Research in college health. I: An introduction to the research process

College health professionals are often intimidated by the research process and thus miss opportunities to develop and communicate their ideas. The present article, the first in a series on college health research, describes the basics of the research process, including the purpose and nature of research and the ways in which ideas are developed into research hypotheses. The process of reviewing research literature is described in detail, including methods for computerized searching.     

Representative Designs and Their Challenges

Abstract

In this article, the authors explore three research designs common to college health investigations: survey, epidemiologic, and experimental. They identify the varieties of research questions addressed by these designs and note examples from clinical nursing/medicine, mental health, and health education topics. In addition, the authors summarize the unique challenges encountered in each of these designs, including issues of sample selection, adequate measurement, and control.     

Regression for overdetermined systems: A fisheries example

In trying to establish the relationship between a yearly fisheries recruitment series and meteorological or oceanographic variables such as air pressure or sea surface temperature, we are often faced with the situation where the number of regressors exceeds the number of observations. In this paper we use the techniques of penalized least squares and principal-components regression to determine whether air pressure over the North Atlantic can be used to predict two North Atlantic cod recruitment series. The results suggest that penalized least squares can be very effective in these situations.     

Screening for hypercholesterolemia in college students

Two national panels have recommended similar, specific strategies for detecting hypercholesterolemia: selective screening for children aged 2 to 19, and mass screening for individuals aged 20 and over. It is, however, unclear how best to apply these recommendations to a college student population. In order to determine which strategy is more efficient, this study compared mass with selective screening of college students for hypercholesterolemia. In the mass screening strategy, all entering students were asked to have their cholesterol levels measured and to provide other coronary risk factor information. In the selective screening strategy, all sophomores with a family history of heart disease were asked to participate in a risk factor screening program. In this study, mass screening identified more hypercholesterolemic students with less effort per case found than did selective screening. We recommend that college health practitioners consider mass screening programs to identify students who could benefit from coronary risk reduction.     

Use of a case study in sequencing/scheduling research

This paper describes a study of an industrial sequencing/scheduling problem. The study contains the definition of the problem, data requirements and examination of solution technique. Definition of the problem is discussed from the aspect of uniqueness of the specific system. Discussion of data requirements includes availability and accuracy, while examination of solution technique considers limitation of time, computer capacity, etc., as well as the possibility of imbedding available algorithms into the solution procedure. Conclusions are presented relative to the use of the case study approach in sequencing/scheduling research.     

Human dynamics: A new approach to human behavior

This paper presents a new approach to analyze human behavior and more precisely human performance. It calls upon a system dynamics methodology to develop a general framework for looking at human beings. As an illustration of the approach, one subsystem is described. The global human system is also briefly presented. The contribution of such an approach is illustrated with an example dealing with the study of a worker performance subject to different types of control.     

What's an Oscar worth?

This article examines the impact of an Academy Award nomination and award for best picture, best actor/actress, and best supporting actor/actress on a film's (i) market share of theaters, (ii) average revenue per screen, and (iii) its probability of survival. The model is estimated using weekly box-office data for a matched sample of nominated and non-nominated films. The results indicate substantial financial benefits for a nomination and award for best picture and best actor/actress. The structure of rewards is consistent with that found in two-stage, single-elimination tournaments.     

Spouse selection and earnings: evidence of marital sorting

This article investigates economic bases for individuals'selection of marriage partners. Its central focus is matching of spouse pairs based on unobservable components of hourly earnings. Using a data extract from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we have observations of individuals'wages before and immediately after marriage, along with their spouses'earnings after marriage. We exploit the data to estimate the relation between spouses'wage residuals. The evidence supports positive marital matching on the basis of earnings. The results are robust with respect to variations in the statistical framework of the model.     

How statelessness can force refugees to redefine their ethnicity: what can be learned from Russian émigrés dispersed to six continents in the inter-war period?

This article explores how approximately 400 Russian émigrés living in fifty-eight countries during the inter-war period redefined Russian ethnicity. In responses to an amateur nation-building project, they provided a wide variety of either organic or voluntaristic definitions of Russianness, despite the fact that they were a fairly homogenous group in terms of their political views and their social background. Most of their criteria for determining Russianness were dissimilar to pre-revolutionary conceptions. Yet one overarching feature united their conceptions of Russianness: they were all intent on excluding entire groups of would-be Russians, even though it was in their interests to expand the size of the Russian diaspora. This article argues that statelessness forced Russian émigrés to refine their ethnicity and that the process of defining members of their diaspora nation paralleled their endeavour to create a Russian émigré ethnicity separate from that of Soviet Russians. The criteria they developed to exclude groups and sometimes individuals they encountered abroad mirror the criteria that used to disassociate themselves from Soviet Russians.     

'They More or Less Blended in with Society': Changing Attitudes to European Migrant Workers in Post-war Lancashire

European volunteer workers have received comparatively little attention in the history of British post-war immigration, with greater coverage given to, for example, demobilised members of the Polish Resettlement Corps. This paper is based upon oral history interviews with a group of European immigrants, predominantly European volunteer workers, and local Lancastrians who started work in the Lancashire cotton industry between 1946 and 1951, and examines perceptions of how they integrated into British life in a variety of domains. The paper emphasises that 'blending-in' was context-dependent, with a sense of being welcomed and fitting-in applying to certain domains and in certain situations but not necessarily in others. It argues that migration fosters particular cultural attitudes and practices amongst both migrants and hosts as social identities are produced and reproduced, changed and challenged.