A problem with the EQS V3.0 simulator

The structural equations program EQS V3.0 has proved to be an important tool for research in the field of Monte Carlo simulations. However, when used to replicate a simulation experiment, the simulator has been found to contain a serious flaw which makes it unusable for particularly complex models. This functional anomaly stems from the fact that, from a given replication onward, none of the remaining replications offer adequate and convergent solutions.     

Identifying young people's guidance needs through telephone counseling.

This study examined the needs that young people in Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, expressed in phone calls to a research unit of the Mexican Social Security Institute. Three hundred forty-five calls, from individuals 11 to 24 years old who phoned from June 1995 to November 1998, were analyzed. Two hundred ninety-four of the callers were female and 51 were male. Greater percentages of females than males called to ask about sexuality and family problems. Males more than females asked about reproductive health (particularly pregnancy) and mental health. There were significant differences by gender and age, differences that were not detected in health service statistics. The findings have implications for decision makers and health and education service providers. They point to the need for programs that will reinforce young people's good health practices and help them avoid risky behaviors.     

SAS procedures for approximate randomization tests

Approximate randomization tests are alternatives to conventional parametric statistical methods used when the normality and homoscedasticity assumptions are violated This article presents an SAS program that tests the equality of two means using an approximate randomization test This program can serve as a template for testing other hypotheses, which is illustrated by modifications to test the significance of a correlation coefficient or the equality of more than two means.     

Basic dimensions of work design: new inputs to functional flexibility

Although a lot of research has been developed during the last century in the field of human work design, the results seem to be unsatisfactory. Nowadays, there is renewed interest in this field but it is not producing any new results. This is the main reason why, in our investigation, we have tried to determine the real variables that truly affect the human work design. We have carried out two empirical researches involving 660 and 310 companies, obtaining from both exactly the same results, four factors that confirm the conclusions reached in previous research: demand-adaptation, flexibility-polyvalence, improvement-autonomy and conciliation-participation. We can add that these factors are independent from the environment and the type of technology used by the companies, which does not occur if the size of the enterprise is taken into account.     

Spanish adaptation of the Stepparent Role Strain Index

Stepparent role strain refers to the fragile position of these family members in stepfamilies due to the lack of clear social expectations about their roles. This ambiguity facilitates family conflict and a lack of stepparents' integration into the family system. The aim of this paper is to adapt a pioneer measure of stepparent role strain--the Stepparent Role Strain Index of Whitsett and Land (1992)--in a Spanish sample and to analyze its construct validity. The final instrument is made up of 26 items which have good internal consistency (alpha = .89) and an underlying six-factor structure, explaining 64.50% of the total variance.     

Children's recall and source monitoring of a repeated event using a timeline as an interview aid

Investigators sometimes use timelines (visual depictions of time) to help children identify temporal information from experienced events or details from a particular instance of a repeated event. However, little is actually known about the efficacy of this visual aid on children's memories. Six‐ to 9‐year‐olds participated in four occurrences of a repeated event and were later interviewed with or without the use of a timeline. Children in the timeline condition were less accurate and made more source‐monitoring errors than those in the control condition. For items that appeared consistently throughout the events, a suggestibility effect was more evident for older children who used the timeline than those who did not. Overall, there was no clear evidence in support of the visual aid. Despite its popularity, our findings suggest that timelines should be further examined to establish whether, and under what circumstances, they might be used in investigative contexts.     

预见性的本体论指归

囿于认识论或价值论范围,把有关预见性的一切解释置于本体论解释的视野之外,预见性的本体论根据之追究就会被无端地“搁置”起来,从而处在被“荒漠化”的境地,本体论意义之显现也就会被严实地“遮蔽”起来,即使偶有论及也只处在被“边缘化”的地带。本文由自我认识的诠解引发关于自我认识的预见性研究的本体论和方法论意义,进而集中解说自我认识何以具有预见性,自我认识的预见性有什么特点和表现形式,其存在变化是否具有客观基础暨本体论指归。     

Adapting to Context in Community-Based Participatory Research: “Participatory Starting Points” in a Chinese Immigrant Worker Community

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is increasingly being used to better understand and improve the health of diverse communities. A key strength of this research orientation is its adaptability to community contexts and characteristics. To date, however, few studies explicitly discuss adaptations made to CBPR principles and processes in response to community context and partners’ needs. Using data from our CBPR study, the San Francisco Chinatown Restaurant Worker Health and Safety Project, and drawing from literature on immigrant political incorporation, we examine the links between the contexts of the Chinese immigrant worker community, adaptations made by our collaborative, and study outcomes. In particular, we explore the concepts of contexts of reception and participatory starting points, which may be especially relevant for partnerships with immigrant communities whose members have historically had lower rates of civic and political participation in the US. We discuss contextual findings such as worker partner accounts of language barriers, economic and social marginalization, and civic skills and participation, as well as subsequent adaptations made by the partnership. We also describe the relative effectiveness of these adaptations in yielding equitable participation and building partners’ capacity. We conclude by sharing lessons learned and their implications for CBPR and partnerships with immigrant communities more broadly.     

Experimental evidence of relaxation arising from the motion of geometrical kinks on screw dislocations in iron

Abstract

Internal friction measurements with a superimposed bias stress have provided evidence for geometrical kink migration on screw dislocations in iron. This intrinsic process causes a relaxation phenomenon in internal friction which has been identified with the occurrence of a subpeak (below 20 K) of the α-peak. The effect of different bias stress has allowed us to evaluate the kink migration energy, E ^m _k ? 0·001eV.