Multistage Modeling of Lung Cancer Mortality Among Arsenic-Exposed Copper-Smelter Workers

Multistage modeling incorporating a time-dependent exposure pattern is applied to lung cancer mortality data obtained from a cohort of 2802 arsenic-exposed copper-smelter workers who worked 1 or more years during the period 1940-1964 at a copper smelter at Tacoma, Washington. The workers were followed for death through 1976. There were 100 deaths due to lung cancer during the follow-up period. Exposures to air arsenic levels measured in micrograms/m3 were estimated from departmental air arsenic and workers urinary arsenic measurements. Relationships of different temporal variables with excess death rates are examined to judge qualitatively the implications of the multistage cancer process. Analysis to date indicates a late stage effect of arsenic although an additional early stage effect cannot be ruled out.     

Measuring the quality of life in rural community development

The authors developed a systemic measure instrument, consiting of 45 tenets of community life, which was tested on rural communities consisting mostly of illiterate farm labourers. The measurement was done by community members them-selves, with very little guidance, but with great success, especially due to the fact that they were involved and could see changes as well as problems that needed further attention.     

Book reviews

M. Bonnes, G: Secchiaroli: Psicologia Ambientale, Introduzione alla Psicologia Sociale dell’ Ambiente (Environmental psychology, introduction to social environmental psychology) Nuova Italia Scientifica, Roma, 1992, pp. 276, L. 39.000     

Cultural Contradictions and Sex Roles Revisited: a Replication and a Reassessment*

The Komarovsky-Wallin thesis of women's pretending inferiority in dating situations was replicated (287 women) and is challenged. Questions are raised as to the appropriate collapsing of categories of responses and the incidence of pretended inferiority in relation to number of dates. Data from a comparison sample of men (318 men) are also presented. Evidence does not sustain the belief of women's pretensions of inferiority.     

What the Other Half Thinks: the Implications of Female Perceptions for Work Demands*

Three hundred fifty-three registered nurses were asked their perceptions of the economic need for continued employment, the “threat” to the husband if her salary was greater than his, and the husband's view of the need for his wife's employment. Most did not feel their husbands would be threatened if their wives had a greater income. Respondents generally saw a greater economic need than they felt their husbands did. A comparison is made between the perceptions of our sample and what other research indicated are the perceptions of men.     

Providing psychiatric-mental health care for Native Americans: lessons learned by a non-Native American PMHNP

Providing culturally sensitive psychiatric-mental health nursing care to Native Americans requires a unique set of understandings. Traditional tribal customs and beliefs, historical events of the past 500 years, and acculturation and enculturation have affected Native Americans' health and well-being. In 2004, I had the opportunity to practice as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner with a Native American tribe in the southwestern United States. This article describes the lessons I learned while practicing on the reservation and suggests ways other non-Native American practitioners can best serve this population.     

Optimal and efficient treatment control design in the heteroscedastic one-way layout with covariates

In this article, we take up the experimental situation of a heteroscedastic one-way layout model in the presence of a set of controllable covariates. For the joint estimation of the elementary contrasts of a set of test treatments with a control and the effects of covariates, sufficient conditions for the existence of an A-optimal design are identified. When these sufficient conditions are not met, we propose highly A-efficient designs. The methods of construction of A-optimal and highly A-efficient designs are discussed. For different values of the parameters of the design, A-efficiency of the proposed designs are tabulated for a comparative study.