Teaching the history of medicine by case study and small group discussion

A case-study, small-group-discussion (“focal problem”) exercise in the history of medicine was designed, piloted, and evaluated in an overseas course and an on-campus elective course for medical students. Results suggest that this is a feasible approach to teaching history of medicine which can overcome some of the problems often encountered in teaching this subject in the medical curriculum.     

Psychological side effects of breast cancer screening

Evaluated the impact of receiving abnormal mammogram results on women's anxiety and breast cancer worries and on their breast self-examination (BSE) frequency and intentions to obtain subsequent mammograms. A telephone survey was conducted with 308 women 50 years old and older approximately 3 months following a screening mammogram. Subjects included women with suspicious abnormal mammograms, nonsuspicious abnormal mammograms, and normal mammograms. Women with suspicious abnormal mammograms exhibited significantly elevated levels of mammography-related anxiety and breast cancer worries that interfered with their moods and functioning, despite the fact that diagnostic work-ups had ruled out breast cancer. Women with moderate levels of impairment in mood or functioning were more likely to practice monthly BSE than women with either high or low levels of impairment. Breast cancer worries, perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, and physician encouragement to get mammograms all exhibited independent positive relationships to mammogram intentions.     

Canonical correlation and chi-square: relationships and interpretation

A 2 x 2 chi-square can be computed from a phi coefficient, which is the Pearson correlation between two binomial variables. Similarly, chi-square for larger contingency tables can be computed from canonical correlation coefficients. The authors address the following series of issues involving this relationship: (a) how to represent a contingency table in terms of a correlation matrix involving r - 1 row and c - 1 column dummy predictors; (b) how to compute chi-square from canonical correlations solved from this matrix; (c) how to compute loadings for the omitted row and column variables; and (d) the possible interpretive advantage of describing canonical relationships that comprise chi-square, together with some examples. The proposed procedures integrate chi-square analysis of contingency tables with general correlational theory and serve as an introduction to some recent methods of analysis more widely known by sociologists.     

Identity theft and consumers' reaction to preventive technological innovations

The use of identification technology by commercial entities has broad and, for some consumers, disturbing social implications. This two-phase study was done to specify consumers' concerns regarding various identification technologies which may be encountered in retail environments. From the qualitative findings, a 26-item survey was constructed to quantify identified areas of concern with 303 survey participants (147 women and 156 men), whose mean age category was 30 to 39 years. Using exploratory factor analysis (principal components with varimax rotation), five dimensions of consumers' concern emerged: privacy, ethics, health, humanity, and complexity.     

African American Children’s Depressive Symptoms: The Prospective Effects of Neighborhood Disorder, Stressful Life Events, and Parenting

The prospective effects of observed neighborhood disorder, stressful life events, and parents’ engagement in inductive reasoning on adolescents’ depressive symptoms were examined using data collected from 777 African American families. Multilevel analyses revealed that stressful life events experienced at age 11 predicted depressive symptoms at age 13. Furthermore, a significant interaction between neighborhood disorder and parents’ engagement in inductive reasoning was found, indicating that parental use of inductive reasoning was a protective factor for depressive symptoms particularly for youths living in highly disordered neighborhoods. The importance of examining correlates of depressive symptoms from a contextual framework, focusing on individuals, families, and neighborhood contexts, is emphasized.     

Born and raised to be a fraudster

Although a great deal of research has focussed on and continues to focus on fraud prevention and detection, there is still no reliable way to predict who will become a white‐collar criminal/fraudster. Significant benefits would result if and when this can be done. This paper recognizes that there are many common characteristics that exist among fraudsters and investigates whether fraud can be predicted based on the psychological, sociological, and environmental state of children throughout their upbringing. Research shows that children with a negative childhood develop negative habits, emotions, and mentalities, including disorders that can linger well into their adult lives. These negative characteristics can ruin relationships and possibly even influence an individual to commit fraud. This paper provides initial evidence regarding the potential significance of some childhood characteristics that may contribute to the likelihood that someone will become a white‐collar criminal. Given that no other similar research exists, this paper may help guide future researchers who are also attempting to solve this complex problem.     

Intellectual property and biotechnology: the European debate

The European patent system allows for the introduction of moral issues into decisions about the granting of patents. This feature has greatly impacted European debates about the patenting of biotechnology. This essay explores the European experience, in both the European Union and the European Patent Organization. It argues that there has been great confusion surrounding these issues primarily because the Europeans have not developed a general theory about when exclusion from patentability is the best social mechanism for dealing with morally offensive technologies.     

The Effect of a Computerized Decision Aid on the Development of Knowledge

This study provides evidence on how the use of a computerized decision aid affects knowledge acquisition. While the intent of such computer-based decision aids is to improve and support unaided human judgments, it is unclear whether the use of the aids actually facilitate knowledge transfer. Seventy-six subjects completed a hypothetical decision task where one of two types of decision aids was used: an expert system or traditional textual materials. Results suggest that those using a computer-based decision aid acquired and encoded in memory less declarative knowledge than those using textual reference materials. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Moral Disengagement Scale: Extension with an American Minority Sample

This study extended an investigation by A. Bandura, C. Barbaranelli, G. V. Caprara, and C. Pastorelli (1996) by examining the structure, reliability, and correlates of the Moral Disengagement Scale (MDS), which measures disengagement from moral self-sanctions. Furthermore, the role of moral disengagement in the association between parenting and child behavior was examined. Two hundred and forty-five African American single-parent mothers and one of their children (mean age = 11.4 years) participated in the study. The MDS had similar factor structure, internal consistency, and demographic correlates as those reported by A. Bandura et al. (1996) with an Italian sample of children. The MDS also correlated with delinquent and aggressive child behavior, and moral disengagement partially mediated the relationship between parenting and child delinquent behavior.