Showing papers by "University of Massachusetts Boston published in 1988"
TL;DR: The often-used method for decomposing wage differentials into human capital and discrimination components is reformulated so that both t he disadvantage or "cost," discrimination it imposes on a black or minority wage earner and the advantage, or "benefit," it bestows on a white or majority worker can be estimated.
Abstract: The often-used method for decomposing wage differentials into human capital and discrimination components is reformulated so that both t he disadvantage, or "cost," discrimination it imposes on a black or minority wage earner and the advantage, or "benefit," it bestows on a white or majority wage earner can be estimated. Copyright 1988 by MIT Press.
852 citations
TL;DR: Children aged 7 to 11 years visiting their primary care pediatrician for a wide range of reasons were studied to determine the one-year prevalence of DSM-III disorders and the risk factors associated with them.
Abstract: Children aged 7 to 11 years visiting their primary care pediatrician for a wide range of reasons were studied to determine the one-year prevalence of DSM-III disorders and the risk factors associated with them. Parents completing the Child Behavior Checklist about their children identified problems that placed 24.7% of 789 children in the clinical range. Detailed psychiatric interviews with 300 parents and children, using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, yielded a one-year weighted prevalence of one or more DSM-III disorders of 22.0% +/- 3.4%, combining diagnoses based on either the child or the parent interview.
439 citations
TL;DR: The operation was effective in reducing symptoms and improvement in indices of quality of life occurred only among patients with acute retention or severe symptoms prior to surgery, emphasizing the importance of patient participation in the decision to undergo prostatectomy.
Abstract: When prostatectomy is proposed as treatment for the symptoms of prostatism, the decision to operate should depend on how patients evaluate their symptoms and on objective information about the outcomes. We undertook a health interview study to determine the probabilities for symptom relief, improvement in the quality of life, and complications following surgery and to evaluate patient concern about the symptoms of prostatism. The operation was effective in reducing symptoms: 93% of severely and 79% of moderately symptomatic patients experienced improvement; however, a statistically significant improvement in indices of quality of life occurred only among patients with acute retention or severe symptoms prior to surgery. Short-term complications of varying severity occurred in 24% of patients; in addition, 4% reported persistent incontinence and 5%, impotence. Patients with similar symptoms reported considerable difference in the degree to which they were bothered by their symptoms. The result emphasizes the importance of patient participation in the decision to undergo prostatectomy. ( JAMA 1988;259:3018-3022)
436 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that patient preferences should be the dominant factor in the decision whether to recommend prostatectomy, and immediate surgery was favored with a net utility benefit when adjustments were made for quality of life.
Abstract: The rate of resection for benign prostatic hypertrophy shows considerable variability among small geographic areas. To help inform the decision to recommend prostatectomy to men with prostatism without signs of chronic retention, we performed a decision analysis to compare the expected outcomes with immediate transurethral resection and watchful waiting. Data used in the model originated from the medical literature, Medicare claims data, and patient interview studies. In our base-case analysis for 70-year-old men, immediate surgery resulted in the loss of 1.01 months of life expectancy, but when adjustments were made for quality of life, immediate surgery was favored with a net utility benefit of 2.94 quality-adjusted life-months. However, the analysis was particularly sensitive to the degree of disutility attributed to the index symptoms of prostatism. We conclude that patient preferences should be the dominant factor in the decision whether to recommend prostatectomy. (JAMA1988;259:3010-3017)
256 citations
[...]
TL;DR: Relationships whose loss triggers grief are termed "relationships of attachment" as mentioned in this paper, which are pair-bond relationships, parental attachments to children, transference relationships to helpers, and persisting childlike attachments to parents.
Abstract: Relationships whose loss triggers grief are termed “relationships of attachment.” These relationships are pair-bond relationships, parental attachments to children, transference relationships to helpers, and persisting childlike attachments to parents. Because these relationships share significant characteristics, it is proposed that they are developments of a single socio-emotional system—the attachment system of children. This point of view permits a unified treatment of a number of topics, including the threats that elicit attachment emotions and behaviors, the impact of loss, the nature and course of recovery from loss, impediments to recovery, and the forms taken by failures to recover.
217 citations
TL;DR: Over time, minimal- doses recipients were significantly more improved in their instrumental and interpersonal role performance than were standard-dose recipients and side effects were fewer on the minimal dose after one year.
Abstract: • Issues regarding the side effects of antipsychotic medication and the possible contribution of the environment to dose requirements led to a two-year controlled dosage study of maintenance antipsychotic medication and familial environment among recently discharged schizophrenic patients. Seventy stable patients, living in high— or low—expressed emotion (EE) households, were randomized, double blind, to receive a standard dose of fluphenazine decanoate (average, 25 mg every two weeks) or a minimal dose representing 20% of the dose prescribed (average, 3.8 mg every two weeks). No differences in relapse were observed among dose, EE, or dose and EE. Patients in the minimal dose/high-EE condition experienced more minor but aborted episodes in year 2. Side effects were fewer on the minimal dose after one year, and low-EE patients were better adjusted than high-EE patients. Over time, minimal-dose recipients were significantly more improved in their instrumental and interpersonal role performance than were standard-dose recipients.
209 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the existence of a strong vacancy rental adjustment mechanism in the market for office space, such as has been found in housing markets, has been confirmed using national time-series data.
Abstract: This research confirms the existence of a strong vacancy rental adjustment mechanism in the market for office space, such as has been found in housing markets. Using national time-series data, we find that real office rents drop approximately 2% annually, for every percentage point of “excess vacancy” in the market. We also find that the definition of “excess vacancy” has been trending upward over time. Using a recent vacancy forecast suggests that office income streams seem likely to decline in both real and nominal dollars over the next few years.
189 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the implicit and explicit philosophical differences between Gilligan's and Kohlberg's outlooks are discussed, and a defence against criticisms which, drawing on categories of contemporary ethical theory, can and does make of them.
Abstract: Carol Gilligan's body of work in moral development psychology is of the first importance for moral philosophy.' At the same time certain philosophical commitments within contemporary ethics constitute obstacles to appreciating this importance. Some of these commitments are shared by Lawrence Kohlberg, whose work provided the context for Gilligan's early (though not current) work. I will discuss some of the implicit and explicit philosophical differences between Gilligan's and Kohlberg's outlooks and will then defend Gilligan's views against criticisms which, drawing on categories of contemporary ethical theory, a Kohlbergian can and does make of them. Gilligan claims empirical support for the existence of a moral outlook or orientation distinct from one based on impartiality, impersonality, justice, formal rationality, and universal principle. This impartialist conception of morality, as I will call it, 2 in addition to characterizing Kohlberg's view of morality, has been the dominant conception of morality in contemporary Anglo-American moral philosophy, forming the core of both
163 citations
TL;DR: Results showed changes in the spontaneous activity of single neurons in the inferior colliculus, consistent with abnormally increased neuronal activity within the auditory pathways after manipulations known to produce tinnitus in man.
Abstract: Subjective tinnitus remains obscure, widespread, and without apparent cure. In the absence of a suitable animal model, past investigations took place in humans, resulting in studies that were understandably restricted by the nature of human investigation. Within this context, the development of a valid animal model would be considered a major breakthrough in this field of investigation. Our results showed changes in the spontaneous activity of single neurons in the inferior colliculus, consistent with abnormally increased neuronal activity within the auditory pathways after manipulations known to produce tinnitus in man. A procedure based on a Pavlovian conditioned suppression paradigm was recently developed that allows us to measure tinnitus behaviorally in conscious animals. Accordingly, an animal model of tinnitus is proposed that permits tests of hypotheses relating to tinnitus generation, allowing the accommodation of interventional strategies for the treatment of this widespread auditory disorder.
140 citations
01 Mar 1988
TL;DR: This work has been attempting to categorize real-time data into classes depending on their time, synchronization, atomicity, and permanence properties, and is developing special, tailored, real- time transactions that only supply the minimal properties necessary for that class.
Abstract: Next generation real-time systems will require greater flexibility and predictability than is commonly found in today's systems. These future systems include the space station, integrated vision/robotics/AI systems, collections of humans/robots coordinating to achieve common objectives (usually in hazardous environments such as undersea exploration or chemical plants), and various command and control applications. The complexity of such systems due to timing constraints, concurrency, and distribution is high. It is accepted that the synchronization, failure atomicity, and permanence properties of transactions aid in the development of distributed systems. However, little work has been done in exploiting transactions in a real-time context. We have been attempting to categorize real-time data into classes depending on their time, synchronization, atomicity, and permanence properties. Then, using the semantics of the data and the applications, we are developing special, tailored, real-time transactions that only supply the minimal properties necessary for that class. This reduces the system overhead in supporting access to various types of data. The eventual goal is to verify that timing requirements can be met.
131 citations
01 Jan 1988
TL;DR: In this paper, a set of containers containing soap, shampoo, or other bath liquids are arranged to be secured to the wall adjacent a bathtub or shower in side-by-side relationship by means of pressure responsive adhesive.
Abstract: Modular containers containing soap, shampoo, or other bath liquids are arranged to be secured to the wall adjacent a bathtub or shower in side-by-side relationship by means of pressure responsive adhesive. Each of the containers includes interlocking structures on left and right side walls so that one or more of the containers can be interlocked together for positioning on the bathroom wall so that one or more different liquids are readily available for convenient use.
TL;DR: This paper explored the relationship between the status of Javanese women and the politeness or formality of their speech and found that women will speak more politely than men as an expression of their secondary status.
Abstract: This article explores the relationship between the status of Javanese women and the politeness or formality of their speech. I examine the hypothesis that, cross-culturally, women will speak more politely than men as an expression of their secondary status. Ethnographic research from East Java reveals that Javanese women are required to be more polite within the family where they receive less polite speech and offer more. In the wider context of Javanese culture, however, it is Javanese men who strive to cultivate politeness for the purpose of expressing their superior status and authority. The potentially coercive or political power of politeness in Javanese is related to the ambiguity of the polite codes themselves, which may be used to express both deference or humility on the one hand and status, refinement, and power on the other. Speech patterns are linked to a number of social-structural variables: patterns of socialization, models of appropriate male and female linguistic behavior, and men's and women's social roles and typical spheres of interest. Where, as in Java, polite codes are associated with public power and control, we should expect that men may be especially concerned with the cultivation of polite styles of speech. (Politeness, gender roles, linguistic socialization, Indonesia)
TL;DR: A heuristic for the traveling salesman location problem on a network that requires On3 time to find the location that "minimizes" the expected distance traveled is presented.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a heuristic for the traveling salesman location problem on a network. Each day the salesman e.g., a repair vehicle must visit all the calls that are registered in a service list. Each call is generated with a given probability and the service list contains at most n calls. The heuristic requires On3 time to find the location that "minimizes" the expected distance traveled. A worst case analysis of the heuristic indicates that it will produce a solution which is at most 50% worse than the optimal solution. The paper also contains several asymptotic results for the problem in the plane.
TL;DR: The high outcrossing rate of Bertholletia excelsa indicates that even though dispersion of individuals is very low within populations of this tropical rain forest tree, pollen dispersal mechanisms appear to be adequate to enable crosses with a relatively large number of potential mates.
Abstract: Here we report the results of a mating system analysis of an Amazonian population of Bertholletia excelsa, a tropical rain forest canopy tree species. Using progeny data from 29 seed parents, two highly polymorphic isozymes were analyzed to derive single locus and multilocus estimates of outcrossing, based on a mixed mating model. The two single locus estimates were very similar, and both were somewhat smaller than the multilocus estimate, indicating the possibility that the populations are genetically structured. The multilocus outcrossing estimate (tm=0.85±0.03) reveals that outcrossing is prevalent, but that a significantly low level of inbreeding may be occurring. The high outcrossing rate indicates that even though dispersion of individuals is very low within populations of this tropical rain forest tree, pollen dispersal mechanisms appear to be adequate to enable crosses with a relatively large number of potential mates.
TL;DR: In this paper, two box cores from the Peru continental margin area at 15°S in 90 and 268 m water depth have depth profiles that are synchronous and appear to indicate an historical record of fluctuating higher productivity-lower productivity (ENSO) periods.
TL;DR: A semisynthetic vesicular membrane was constructed by immobilization of a synthetic polyelectrolyte on the surface of a phosphatidylcholine bilayer by addition of polymer-bound thiol functions to a reactive maleimide handle incorporated into the lipid membrane in the form of dimyristoyl-N.
Abstract: A semisynthetic vesicular membrane was constructed by immobilization of a synthetic polyelectrolyte [poly(2-ethylacrylic
acid)] on the surface of a phosphatidylcholine bilayer Immobilization was accomplished via Michael addition of polymer-bound
thiol functions to a reactive maleimide handle incorporated into the lipid membrane in the form of dimyristoyl-N-[ [4-(maleimidomethyl)cyclohexyl]carbonyl]phosphatidylethanolamine
Semisynthetic membranes prepared in this way are sensitive
to hydrogen ion concentration and are subject to large variations in permeability with small changes in pH Rapid and quantitative
release of vesicle contents can be achieved by mild acidification within the physiological pH range
TL;DR: The astronomical identification of the cyanomethyl radical, CH2CN, is reported, the heaviest nonlinear molecular radical to be identified in interstellar clouds, and preliminary searches in other sources indicate that the distribution is similar to that for such carbon chain species as HC3N or C4H.
Abstract: The astronomical identification of the cyanomethyl radical, CH2CN, in interstellar clouds is reported. The complex fine and hyperfine structures of the lowest rotational transitions at about 20.12 and 40.24 GHz are resolved in TMC-1. The abundance of CH2CN relative to that of H2 in TMC-1 is estimated at 5 X 10 to the -9th. In Sgr B2, the hyperfine structure is blended in the higher frequency transitions at 40, 80, and 100 GHz, although the spin-rotation doubling is clearly evident.
TL;DR: The amino-terminal amino acid sequences of HLTIs A and B revealed that both these inhibitors are homologous to bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (Kunitz).
01 Jan 1988
TL;DR: In this article, the authors found that many parents and siblings still experience pain and loss after 7-9 years after childhood cancer, and three patterns of grieving were described by family members in response to this sense of emptiness: "getting over it", "filling the emptiness", and "keeping the connection".
Abstract: Abstract Forty-nine families who experienced a death following childhood cancer were interviewed 7–9 years after the death. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory technique for qualitative data for the purpose of examining the long-term responses of families to childhood death. In contrast to bereavement theories which claim that grief is usually resolved within two years, findings of this study suggest that many parents and siblings still experience pain and loss after 7–9 years. Analysis suggests that the death of a child creates an “empty space” for surviving family members. Three patterns of grieving were described by family members in response to this sense of emptiness: “getting over it,” “filling the emptiness,” and “keeping the connection.” Differences and similarities of these patterns are enumerated. The perceived significance of the relationship to the pattern of grief is hypothesized. Situations which stimulate a recurrence or continuation of the “empty space” are suggested and changes...
TL;DR: In this article, the concentrations of two classes of waste-specific molecular markers (the linear alkylbenzenes and the fecal sterols, coprostanol and epicopprostanol) were determined in six municipal sewage sludges.
TL;DR: It is suggested that the degree of improvement in understanding obtainable for severely disordered subjects is substantially lower than it is for others and the implications for informed consent, the regulation of medical research, and the protection of human subjects are discussed.
Abstract: Investigator information disclosure and subject understanding are examined in four psychiatric studies using data drawn from observation of 88 consent sessions. In an attempt to determine if subjects' understanding of research can be improved, three experimental methods of information giving (including the use of independent subject educators) are compared to standard investigator disclosure. Findings indicate that the use of experimental techniques generally increases the quality of information delivered to prospective subjects, with disclosures by subject educators generating the most complete information. Subject understanding was also found to be significantly associated with the quality of information provided. Diagnosis and level of psychopathology, however, were found to be the most important predictors of subject understanding, with schizophrenics and the highly impaired most likely to demonstrate poor comprehension. These results suggest that the degree of improvement in understanding obtainable for severely disordered subjects is substantially lower than it is for others. The implications of these findings for informed consent, the regulation of medical research, and the protection of human subjects are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, it was hypothesized that physical attractiveness produces stereotyped status inferences along with the stereotyped trait inferences that have already been given much research attention, and this hypothesis was tested by a series of four studies, in which subjects matched yearbook photographs with stimulus photo descriptions representing high achieved, high ascribed, low achieved and low ascribed status.
TL;DR: The nucleotide sequence of cDNA clones encoding mouse transition protein 1 (TP1), a basic nuclear protein involved in nuclear condensation during spermiogenesis, is determined and demonstrates that the mRNA for mouse transitionprotein 1 accumulates during the haploid phase of spermatogenesis.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Findings include relationships between low back pain and age, body type, sex, stress, smoking, selected types of physical activity, occupation and previous injuries to the neck, shoulders, back and upper legs, as well as previous episodes ofLow back pain.
TL;DR: The authors examined the way emotions are viewed, understood and experienced by young and older adult men and women (ranging in age from 18 to 50) in two cultural environments, Germany and the US, and found distinctly different patterns of age and sex differences in the evaluation and experience of emotions for Americans and Germans.
Abstract: Are emotions essentially an individual-subjective phenomenon, or are they broader in scope? Do emotions mainly represent what the individual feels ‘inside’ or do they also carry implications for the social context? Questions such as these were in the background of the present research that has examined the way emotions are viewed, understood, and experienced by young and older adult men and women (ranging in age from 18 to 50) in two cultural environments, Germany and the US. Overall, the results revealed distinctly different patterns of age and sex differences in the evaluation and experience of emotions for Americans and Germans. In addition, the study identified specific emotions (e.g. gratitude, despair, rage) that seem to have different connotations and associations for individuals in the two cultural groups. Interpretation of the findings emphasizes connections between the emotional life and emotional understanding of the individual and broad sociocultural themes. It is argued that social context is an important feature of emotion requiring more extensive consideration is psychological theory and research on emotion.
TL;DR: The results indicate that gas phase CO2 is not a major carbon reservoir in typical molecular clouds and the fractional abundance relative to H2 > or = 3 x 10(-10), which is about 2 orders of magnitude greater than recent predictions of quiescent cloud ion-molecule chemistry.
Abstract: The 4(04)-3(03) and 1(01)-0(00) transitions of HOCO(+) toward several molecular clouds have been monitored. Of the molecular clouds considered, the HOCO(+) molecule has been detected only in Sgr B2 and Sgr A. The results suggest that gas phase CO2 is not a major carbon reservoir in typical molecular clouds. For Sgr B2, the column density of HOCO(+) at the northern peak is found to be about 3 x 10 to the 14th/sq cm, and a fractional abundance relative to H2 is obtained which is about 2 orders of magnitude greater than recent theoretical predictions.
TL;DR: The results suggest that much of the genetic diversity of this species may be preserved within one or a few populations, however, such populations must be very large because it appears that the large amount of genetic variation in Brazil nut populations is maintained by extensive gene flow and bonds of mating over a large area.
Abstract: We provide an estimate of genetic variation within and between two populations of Bertholletia excelsa (Brazil nut), a large canopy tree found in the rain forests of South America. Average heterozygosity is 0.190, and 54.3% of the sampled loci are polymorphic. The population structure deviates significantly from Hardy-Weinberg expectations for Fest2 and Pgm2 (F =0.405 and 0.443, respectively) in one population, and highly significantly (F=-0.341) for Gdh in the other population. Although allele frequencies of the two populations differ significantly for Aat2, Est5, Mdh1, and Mdh2B, Nei's coefficient of gene differentiation (Gst) indicates that the between-population component (Dst) of genic diversity represents only 3.75% of the size of the within-population component (Hs). The implications of these findings in terms of conservation genetics are that much of the genetic diversity of this species may be preserved within one or a few populations. However, such populations must be very large because it appears that the large amount of genetic variation in Brazil nut populations is maintained by extensive gene flow and bonds of mating over a large area. The genetic architecture of Bertholletia excelsa is similar to that expected for an extensively diploidized paleopolyploid species.
01 Jan 1988
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how changes in adjustment costs as well as in such demand factors as income, influence the decision of households to adjust their housing consumption through moving, and provide evidence indicating adjustment costs are more important than other demand factors in influencing mobility decisions.
Abstract: The role of housing adjustment costs in influencing mobility decisions, and the relationship between these and housing demands is not well understood. Here we try to examine how changes in adjustment costs as well as in such demand factors as income, influence the decision of households to adjust their housing consumption through moving. Empirically, we use a sample of recently moving homeowners from the PSID and provide evidence indicating adjustment costs are more important than other demand factors in influencing mobility decisions. We also argue that sample selection may bias estimates of housing demand elasticities when the sample is restricted to recent movers because the influence of adjustment costs in the mobility decision are not accounted for. Testing for this using the Heckman two-stage procedure, however, showed this was not a significant problem.