Town–gown relationships: Exploring university–community engagement from the perspective of community members

An increasing number of colleges and universities have developed strategies for community engagement. The engagement, however, has been one-sided in that colleges and universities send students, faculty, and staff members out into the community. The current investigation sought to further broaden the definition of community engagement by exploring the benefits that can be accrued by a university when community members are encouraged to explore the cultural, intellectual, athletic, and artistic benefits that are provided in college and university campuses.     

Characteristics of men and women who complete or exit from an on-line internet sexuality questionnaire: a study of instrument dropout biases

This study compared respondents who completed an Internet sexuality questionnaire and those who dropped out before completion. The study was in Swedish and comprised 3,614 respondents over a 2-week period (53% males, 47% females). There were significant differences between males, of whom 51% dropped out before completion of the 175-item questionnaire, and females, of whom 43% dropped out. Dropout in both genders followed a curve of negative acceleration. The data suggest that dropout is likely to be significant and gender and demographically biased, and to occur significantly earlier for men than for women. Geography, education, sexual orientation, age, relationship status, living arrangements, and Internet connection speed were related to dropout for men, while only relationship status and living arrangements, which were in the opposite direction from men, were related to dropout in women.     

The Public Policy of Motherhood

Parents seeking to balance their work lives with family responsibilities often find the challenge made more difficult by outdated images of the ideal worker, the good mother, and the good father. Social and legal constraints on mothers' choices exacerbate the problem. While other countries have implemented national work/family policies, the climate in the United States seems unreceptive to federal government mandates for meaningful changes in employees' work hours, schedules, and paid leave, or for sweeping new child care subsidies. As a viable interim measure, we propose a statute forbidding discrimination based on family responsibilities, which would tap deeply-felt values about the importance of family caregiving, serve as an important symbolic statement, and be useful to courts.     

Further exploratory analysis of split-plot experiments to study certain stratified effects

Designed experiments are a key component in many companies' improvement strategies. Because completely randomized experiments are not always reasonable from a cost or physical perspective, split-plot experiments are prevalent. The recommended analysis accounts for the different sources of variation affecting whole-plot and split-plot error. However experiments on industrial processes must be run and, consequently analyzed quite differently from ones run in a controlled environment. Such experiments are typically subject to a wide array of uncontrolled, and barely understood, variation. In particular, it is important to examine the experimental results for additional, unanticipated sources of variation. In this paper, we consider how unanticipated, stratified effects may influence a split-plot experiment and discuss further exploratory analysis to indicate the presence of stratified effects. Examples of such experiments are provided, additional tests are suggested and discussed in light of their power, and recommendations given.     

Variability in PAH-DNA Adduct Measurements in Peripheral Mononuclear Cells: Implications for Quantitative Cancer Risk Assessment

Biomarkers such as DNA adducts have significant potential to improve quantitative risk assessment by characterizing individual differences in metabolism of genotoxins and DNA repair and accounting for some of the factors that could affect interindividual variation in cancer risk. Inherent uncertainty in laboratory measurements and within-person variability of DNA adduct levels over time are putatively unrelated to cancer risk and should be subtracted from observed variation to better estimate interindividual variability of response to carcinogen exposure. A total of 41 volunteers, both smokers and nonsmokers, were asked to provide a peripheral blood sample every 3 weeks for several months in order to specifically assess intraindividual variability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-DNA adduct levels. The intraindividual variance in PAH-DNA adduct levels, together with measurement uncertainty (laboratory variability and unaccounted for differences in exposure), constituted roughly 30% of the overall variance. An estimated 70% of the total variance was contributed by interindividual variability and is probably representative of the true biologic variability of response to carcinogenic exposure in lymphocytes. The estimated interindividual variability in DNA damage after subtracting intraindividual variability and measurement uncertainty was 24-fold. Inter-individual variance was higher (52-fold) in persons who constitutively lack the Glutathione S-Transferase M1 (GSTM1) gene which is important in the detoxification pathway of PAH. Risk assessment models that do not consider the variability of susceptibility to DNA damage following carcinogen exposure may underestimate risks to the general population, especially for those people who are most vulnerable.     

Vitamin D and the postmenopausal population

Vitamin D, a hormone critical to the body's maintenance of serum calcium and phosphorus concentrations, is currently the subject of much scientific interest. Low levels of vitamin D have been observed in many populations and epidemiological studies have suggested a link between this biochemical state and a range of diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. While the consequence of vitamin D deficiency is well documented for bone (rickets and osteomalacia), with mixed findings relating to falls and fractures, a causal link between vitamin D deficiency and these wider health outcomes has not been established. If these relationships were found to be causal, the morbidity and mortality resulting from low levels of vitamin D could be substantial; the current evidence base, however, most robustly supports the assessment of serum 25(OH)-vitamin D in the context of specific symptoms, low bone mineral density or biochemical abnormalities, rather than as an entity to treat in its own right or as the basis for a population-wide screening programme.     

Book Review: Theories of the Information Society,Second Edition. By Webster,Frank, New York: Routledge 2002. 304 pages,ISBN 0415282012

Qualitative Sociology -     

Social Protection and Health: Experiences in Uganda

There is an interesting and continuing debate on the nature and role of social protection in poverty reduction. Within the health sector, discussion has focussed on the drawbacks associated with fee exemption schemes and community‐based health insurance, with much less attention paid to the policy option of abolishing user fees. This paper reviews empirical evidence on the impact of the Government of Uganda's decision in 2001 to abolish user fees for health services. The paper finds that this policy intervention has had a significant positive impact on health‐seeking behaviour in Uganda and concludes that this policy measure can make an important contribution towards a more ‘promotional’ policy approach to social protection.