Asian American, Black, and White college students' preferences for help-giving sources.

250 undergraduates (18 Asian Americans, 116 Blacks, and 116 Whites) were asked to rank order 12 help givers for educational/vocational and emotional problems. Rankings of help sources under the 2 problem types did not differ significantly for the group as a whole or for any subgrouping by sex or ethnic group. Although none of the obtained differences between groups or problem type were significant, the directions of the small intergroup variations in help source rankings did support other studies' findings regarding Blacks and Asian Americans. Additionally, the total groups' rankings had implications for formal campus help-giving agencies in that students identified parents, nonstudent friends, relatives, and counseling centers as among the 5 most preferred help sources. Implications for refinements in such research are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonverbal communication and counseling outcome.

Nonverbal abilities and behaviors and verbal–nonverbal (VB–NVB) congruence of both counselor and client were studied in relation to judgments by counselors and clients of counseling outcome. 40 university students were clients; 20 counseling or clinical psychology graduate students were counselors. 40 counseling dyads were videotaped during 30-min counseling sessions. NVB abilities were assessed by the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity and an encoding task. Raters judged the presence of 7 NVB behaviors for each 5-sec segment of the videotaped session. Congruence was measured through postsession recall by counselor and client of consistency of feelings expressed through VB and NVB channels of communication. Only VB–NVB congruence was significantly related to outcome, suggesting that the NVB dimension is important primarily as it interacts with the VB dimension. Recommendations are made for use of new methodologies in future research to examine the complex interactions involving NVB communication. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating the effectiveness of career interventions.

Presents empirically based recommendations to facilitate the effectiveness of career counseling and career development interventions. Previous evaluations of career interventions are reviewed. The majority of such evaluations focused on only one type of intervention, often not including a control group and only rarely attending to client attributes that might differentially affect the results of the intervention. The present review focuses on all of those evaluations that examined (a) the influence of client attributes on outcomes and/or (b) the differential effects of 2 or more interventions. Reviews of the literature evaluating the effectiveness of educational instruction and psychotherapy provide the empirical bases for specifying contrasting parameters of interventions, and demographic and psychosocial characteristics of participants that may moderate the effectiveness of diverse types of interventions. Recommendations are provided for designing evaluation studies incorporating cost–benefit analyses and for determining the effects of client attributes and differential treatment parameters. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From one species to another: A review on the interaction between chemistry and microbiology in relation to cleaning in the built environment

Since the advent of soap, personal hygiene practices have revolved around removal, sterilization, and disinfection—both of visible soil and microscopic organisms—for a myriad of cultural, aesthetic, or health‐related reasons. Cleaning methods and products vary widely in their recommended use, effectiveness, risk to users or building occupants, environmental sustainability, and ecological impact. Advancements in science and technology have facilitated in‐depth analyses of the indoor microbiome, and studies in this field suggest that the traditional “scorched‐earth cleaning” mentality—that surfaces must be completely sterilized and prevent microbial establishment—may contribute to long‐term human health consequences. Moreover, the materials, products, activities, and microbial communities indoors all contribute to, or remove, chemical species to the indoor environment. This review examines the effects of cleaning with respect to the interaction of chemistry, indoor microbiology, and human health.     

Diagnostic value of ECG patterns of right ventricular hypertrophy in children

OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic value of traditional criteria of right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) in children. PATIENTS: The electrocardiograms (ECGs) of 1000 consecutive pediatric patients were reviewed. Children under three months old were excluded as were patients with QRS prolongation. RESULTS: Four hundred and thirty-four patients met all inclusion criteria. The medical records were then reviewed for diagnosis. Sixty-seven per cent had a diagnosis compatible with RVH. Of the ECG patterns evaluated, a precociously upright T wave in lead V1 was most predictive with 99% specificity. Presence of a QR complex in lead V1 had a 96% specificity but R:S ratio, voltage criteria and rSR' incomplete right bundle branch block pattern had intermediate specificities of 66%, 66% and 52%, respectively. Sensitivities of 12.6%, 13.2%, 34.0%, 63.3% and 74.2% were calculated for upright T, QR complex, R:S ratio, voltage criteria and rSR', respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An upright T wave or qR pattern are highly specific but insensitive markers of RVH in children. In contrast, when an incomplete right bundle branch block exists, the rSR' pattern is a relatively sensitive but nonspecific predictor of RVH.     

Expectancies and the outcome of a career development intervention.

Investigated 2 hypotheses regarding course outcome expectancies of students: (a) Expectancies assessed by E. E. Lawler's (1973) theory are better predictors of outcomes than the more frequently used global ratings of expectancies; and (b) the full Lawler expectancy model is a better predictor of outcome than its component parts. Outcome measures included appropriateness of (determined by the Vocational Preference Inventory), and attitudes toward, educational and vocational choices as well as career exploration behavior. Ss were 85 undergraduates enrolled in an academic course designed to help students make a career choice. The Lawler model of expectancy was not found to be a better predictor of outcome than were the other measures of expectancy. Expectancy–outcome relationships were strongest for attitudinal outcomes and weakest for the career-exploration behaviors. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)