On-line Homework/Quiz/Exam applet: Freely available Java software for evaluating performance on line

The Homework/Quiz/Exam applet is a freely available Java program that can be used to evaluate student performance on line for any content authored by a teacher. It has database connectivity so that student scores are automatically recorded. It allows several different types of questions. Each question can be linked to images and detailed story problems. Three levels of feedback are provided to student responses. It allows teachers to randomize the sequence of questions and to randomize which of several options is the correct answer in multiple-choice questions. The creation and editing of questions involves menu selections, buttonpresses, and the typing of content; no programming knowledge is required. The code is open source in order to encourage modifications that will meet individual pedagogical needs.     

Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Factor-Analytic Examination of the Tripartite Model

The tripartite model of Clark and Watson (1981) suggests that the oft-observed covariation between anxiety and depression can best be understood by examining three related yet distinct constructs: negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and elevated physiological arousal. In the present study, 510 boys and girls in the 4th, 7th, and 10th grades completed the Children's Depression Inventory and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the goodness of fit of single-factor (i.e., negative affectivity), two-factor (i.e., anxiety and depression), and three-factor models (i.e., negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and physiological arousal). Analyses were conducted by examining each of the models in the whole sample first and then separately for boys and girls and for fourth, seventh, and tenth grade youths. Results failed to support the tripartite theory; rather, the findings supported a two-factor model in all cases. These factors represented the general constructs of anxiety and depression, and these factors remained significantly interrelated. Consistent with previous findings, the strength of these relations was stronger for boys than girls and for children than adolescents.     

A Self-Management Program for Adolescents and Children with Renal Transplantation

This paper describes the development and implementation of a self-management program designed to address noncompliance in adolescents with renal transplants. Transplantation provides the best treatment alternative for End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), but is a procedure that subsequently demands recipients follow a life-long medication regimen. Nonadherance to medical therapy is a serious problem for adolescents; it is one of the most common causes of chronic graft rejection in this population. To improve compliance rates for this population, a self-management program was designed: (1) to provide social support; (2) to review information about medications and transplant management; and (3) to both teach and provide transplantation patients the opportunity to practice self-management skills. Details about the program, including recruitment issues and session content, are provided. Evaluations by participants indicated that the program was effective in creating a supportive environment for both patients and their parents, and in addressing health-related concerns.     

Predictors of Satisfaction Among College-Educated African American Women in Midlife

There has been little theorizing or empirical research on satisfaction among African American women at midlife. This study addresses this gap by examining predictors of satisfaction in 3 cohorts (N = 202) of midlife college-educated African American women. Specifically, 3 domains of satisfaction were examined: overall life satisfaction, personal satisfaction, and work satisfaction. Results revealed that the women were highly satisfied with their work situation, their personal life, and generally with how their life had turned out so far. Overall life satisfaction was predicted by the women's perceptions of personal control, role quality, household burden, and their cohort status. Work satisfaction was best predicted by the women's sense of personal control and role quality. Lastly, household burden and physical well-being emerged as significant predictors of personal satisfaction. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are offered.     

Transnationalism among African immigrants in North America: The case of Ghanaians in Canada

This paper explores the types and strength of transnational ties between Ghanaian immigrants in Canada and their country of origin. The study finds that Ghanaians maintain various types of ties to Ghana including communication by telephone, repeat migration, cultural activities, and investments, especially in home ownership. The desire for home ownership in Ghana is related to the immigrants' intentions to return there permanently in the future. The immigrants also maintain collective ties to the homeland through a network of ethnic associations in Canada. These associations provide financial support for local economic development in Ghana. They also provide an organizational structure through which the immigrants seek to address their political needs in Ghana.     

The Role of UB Faculty Council During the Strike: Reflections of a Former Striker Crossing a Picket Line

This essay examines the role of the University of Bridgeport's Faculty Council in relation to the faculty union. The Faculty Council is a governing body composed of elected faculty representatives from different schools and departments within the university. Faculty Council leaders facilitated the certification of AAUP as the faculty's bargaining agent in 1973 and, under the author's leadership, the faculty petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to decertify the union in 1991. The author participated on the picket line during the 1975, 1978 and 1987 faculty strikes, but crossed the picket line during the 1990 strike.     

Cognitive Induction of Anger and Depression: The Role of Power, Attribution, and Gender

The causes of and contributors to negative emotions have been areas of interest in psychology for decades. Recent work has shown a variety of negative emotions, including anger and depression, to be related. The present study investigated the effects of power, attributional style, and gender on anger and depression using a series of narrative mood inductions presented to 120 undergraduates. Results indicated that participants in the external attribution and low power conditions demonstrated significantly higher levels of postinduction anger than those in other conditions. In addition, the influence of internal attributions on postinduction depression scores approached significance. The effectiveness of the study's mood induction methodology is discussed and suggestions are made for future research.     

Psychotherapeuten ins Internet

This contribution provides recommendations and guidelines for the development of a Web site for psychotherapists, whereby the conception of the presentation predominates. In comparison, practical realisation and care of the site require only a relatively small effort. The way to a Web appearance is presented in seven steps. In addition, the way to deal with (unwanted) e-mail will be considered. The article is centered on clarity and practice orientation.     

Cytokine-Purine Interactions in Behavioral Depression in Rats

This paper reviews recent findings from our laboratories concerning metabolic and immune mediators of behavioral depression in rats. Specifically, a single injection of 6 mg/kg of reserpine substantially increases behavioral depression, as evidenced by an increase in the amount of time spent floating by independent groups of rats tested for swim performance at various times during the next week. The behavioral impairment consists of two components. An early component emerges one hour after reserpine treatment and persists for about 24 hours. The deficit is not reversed by intracranial ventricular infusion of the receptor antagonist for interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). A second, late-component deficit appears approximately 48 hours after reserpine treatment and recovers within a week. Late-component depression is reversed by central infusion of the IL-1beta receptor antagonist, and is mimicked by central infusion of the proinflammatory cytokine. Importantly, both early and late components of reserpine-induced depression and IL-1beta induced depression are reversed by a systemic injection of the highly selective A2A adenosine receptor antagonist 8-(3-Chlorostyryl) caffeine. These data are discussed in terms of the overlap in the conservation-withdrawal reaction during sickness, traumatic stress, and major depression and the regional contribution of purines and cytokines to the organization of this reaction in the brain.