Teachers' beliefs about former Head Start and non-Head Start first-grade children's motivation, performance, and future educational prospects.

The authors examined 33 first grade teachers' beliefs about their pupils' ability, effort, and interest in different academic tasks, making friends, and sports; how much education teachers thought children could and actually would achieve; and their expectations for children's next year's grades. Eighty-three of the children were former Head Start participants, and 55 were not. Teachers' beliefs and expected grades for the children were least positive in the academic areas. Teachers thought the children were capable of achieving a significantly higher level of education than they thought children actually would achieve. Teachers' beliefs about the former Head Start and non-Head Start children were similar, but teachers' beliefs did significantly differ by the children's ethnicity. Teachers' beliefs predicted children's test performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategic planning in the community pharmacy

The extent and quality of strategic planning by community pharmacy owners and/or managers was assessed. Also examined were factors that may explain respondents use of the strategic planning process. A mail questionnaire on strategic planning yielded a total of 562 usable surveys (37.4% response rate). An unexpectedly small proportion (less than 31%) of respondents reported using strategic planning. Respondents who conducted strategic planning rated significantly higher the time available for their knowledge of, and the importance of strategic planning than those respondents who did not conducts strategic planning.     

Tissue management needs for adhesive dentistry now and in the future

Hemostasis and other tissue control has always been important for proper impression making; however, the need for these procedures has never been more present than in contemporary adhesive dentistry. Bondable restorations demand as contaminant-free a field as possible. This article provides a simple and effective method for addressing hemostasis and sulcular fluid control for soft tissue management in adhesive dentistry.     

Perspective on the integration of substance user needs assessment and treatment planning

In the 1970s and 1980s, several techniques for assessing the needs for substance user treatment were developed. Generally these techniques relied upon the data developed from large-scale data-gathering systems, originally designed to assess the capacity of the substance user treatment system nationwide. The need assessment techniques generally require making estimates of the prevalence of substance use disorders in the population and then applying them to the national utilitization experience. As first attempts often do, these approaches tended to simplify complex problems and tended to rely too heavily on the only available data. The result was that they tended to reify current practice rather than to define best practice. In the 1990s, new challenges face those attempting to assess needs for substance user services. As a result of the last decade's emphasis on cost containment, new concepts have challenged traditional views of needs assessment. This paper will discuss those new concepts and their impact on the needs assessment endeavor. In particular, the impact of the concept of medical necessity will be examined.     

Introduction to community psychology in Canada: Past, present, and future.

The introduction to the special section on community psychology in Canada provides background information about the field in Canada and provides summaries of the four articles and the commentary that comprise the issue. The articles address (a) theory, research, and practice in community psychology; (b) training in community psychology; (c) community psychology practice; and (d) a vision for the future of community psychology in Canada. These articles highlight the many contributions of Canadian community psychologists to a field that is growing throughout the world to address pressing social problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The local community as a life environment for the elderly--on the future role of the community in supporting the elderly

Current and recent internal medicine residents were surveyed on their level of confidence in practicing operational medicine, satisfaction with graduate medical education, the impact of TRICARE, the military managed care plan, on their patients and education, and intentions on remaining in uniformed service. Their sentiments were recorded on a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 3 = neutral, 5 = strongly disagree). Two hundred twenty-one of the 294 surveys were returned (75.2%). Most physicians felt unprepared to perform duties in a nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare environment, or handle administrative aspects of operational medicine (mean scores, 3.2-3.7). A majority of respondents felt satisfied with the quality of their residency experience (mean score, 1.9). Although more than half of those surveyed (53.6%) listed the opportunity to teach residents as a top factor influencing their retention decision, most felt skeptical that graduate medical education would remain important in the future (mean score, 3.6). Most physicians agreed that restriction of TRICARE to patients less than 65 years old may degrade the quality of military internal medicine residencies (mean score, 1.6). Previous service, Reserve Officer Training Corps experience, and graduation from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences were factors associated with increased physician intention to remain beyond their obligated service. The most common factors inducing physicians to leave the military included frequent deployments, relocations, and financial compensation. Factors cited most frequently as influencing physicians to stay on active duty included high-quality colleagues, opportunities for teaching residents, and freedom from malpractice and office management details.     

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in the Community of Valencia: current situation, study of needs and future prospects]

Experimental simian varicella virus (SVV) infection of St. Kitts vervet monkeys was evaluated as an animal model to investigate human varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infections. During the incubation period, viremia disseminated infectious virus throughout the body via infected peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). A vesicular skin rash in the inguinal area, and on the abdomen, extremities, and face appeared on day 7-10 postinfection. Necrosis and hemorrhage in lung and liver tissues from acutely infected monkeys were evident upon histologic analysis. Recovery from simian varicella was accompanied by a rise in the serum neutralizing antibody response to the virus. SVV latency was established in trigeminal ganglia of monkeys which resolved the acute infection. This study indicates that experimental SVV infection of St. Kitts vervets is a useful animal model to investigate SVV and VZV pathogenesis and to evaluate potential antiviral agents and vaccines.     

Strategic planning of the master programme in health informatics at Aalborg University: targeting and updating the programme, to meet explicit customer needs

Education is essentially giving people new skills and qualifications to fulfil certain tasks. In planning and managing educational programmes it is crucial to know what skills and what qualifications are needed to carry out the tasks in question, not to mention the importance of knowing what tasks are relevant to carry out. The programme in health informatics at Aalborg University produces health informatics professionals. The students are developing skills in solving informatics problems in health care organisations. The programme has been running for 3 years now and to maintain the perception of the aim for the programme a number of activities have been launched. In the following, the programme will be presented, the activities to obtain information on how to keep the programme targeted and updated will be described and the changes that are going to be introduced will be outlined.     

Strategic planning in a school of health related professions: organizational transformation for the future

The School of Health Related Professions (SHRP) at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been in existence for over a quarter of a century. During this time, it expanded and grew to offering 34 individual programs at the time of its silver anniversary. A concerted strategic planning process over two years has resulted in the School pursuing major organizational transformations to better align itself with the rest of the University's academic health center, to maximize its resources, and to refine its niche in academia. The strategic planning process used and major outcomes are described for the potential benefit of other schools of health related professions desiring to pursue introspection for future survival.     

Utility of intelligence tests for treatment planning, classification, and placement decisions: Recent empirical findings and future directions.

Intelligence testing in schools continues to be a frequent behavior among many school psychologists that creates a lucrative market for test publishers. Each year, between 1.5 and 1.8 million intelligence tests are administered by school psychologists. The typical school psychologist spends approximately two-thirds of his or her time in special education eligibility determination. This article maintains that intelligence tests contribute little if any information useful for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instructional interventions for children. This argument is supported by the virtual absence of empirical evidence supporting the existence of aptitude?×?treatment interactions. We also suggest that intelligence tests are not particularly useful in making differential diagnostic and classification determinations for children with mild learning problems. Further, school study teams often ignore results of intelligence testing in making classification and placement decisions. We argue that intelligence testing is not a cost-beneficial use of school psychologists' time and should be replaced with assessment procedures directly related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of instructional interventions for children and youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Present systems and future needs for risk assessment of veterinary biologicals in Australia: the perspective of the regulator

The increasing range and complexity of biologicals, and the greater demand for these products, have resulted in a greater volume of trade in animal-based biological material. This has given rise, in turn, to many approaches to the regulation of importation of these materials, as countries seek protection against the introduction of disease. Harmonization of these regulatory approaches would contribute significantly to the availability of veterinary biologicals, to their manufacture and trade, and to disease security. Australia has developed systems for the categorisation and evaluation of biologicals, control by import permits, and specific procedures at point-of-entry and in institutions where these products are used. Computerised records and precedents assist in evaluation and in the issuing of permits. Recognition that some materials must be subject to further control has led to a system of registration of institutions based on levels of biosecurity, and approved use and disposal programmes. Institutions vary from high-security animal health laboratories to human in vitro fertilisation clinics, which use animal-derived media and materials. Such institutions are regulated through quality assurance contracts. Quarantine authorities have linkages with other agencies which have an interest in these products. These linkages reflect the administrative structures of government in Australia, and provide for management of all forms of risk. The author describes these systems and overviews their biological basis.     

Innovative service redesign and resource reallocation: responding to political realities, mental health reform and community mental health needs

General hospital mental health programs in large inner city communities face challenges in developing responsive services for populations facing high rates of serious mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, and poverty. In addition provincial political pressures such as Mental Health Reform and hospital restructuring have caused general hospital mental health programs to reevaluate how services are delivered and resources are allocated. This paper describes how one inner city mental health service in a university teaching setting developed successful strategies to respond to these pressures. Strategies included: (a) merging two general hospital mental health services to pool resources; (b) allocating resources to innovative care delivery models consistent with provincial reforms and community needs; (c) fostering staff role changes, job transitions, and the development of new professional competencies to complement the innovative care delivery models; and (d) developing processes to evaluate the effects of these changes on client.     

Collaboratively envisioning the future of community psychology in Canada: From talk to action.

Community Psychology (CP) is a relatively young and marginalized discipline in Canada, with only four graduate programs, concentrated in two provinces–Ontario and Québec. Recognising the need to develop cohesion and an identity as a field, several senior Canadian community psychologists proposed hosting a biennial conference, which began in 2002 at the University of Ottawa. Starting in 2006, the conference became a forum for CP faculty, students, and community partners to collaboratively develop a vision for the future of CP in Canada. Diverse teams of conference participants were engaged in facilitated discussions, culminating in a plenary session in which delegates shared their perspectives with the larger group. Eight themes emerged from the visioning exercises in 2006, which led to the development of special interest groups in the following areas: developing a sense of identity; clarifying and defining the field of CP; raising the profile of CP in Canada; promoting a CP education across Canada; enhancing recognition, credibility, and accreditation; establishing links within the field of psychology; building interdisciplinary bridges; international and diverse perspectives; and promoting healthy communities through grassroots social action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding planning ability measured by the Tower of London: An evaluation of its internal structure by latent variable modeling.

The Tower of London (TOL) is a widely used instrument for assessing planning ability. Inhibition and (spatial) working memory are assumed to contribute to performance on the TOL, but findings about the relationship between these cognitive processes are often inconsistent. Moreover, the influence of specific properties of TOL problems on cognitive processes and difficulty level is often not taken into account. Furthermore, it may be expected that several planning strategies can be distinguished that cannot be extracted from the total score. In this study, a factor analysis and a latent class regression analysis were performed to address these issues. The results showed that 4 strategy groups that differed with respect to preplanning time could be distinguished. The effect of problem properties also differed for the 4 groups. Additional analyses showed that the groups differed on average planning performance but that there were no significant differences between inhibition and spatial working memory performance. Finally, it seemed that multiple factors influence performance on the TOL, the most important ones being the score measurements, the problem properties, and strategy use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Watchman, what of the future?

Two Rorschachs were inadvertenly administered to the same client within a period of three months. Althoug the ensuing personality pictures were very similar, an important difference appeared. The first Rorschach report stopped with the client's present condition. The second report saw the protocol as an interim Rorschach, suggesting the possibility that positive changes could lie ahead, if the client were given the appropriate help. The point is made that unwittingly, examiners may do their clients harm by not thinking ahead, in a way which the Rorschach uniquely makes possible. The Rorschach record and graph are presented, along with the various evidences of potential change. In conclusion, a problem is raised concerning the obligation inherent in the examiner-client relationship.