Showing papers by "Georgia State University published in 1995"

The test of functional health literacy in adults: a new instrument for measuring patients' literacy skills.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid, reliable instrument to measure the functional health literacy of patients. DESIGN: The Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) was developed using actual hospital materials. The TOFHLA consists of a 50-item reading comprehension and 17-item numerical ability test, taking up to 22 minutes to administer. The TOFHLA, the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R), and the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) were administered for comparison. A Spanish version was also developed (TOFHLA-S). SETTING: Outpatient settings in two public teaching hospitals. PATIENTS: 256 English- and 249 Spanish-speaking patients were approached. 78% of the English- and 82% of the Spanish-speaking patients gave informed consent, completed a demographic survey, and took the TOFHLA or TOFHLA-S. RESULTS: The TOFHLA showed good correlation with the WRAT-R and the REALM (correlation coefficients 0.74 and 0.84, respectively). Only 52% of the English speakers completed more than 80% of the questions correctly. 15% of the patients could not read and interpret a prescription bottle with instructions to take one pill by mouth four times daily, 37% did not understand instructions to take a medication on an empty stomach, and 48% could not determine whether they were eligible for free care. CONCLUSIONS: The TOFHLA is a valid, reliable indicator of patient ability to read health-related materials. Data suggest that a high proportion of patients cannot perform basic reading tasks. Additional work is needed to determine the prevalence of functional health illiteracy and its effect on the health care experience.

Brand Equity, Brand Preference, and Purchase Intent

Abstract: The issue of brand equity has emerged as one of the most critical areas for marketing management in the 1990s. Despite strong interest in the subject, however, there is little empirical evidence of how brand value is created and what its precise effects are. This study explores some of the consequences of brand equity. In particular, the authors examine the effect of brand equity on consumer preferences and purchase intentions. For comparative purposes, two sets of brands are tested, one from a service category characterized by fairly high financial and functional risk (hotels), and one from a generally lower risk product category (household cleansers). Each set includes two brands that are objectively similar (based on Consumer Reports ratings), but they have invested markedly different levels of advertising spending over the past decade. Across both categories, the brand with the higher advertising budget yielded substantially higher levels of brand equity. In turn, the brand with the higher eq...

The Effect of Investment Banking Relationships on Financial Analysts' Earnings Forecasts and Investment Recommendations*

Abstract: . This study shows that financial analysts of brokerage firms that provide investment banking services to a company (investment banker analysts) are optimistic, relative to other (noninvestment banker) analysts, in their earnings forecasts and investment recommendations. Returns earned by following the investment recommendations of investment banker analysts, however, are not significantly different from those of non-investment banker analysts. Given that information regarding the investment banking relationships of brokerage firms is publicly available, we find evidence that capital market participants rely relatively less on the investment banker analysts in forming their earnings expectations. Although we find a significant capital market reaction around the noninvestment banker analysts' research report dates and not around the investment banker analysts' research report dates, the difference between the two market reactions is not statistically significant. Finally, we find that investment banker analysts' earnings forecasts are, on average, as accurate as those of noninvestment banker analysts. Resume. Les auteurs mettent en evidence le fait que les analystes financiers des maisons de courtage qui offrent des services de prise ferme aux entreprises (les analystes de courtiers preneurs ferme) sont optimistes dans leurs previsions de benefices et leurs recommandations de placements, par comparaison aux autres analystes (c'est-a-dire aux analystes de courtiers qui ne sont pas preneurs ferme). Les rendements obtenus par les investisseurs qui observent les recommandations de placements des analystes de courtiers preneurs ferme ne sont cependant pas sensiblement differents de ceux qu'obtiennent les investisseurs qui se fient aux analystes des courtiers qui ne sont pas preneurs ferme. Compte tenu du fait que l'information relative aux relations qu'entretiennent les maisons de courtage en matiere de prise ferme est du domaine public, les constatations des auteurs confirment que les participants au marche financier s'appuient relativement moins sur le verdict des analystes des courtiers preneurs ferme dans le calcul de leur esperance de gains. Bien que les auteurs observent une reaction marquee du marche financier a proximite des dates de publication des rapports de recherche des analystes des courtiers qui ne sont pas preneurs ferme, ce qui n'est pas le cas a proximite des dates de publication des rapports de recherche des analystes des courtiers preneurs ferme, la difference entre ces deux reactions n'est pas statistiquement significative. Enfin, les auteurs constatent que les previsions de benefices des analystes des courtiers preneurs ferme sont, en moyenne, aussi exactes que celles des analystes des courtiers qui ne sont pas preneurs ferme.

Gender differences in student attitudes toward science: A meta‐analysis of the literature from 1970 to 1991

Abstract: A meta-analysis covering the literature between 1970 and 1991 was conducted using an approach similar to that suggested by Glass, McGaw, and Smith (1981) and Hedges, Shymansky, and Woodworth (1989). This analysis examined gender differences in student attitudes toward science, and correlations between attitudes toward science and achievement in science. Thirty-one effect sizes and seven correlations representing the testing of 6,753 subjects were found in 18 studies. The mean of the unweighted effect sizes was .20 (SD = .50) and the mean of the weighted effect size was .16 (SD = .50), indicating that boys have more positive attitudes toward science than girls. The mean correlation between attitude and achievement was .50 for boys and .55 for girls, suggesting that the correlations are comparable. Results of the analysis of gender differences in attitude as a function of science type indicate that boys show a more positive attitude toward science than girls in all types of science. The correlation between attitude and achievement for boys and girls as a function of science type indicates that for biology and physics the correlation is positive for both, but stronger for girls than for boys. Gender differences and correlations between attitude and achievement by gender as a function of publication date show no pattern. The results for the analysis of gender differences as a function of the selectivity of the sample indicate that general level students reflect a greater positive attitude for boys, whereas the high-performance students indicate a greater positive attitude for girls. The correlation between attitude and achievement as a function of selectivity indicates that in all cases a positive attitude results in higher achievement. This is particularly true for low-performance girls. The implications of these finding are discussed and further research suggested.

Analyzing Interaction: Sequential Analysis with SDIS and GSEQ

Abstract: 1. Applied sequential analysis: basic tools and terms 2. Sequential examples: talk, attention, distress, and infants 3. Basic SDIS: sessions, conditions, times, and events 4. Advanced SDIS: state, timed event, and interval data 5. Basic GSEQ: specifying target and given codes 6. Modifying SDIS data 7. Specifying time windows 8. Computing contingency table statistics with GSEQ 9. Running SDIS and GSEQ: the GSEQ user interface 10. Advanced GSEQ: practical problems and solutions Appendices.

In search of altruistic community: Patterns of social support mobilization following Hurricane Hugo

Abstract: Twelve months after Hurricane Hugo, 1,000 disaster victims and nonvictims were asked about social support they exchanged following the hurricane. Victims of disaster received and provided very high levels of tangible, informationa, and emotional support. Disaster exposure (loss and harm) was a strong predictor of help received and a modest predictor of help provided. However, postdisaster help was not distributed equally and disaster exposure was more strongly related to social support in some groups than in others. Race, education, and age most consistently moderated the impact of disaster exposure on receipt of postdisaster support. Blacks and less educated victims received less help than similarly affected victims who were white or more educated. Relative disadvantage of being old in receiving support was not the case for those elderly disaster victims who experienced threats to their lives or health. Some subgroups of victims were relied upon disproportionately for providing assistance. Implications for social support research are addressed.

Of Shepherds, Sheep, and the Cross-autocorrelations in Equity Returns

Abstract: We present an economic mechanism and supportive empirical evidence for the transmission of information between equity securities first documented by Lo and MacKinlay (1990). It is argued that the past returns on stocks held by informed institutional traders will be positively correlated with the contemporaneous returns on stocks held by noninstitutional uninformed traders. Evidence consistent with this hypothesis is then presented. We document that the returns on the portfolio of stocks with the highest level of institutional ownership lead the returns of portfolios of stocks with lower levels of institutional ownership. This effect persists even after firm size is controlled for and is apparent at longer lags than the size-related lag effect documented in Lo and MacKinlay (1990).

Managerial Perceptions of Employee Commitment to the Organization

Abstract: A model incorporating antecedents and outcomes of measures of manager-rated employee affective and continuance commitment was tested with 231 managers and 339 subordinates. Organizational citizensh...

Customer-developer links in software development

Abstract: Many of the best ideas for new products and product improvements come from the customer or end user of the product [15]. In the software arena, tapping into this source of information requires the establishment of one or more customer-developer links. These links are defined as the techniques and/or channels that allow customers and developers to exchange information.

Virtual environments for treating the fear of heights

Abstract: Can virtual environments help elicit fearful feelings so they can be treated? This article shows how therapists and computer experts used them to do just that. We describe a pilot study that used virtual reality graded exposure techniques to treat acrophobia-the fear of heights. We specifically address two issues: the extent to which we were able to make subjects feel that they were actually present in height situations, and the efficacy of the treatment conducted using virtual height situations. >

Validation of the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale

Abstract: The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS; Clance, 1985) was compared to the newly developed Perceived Fraudulence Scale (Kolligian & Sternberg, 1991). The two scales were found to have high internal consistency and to correlate in a similar manner with other measures. Further, discriminant validity evidence for the Impostor Phenomenon (IP) was provided by comparing the CIPS to measures of depression, self-esteem, social anxiety, and self-monitoring. The IP was related to, but substantially discriminable from, these constructs. Finally, construct validity evidence for the CIPS was provided through principal components analysis that yielded three stable factors: Fake, Discount, and Luck.

Catecholaminergic innervation of white adipose tissue in Siberian hamsters

Abstract: When Siberian hamsters are transferred from long summerlike days (LDs) to short winterlike days (SDs) they decrease their body weight, primarily as body fat. These SD-induced decreases in lipid stores are not uniform. Internally located white adipose tissue (WAT) pads are depleted preferentially of lipid, whereas the more externally located subcutaneous WAT pads are relatively spared. These data suggest a possible differential sympathetic neural control over catecholamine-induced lipolysis and that lipolytic rates are greater for internal vs. external WAT pads. Moreover, if these differential rates of lipolysis are due to differential sympathetic nervous system (SNS) drives on the pads, then fat pad-specific catecholaminergic innervation may exist. Therefore, we tested whether inguinal WAT (IWAT; an external pad) and epididymal WAT (EWAT; an internal pad) were innervated differentially. In addition, we tested whether norepinephrine (NE) turnover (TO) reflected the presumed greater SNS drive on EWAT vs. IWAT after SD exposure. Injections of fluorescent tract tracers [Fluoro-Gold or indocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI)] demonstrated projections from the SNS ganglia T13-L3 to both fat pads. Retrograde labeling revealed a relatively separate pattern of distribution of labeled neurons in the ganglia projecting to each pad. In vivo anterograde transport of DiI resulted in labeling in both IWAT and EWAT that included staining around individual adipocytes and occasionally retrogradely labeled cells. The proportionately greater decrease in EWAT compared with IWAT mass after 5 wk of SD exposure was reflected in greater EWAT NE TO than found in their LD counterparts for this pad.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Communication Development During Infancy

Abstract: The communicating infant - a historical introduction theoretical foundations for the study of communication development a scientific stance towards infants shared attentiveness interpersonal engagement joint object involvement the emergence of the symbol code. (Part contents).

A Necessary and Sufficient Identification Rule for Structural Models Estimated in Practice.

Abstract: This article presents a straightforward classification system that is a necessary and sufficient condition for identification of the structural component of structural equation models of the type most commonly estimated - block-recursive models with no more than two equations per block. The technique is graphical and thus does not require actual estimation of the model in question. The article also reviews the limitations of other identification techniques, including econometric and information matrix techniques, when applied to these models.

Dicationic diarylfurans as anti-Pneumocystis carinii agents.

Abstract: Seven dicationic 2,5-diarylfurans have been synthesized, and their interactions with poly(dA-dT) and the duplex oligomer d(CGCCAATTCGCG)2 were evaluated by Tm measurements. The inhibition of topoisomerase II isolated from Giardia lamblia, the inhibition of growth of G. lamblia in cell culture by these furans, and the effectiveness of these compounds against Pneumocystis carinii in the immunosuppressed rat model have been assessed. Strong binding affinities to poly(dA-dT) and to the oligomer were observed for the dicationic furans, and the interaction strength is directly correlated to the biological activity of the compounds. An X-ray structure for the complex of the dicationic amidine derivative, 2,5-bis(4-guanylphenyl)furan (1), with the oligomer demonstrates the snug fit of these compounds with the AATT minor-groove binding site and hydrogen bonds to AT base pairs at the floor of the minor groove. The stronger DNA binding molecules are the most effective inhibitors of topoisomerase II and G. lamblia in cell culture, and there is a correlation for both DNA interaction and topoisomerase II inhibition with the biological activity of these compounds against G. lamblia. Compound 1 is the most effective against P. carinii, it is more active and less toxic than pentamidine on intravenous administration and it is also effective by oral dosage. The results presented here suggest a model for the biological action of these compounds in which the dication first binds in the minor groove of DNA and forms a complex that results in the inhibition of the microbial topoisomerase II enzyme.

Physiological Factors Associated with Middle Distance Running Performance

Abstract: Middle distance running involves popular race distances with performance dependent on a number of physiological factors. The physiological characteristics of successful runners are different from those of sprinters and long distance runners. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), running economy and the anaerobic threshold are variables that have been shown to limit performance during long distance running, and rapid velocity and anaerobic variables have been shown to limit performance during sprinting. Success with middle distance running is dependent on an integrative contribution from aerobic and anaerobic variables which allows a runner to maintain a rapid velocity during a race. The relative contributions of the 2 energy systems are functions of distance, intensity and the physiological abilities of the runner. Middle distance runners can be successful with physiological profiles that include a variety of aerobic and anaerobic capabilities, and this characteristic separates them from long distance runners.

Joint Attention and Imitative Learning in Children, Chimpanzees, and Enculturated Chimpanzees*

Abstract: In this study we compared the nature of the joint attentional interactions that occurred as chimpanzees and human children engaged with a human experimenter (E). Subjects were three chimpanzees raised mostly with conspecifics (mother-reared), three chimpanzees raised in a human-like cultural environment (encultur-ated), and six 18-month-old human children. Of particular interest were possible differences between the two groups of chimpanzees that might have resulted from their different ontogenetic histories. Observations were made as subjects participated in an imitative learning task involving a number of novel objects. Variables coded were such things as subjects' looks to the object, looks to E, the coordination of such looks in periods of joint engagement with E, and gestural attempts to direct E's attention or behavior (declaratives and imperatives). Results showed that encultur-ated chimpanzees were most similar to human children in social interactions involv-ing objects, for example, in their attention to the object in compliance with E's request, their joint attentional interactions during less structured periods, and their use of declarative gestures to direct E's attention to objects. They were not similar to children, but rather resembled their mother-reared conspecifics, in the duration of their looks to E's face. A positive relation between subjects' joint attentional skills and their imitative learning skills was found for both chimpanzee and human sub-jects. It is concluded that a human-like sociocultural environment is an essential component in the development of human-like social-cognitive and joint attentional skills for chimpanzees, and perhaps for human beings as well

BHK cell proteins that bind to the 3' stem-loop structure of the West Nile virus genome RNA.

Abstract: The first 83 3' nucleotides of the genome RNA of the flavivirus West Nile encephalitis virus (WNV) form a stable stem-loop (SL) structure which is followed in the genome by a smaller SL. These 3' structures are highly conserved among divergent flaviviruses, suggesting that they may function as cis-acting signals for RNA replication and as such might specifically bind to cellular or viral proteins. Cellular proteins from uninfected and WNV-infected BHK-21 S100 cytoplasmic extracts formed three distinct complexes with the WNV plus-strand 3' SL [(+)3'SL] RNA in a gel mobility shift assay. Subsequent competitor gel shift analyses showed that two of these RNA-protein complexes, complexes 1 and 2, contained cell proteins that specifically bound to the WNV (+)3'SL RNA. UV-induced cross-linking and Northwestern blotting analyses detected WNV (+)3'SL RNA-binding proteins of 56, 84, and 105 kDa. When the S100 cytoplasmic extracts were partially purified by ion-exchange chromatography, a complex that comigrated with complex 1 was detected in fraction 19, while a complex that comigrated with complex 2 was detected in fraction 17. UV-induced cross-linking experiments indicated that an 84-kDa cell protein in fraction 17 and a 105-kDa protein in fraction 19 bound specifically to the WNV (+)3'SL RNA. In addition to binding to the (+)3'SL RNA, the 105-kDa protein bound to the SL structure located at the 3' end of the WNV minus-strand RNA. Initial mapping studies indicated that the 84- and 105-kDa proteins bind to different regions of the (+)3'SL RNA. The 3'-terminal SL RNA of another flavivirus, dengue virus type 3, specifically competed with the WNV (+)3'SL RNA in gel shift assays, suggesting that the host proteins identified in this study are flavivirus specific.

Locus of Control and Entrepreneurship in the Russian Republic

Abstract: Since Rotter (1954) first introduced his theory of social learning, there has developed an extensive body of research surrounding the central construct of locus of control. Perceived internal locus of control is defined as the personal belief that one has influence over outcomes through ability, effort, or skills; whereas external locus of control is the belief that external forces control outcomes. Some of that research has linked a belief in the internal control over the events in one's life to an individual's propensity to engage in entrepreneurial activity (e.g., Berlew 1975; Shapero 1975; Rupke 1978; Brockhaus 1982; Gartner 1985; Perry 1990; Shaver and Scott 1991). The initially posited unidimensionality of the locus of control construct (i.e., internal vs external control) has been questioned repeatedly, giving rise to more elaborate conceptualizations (Lefcourt 1981). While the internal anchor of the I-E scale has remained relatively intact, the external orientation has been split theoretically into the two (arguably) discrete dimensions of Chance and Powerful Others (Levenson 1974).

A study of writing tasks assigned in academic degree programs

Abstract: Writing tasks assigned in 162 undergraduate and graduate courses in several disciplines at eight universities were collected. Using a sample of the assignments, key dimensions of difference were identified, and a classification scheme based on those dimensions was developed. Application of the classification scheme provided data on the prevalence of various types of assignments and, for essay tasks, showed the degree to which the assignments were characterized by each of several features. Differences in the kinds of writing tasks assigned in different groups of disciplines were examined.

Impostor phenomenon in an interpersonal/social context: origins and treatment

Abstract: This article provides a methodology for mapping an individual's system of social relationships. Three examples of network maps which vary in complexity have been selected to represent the most common issues discussed by over 90 African American professional women during an eight year period. Excerpts from their explanations of these "maps" are used to identify issues pertinent to the social structure and adult development issues of this group. Implications for clinical practitioners working with African American women of professional status are discussed.

The changing metropolitan structure of atlanta, georgia: locations of functions and regional structure in a multinucleated urban area

Abstract: The study of suburban downtowns in the past has emphasized the emergence of multinucleation in urban structure and the growing independence of multiple urban realms. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to identify and compare the employment profiles of each downtown in a metropolitan area, including the CBD. Using data on retail employment, services, and finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE), the four downtowns that exist in the Atlanta region are examined, together with scattered-site employment. This study suggests that downtowns, rather than existing as independent urban realms, are mutually interdependent based on work-trip commuting patterns, shopping behavior, and traffic flows in general, all of which increasingly are automobile based. Mass transit ridership suffers from its primary focus on radial services to and from the CBD and poor service levels to other downtowns and to scattered employment sites.