especially in the cancer setting, can help to illuminate the debates about euthanasia.
Are palliative cancer patients willing and able to participate in a
physical exercise program?
Authors: OLDERVOLL LINE M. , LOGE JON H. , PALTIEL HANNE , ASP MAY B. , VIDVEI UNNI , HJERMSTAD MARIANNE J. , KAASA STEIN 
Published: April 2008

Objective: The primary aim of the present article was to
identify palliative care patient populations who are willing to
participate in and able to complete a group exercise/physical training
program designed specifically for the individual patient.Method: We conducted a prospective phase II intervention
study examining the willingness and ability of palliative care cancer
patients to participate in a group exercise physical training program.
Patients who were diagnosed with incurable cancer and had a life
expectancy of less than 1 year at two outpatient clinics were invited to
participate in an exercise program in the hospitals. The groups met twice
a week over a 6-week period.Results: One hundred one consecutive patients were asked for
inclusion. Sixty-three patients agreed to participate. Sixteen (25%) of
the 63 patients dropped out after consent was given, but before the
program started due to medical problems, social reasons, or death. Thus,
47 patients started the exercise program. Thirteen patients withdrew
during the program due to sudden death, medical problems, or social
reasons. The most frequent reasons for withdrawal were increased pain or
other symptoms. Thirty-four patients completed the exercise program.Significance of results: A high proportion of incurable
cancer patients were willing to participate (63%) in a structured exercise
program. The attrition rate was high, but despite being severely ill, 54%
of the patients completed the exercise period. This shows that a physical
exercise program tailored to the individual patient is feasible in this
population.
Wernicke encephalopathy presented in the form of postoperative
delirium in a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis: A
case report and review of the literature
Authors: ONISHI HIDEKI , SUGIMASA YUKIO , KAWANISHI CHIAKI , ONOSE MASANARI 
Published: April 2008

Objective: Although Wernicke encephalopathy has been reported
in the oncological literature, it has not previously been reported in
postoperative cancer patients.Methods: In this communication, we report a patient of
hepatocellular carcinoma with liver cirrhosis who developed Wernicke
encephalopathy in the form of postoperative delirium. Preoperatively, the
patient had a very good appetite and had eaten all the food of an 1800
cal/day diet until 1 day before operation. The operation was done
without any complications. The patient developed delirium 2 days after the
lobectomy of the liver. The level of delirium remained unchanged until
administration of thiamine starting on day 7 postoperatively, which
resulted in palliation of delirium without brain damage. Laboratory data
demonstrated that the serum thiamine level at day 6 postoperatively was
below the lower limit of normal. As the mechanism of Wernicke
encephalopathy, we thought that decreased ability to store thiamine due to
liver cirrhosis led to depletion of thiamine faster than had been
expected.Results and significance of the research: In cancer patients,
clinicians must always remain aware of the possibility of Wernicke
encephalopathy, especially in patients with liver dysfunction, which
decreases the ability to store thiamine in the liver. Early detection and
intervention may alleviate the symptoms of delirium and prevent
irreversible brain damage.
The appraisal of positive life changes following cancer diagnosis:
An interview study
Authors: KOMURA KAZUE , HEGARTY JOHN R. 
Published: April 2008

Objective: This research examines positive life changes that
cancer patients may experience following their diagnosis. Although cancer
is often believed to have negative impacts on the life of patients,
positive impacts have been also discussed empirically. This study focuses
on cancer patients' appraisal of positive life changes following
their diagnosis and examines how and in which fields they recognize their
lives as positively changed based on the study of Petrie et al. (1999).Methods: A total of eight cancer patients in a cancer support
group participated in this research. A group discussion and semistructured
interviews were conducted. Content analysis was applied.Results: The content analysis produced insights into the
seven types of cancer-related life changes: improved empathy,
greater knowledge about health, renewed recognition of
life, change in personal life priorities, greater
appreciation of health and life, improved close
relationships, and healthy lifestyle change. Negative
life changes were also reported.Significance of the research: This research showed that
cancer patients tended to find and appraise their own positive life
changes following cancer. The categorization of positive life changes
basically supported that of Petrie et al. (1999), but produced an original category: renewed
recognition of life. Positive life changes might be seen as a natural
process that encourages patients' adjustment to cancer. Understanding
positive impacts of cancer could be important in capturing the life-sized
features of cancer patients. Future research could expand the view of the
impacts of cancer and demonstrate how people recognize them as
benefits.
An interdisciplinary workshop to improve palliative care: Advanced
heart failure— Clinical guidelines and healing words
Authors: ZAPKA JANE G. , HENNESSY WINNIE , LIN YAN , JOHNSON LISA , KENNEDY DIANE , GOODLIN SARAH J. 
Published: April 2008

Objective: Effective communication is recognized as an
essential process to providing quality care, including palliative and
end-of-life care. Discussion of prognosis and support needs of patients
with heart failure is particularly challenging given the nature of the
condition and care across several settings. The objective was to design,
implement, and evaluate an interdisciplinary workshop aimed at improving
attitudes and skills related to communication with patients and family,
health team communication and documentation, and assessment of physical
and emotional symptoms.Methods: A pretest, delayed posttest evaluation design was
used to evaluate two 4-h workshops offered to nurses, social workers, and
other nonphysician clinicians.Results: Although baseline reports of skills were high for
the participants, significant improvement was noted for objectives
emphasized in the workshop.Significance of results: This project demonstrated the
feasibility of designing, marketing a brief workshop, and positively
impacting communication and documentation skills.
Psychological morbidity and quality of life in women with advanced breast cancer: A cross-sectional survey
Authors: GRABSCH BRENDA , CLARKE DAVID M. , LOVE ANTHONY , McKENZIE DEAN P. , SNYDER RAYMOND D. , BLOCH SIDNEY , SMITH GRAEME , KISSANE DAVID W. 
Published: April 2008

Objective:Our purpose was to determine the frequency of psychiatric morbidity and to assess the quality of life of women with advanced breast cancer.Methods:The 227 women in the sample were recruited in Melbourne, Australia, and were interviewed (prior to intervention) for a randomized controlled trial of supportive-expressive group therapy. The main outcome measures were DSM–IV psychiatric diagnoses plus quality of life data based on the EORTC QLQ-C30 (core) and QLQ-BR23 (breast module) instruments.Results:Forty-two percent of the women (97/227) had a psychiatric disorder; 35.7% (81) of these had depression or anxiety or both. Specific diagnoses were minor depression in 58 women (25.6%), major depression in 16 (7%), anxiety disorder in 14 (6.2%), and phobic disorder in 9 (4%). Seventeen (7.5%) women had more than one disorder. In terms of quality of life, one-third felt less attractive, one-quarter were dissatisfied with their body image, and, in most, sexual interest had waned. Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes affected less than one-third, whereas symptoms of lymphedema were experienced by 26 (11.5%).Significance:Women with advanced breast cancer have high rates of psychiatric and psychological disturbance. Quality of life is substantially affected. Clinicians need to be vigilant in monitoring psychological adjustment as part of a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach.
Caregiver stress and burnout in an oncology unit
Authors: SHERMAN ALLEN C. , EDWARDS DONNA , SIMONTON STEPHANIE , MEHTA PAULETTE 
Published: April 2008

Purpose:Caring for patients with cancer can be taxing for front-line health care providers. The growing intensity of treatment protocols, in conjunction with staff shortages, reduced hospital stays, and broader pressures on the health care system may exacerbate these challenges, leading to increased risk for burnout. This article reviews the research literature regarding the prevalence of burnout and psychosocial distress among oncology providers, examines multifactorial occupational and personal determinants of risk, and considers intervention strategies to enhance resilience.Methods:Literature review of empirical peer-reviewed studies focusing on prevalence and correlates of burnout among oncology physicians and nurses.Results:Findings from a number of studies using validated measures and large samples suggest that prevalence rates for burnout and psychosocial distress are high among oncology staff, though not necessarily higher than in non-cancer-practice settings. A growing database has examined occupational (e.g., workload) and demographic (e.g., gender) factors that may contribute to risk, but there is less information about personal (e.g., coping) or organizational (e.g., staffing, physician–nurse relations) determinants or multilevel interactions among these factors. Oncologist burnout may adversely affect anticipated staff turnover. Other important endpoints (biological stress markers, health status, patient satisfaction, quality-of-care indices) have yet to be examined in the oncology setting. Intervention research is at a more rudimentary phase of development.Conclusions:Burnout and distress affect a significant proportion of oncology staff. There is a need for additional conceptually based, longitudinal, multivariate studies regarding burnout and its associated risk factors and consequences.
RACE IN THE WORLD SYSTEM
Authors: Bonilla-Silva Eduardo 
Published: April 2008

David Theo Goldberg,The Racial State. London: Blackwell, 2002, 319 pages, ISBN 0-631-19919-5, $66.95.Howard Winant,The World is a Ghetto: Race and Democracy Since World War II. New York: Basic Books, 2001, 428 pages, ISBN 0-465-04340-2, $32.00.Most American social scientists interpret racism as an individual malady and miss, ignore, or simply do not believe in the institutional and global nature of “White supremacy” (Mills 1997). Two limitations that ensue from this myopia are, first, the assumption that societies are not racialized entities (for a critique, see Bonilla-Silva 1997) and, second, a high degree of analytical provincialism—most studies by American scholars are narrow in scope and often are confined to the United States (for early exceptions, see Cox 1948, 1959; Du Bois 1920, 1945).
DEVIANCE AS RESISTANCE: A New Research Agenda for the Study of Black Politics
Authors: Cohen Cathy J. 
Published: April 2008

This paper explores the possibility of constructing a field of investigation based in African American Studies and borrowing from queer theory and Black feminist analysis that is centered around the experiences of those who stand on the (out)side of state-sanctioned, normalized, White, middle- and upper-class, male heterosexuality. This would entail a paradigmatic shift in how scholars of Black politics and more broadly African American Studies think and write about those most vulnerable in Black communities—those thought to be morally wanting by both dominant society and other indigenous group members. Using a theoretical framework for studying Black politics that highlights the construction and malleability of categories as well as the work of processes of normalization found in queer theory in tandem with the detailed understanding of power, in particular as it is structured around and through axes such as race, gender, and class found in African American Studies, we might gain new insights into the everyday politics of those at the bottom in Black communities.Despite the feelings of some in Black communities that we have been shamed by the immoral behavior of a small subset of community members, those some would label the underclass, scholars must take up the charge to highlight and detail the agency of those on the outside, those who through their acts of nonconformity choose outsider status, at least temporarily. An intentional deviance given limited agency and constrained choices sits at the center for this field of research. These individuals are not fully or completely defining themselves as outsiders nor are they satisfied with their outsider status, but they are also not willing to adapt completely, or to conform. The cumulative impact of such choices might be the creation of spaces or counter publics, where not only oppositional ideas and discourse happen, but lived opposition, or at least autonomy, is chosen daily. Through the repetition of deviant practices by multiple individuals, new identities, communities, and politics might emerge where seemingly deviant, unconnected behavior can be transformed into conscious acts of resistance that serve as the basis for a mobilized politics of deviance.