The conical structure of adjustive behavior

Wellbeing and coping have usually been treated as separate topics in previous research. The present study proposes a general framework for adjustive behavior which incorporates both previous topics as special cases. This framework shows definitional similarities and differences among wellbeing, coping and further special cases. Empirical data are presented which show a correspondence between the facets of the definitional system and the matrix of intercorrelations of the variables defined thereby. The correspondence is that of a conex, that is, the facets correspond to a conical coordinate system for the SSA space that reproduces the correlation matrix.The data were gathered as part of the Continuing Survey conducted jointly by the Israel Institute of Applied Social Research and the Hebrew University's Communications Institute. The population sampled is the adult urban and rural Jewish population of Israel, over 20 years of age in mid-December 1977. Interviews were conducted in the home through closed questionnaires, 27 of the items being of adjustive behavior.     

Quantifying Potential Health Impacts of Cadmium in Cigarettes on Smoker Risk of Lung Cancer: A Portfolio-of-Mechanisms Approach

This article introduces an approach to estimating the uncertain potential effects on lung cancer risk of removing a particular constituent, cadmium (Cd), from cigarette smoke, given the useful but incomplete scientific information available about its modes of action. The approach considers normal cell proliferation; DNA repair inhibition in normal cells affected by initiating events; proliferation, promotion, and progression of initiated cells; and death or sparing of initiated and malignant cells as they are further transformed to become fully tumorigenic. Rather than estimating unmeasured model parameters by curve fitting to epidemiological or animal experimental tumor data, we attempt rough estimates of parameters based on their biological interpretations and comparison to corresponding genetic polymorphism data. The resulting parameter estimates are admittedly uncertain and approximate, but they suggest a portfolio approach to estimating impacts of removing Cd that gives usefully robust conclusions. This approach views Cd as creating a portfolio of uncertain health impacts that can be expressed as biologically independent relative risk factors having clear mechanistic interpretations. Because Cd can act through many distinct biological mechanisms, it appears likely (subjective probability greater than 40%) that removing Cd from cigarette smoke would reduce smoker risks of lung cancer by at least 10%, although it is possible (consistent with what is known) that the true effect could be much larger or smaller. Conservative estimates and assumptions made in this calculation suggest that the true impact could be greater for some smokers. This conclusion appears to be robust to many scientific uncertainties about Cd and smoking effects.     

School-based interventions with depressed minority adolescents

School-based approaches to intervention with depressed minority adolescents is discussed within a preventive framework. The symptomatology and epidemiology of depression is presented as it pertains to minority group adolescents. Specific suggestions for school-based services, the uses of school-based mental health professionals, and for coordination with mental health agencies are provided.     

THE METRICS OF STYLE: ADAM SMITH TEACHES EFFICIENT RHETORIC

Does style matter for economic writing? Several stylistic characteristics of ninety-seven AEA presidential addresses, including word length, sentence length and percent of sentences in the passive voice, were computed and used to explain citations to these economists' work. Avoidance of the passive is an old stylistic norm given by Adam Smith. Word length and sentence length serve as modern stylistic norms. Only the percent passive matters to explain citations. Perhaps not coincidentally, while writing clarity in our data set has declined over time when measured by the new norm, it has improved when measured by the old norm.     

Runaway Reactions, Their Courses, and the Methods to Establish Safe Process Conditions

The purpose of this paper is to describe the various process deviations which can cause a runaway reaction to occur, and to discuss the experimental information necessary for risk assessment, the choice of a safe process, and the mitigation of the consequences of the runaway reaction. Ten typical hazardous process situations have been identified, considering various modes of initiation, homogeneous and heterogeneous, Arrhenius, and autocatalytic reactions. Each possible hazardous process deviation is illustrated by examples from the process industry and/or relevant experimental information obtained from laboratory experiments.     

The influence of rural-urban migration on migrants' fertility in Korea,Mexico and Cameroon

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the relationship between rural-urban migration and fertility in Korea, Mexico, and Cameroon. Using an autoregressive model, the results show a significant rural-urban migration adaptation effect in Korea and Mexico, a reduction of 2.57 and 1.45 children during the entire childbearing period, respectively, when compared to a rural stayer, even after the effect of selection has been controlled. Rural-urban migration has a very small impact on fertility in Cameroon. The unexpected result for Cameroon is due to the fact that the fertility-increasing effect of urban residency on the improved supply conditions of births, such as reduced infertility, offsets the fertility-depressing effect of urban residency on the demand for births. As a result of the adaptation to urban fertility norms, the number of country-wide births was reduced significantly in Mexico and Korea over the time periods studied.