The cluster that never was: germ warfare experiments and health authority reality in Dorset

In 1997 intense media coverage raised public concerns about germ warfare simulation experiments conducted by the Ministry of Defence during the 1960s, which included the release of bacteria over Dorset. Families in East Lulworth, Dorset, have linked this with allegedly high rates of miscarriages, still-births, congenital malformations, learning and other neurodevelopmental disabilities in their village. The response of the Dorset Health Authority (DHA) included the examination of background information from the Ministry of Defence, national data on congenital malformations in Dorset, health information collected by campaigners and a systematic health survey conducted by the DHA among former and current residents of East Lulworth. The investigation did not confirm the presence of a cluster. It is debatable whether the DHA should have proceeded with their survey when none of the other more immediately available results indicated the presence of a cluster.     

Changing Attitudes Toward the Homeless: The Effects of Prosocial Communication With the Homeless

One hundred, thirty-four undergraduate students participated in a field experiment designed to examine the effects of extended, prosocial communication with homeless persons, upon attitudes toward the homeless problem, of behavioral intentions towards the homeless, and of causal attributions about homelessness. It was expected that prosocial interaction with the homeless would produce shifts in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the homeless and homelessness and result in greater attributions of external causes to explain homelessness. Nineteen experimental participants worked 15 hours at a local homeless shelter. Their responses to a posttest questionnaire that measured a range of attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the homeless were compared with control participants who did not work at the shelter. Subsequent analyses furnished strong evidence of positive changes in attitudes and intentions toward homelessness among the shelter workers. These participants evaluated homeless people as less blameworthy and more socially attractive than did control participants; moreover, shelter workers indicated more personal responsibility and behavioral commitment to helping the homeless than control participants. They also perceived the homeless problem to be more serious and were more likely to attribute homelessness to bad luck than control participants. However, the two groups were equally likely to attribute homelessness to various external causes such as the economy, housing costs, and governmental policies. The results are interpreted as having policy implications for volunteer service.     

课堂教学中的非语言交流

本文针对课堂教学中人们普遍倾向于重视语言性交流而忽视非语言性交流的这一现象 ,分析了课堂教学中非语言交流行为对学生的学习兴趣及教学效果不容置疑的影响 ,阐明了非语言性交流在课堂教学中的重要性 ,呼吁引起教师们的足够重视 ,把课堂上非语言性的交流置于和语言性交流同等重要的位置上     

关于我国西部地区交通建设的几点建议

交通建设对西部开发有重要意义。本文对此提出几点需要认真研究的问题 ,它们是 :关于西部综合经济区域划分问题 ;关于东西交通通道建设问题 ;关于青藏高原交通建设问题 ;关于发展公路长途运输问题 ;关于西藏地区环境保护问题。     

论全国公共英语等级考试设计特色

比较传统语言测试与交际语言测试,列举各自的优势与不足,分析PETS的设计特色,说明PETS是以交际性测试理论为基础,并借鉴传统语言测试的手法而建立的、全面考查语言运用能力的较为先进的考试体系.     

俄罗斯语言中的文化因素研究

语言的跨文化研究是把语言与文化的研究引向跨时间、全方位、多视角的对比研究,只懂语言并不能解决所有的交际问题,文化起着举足轻重的作用.     

略论体态语与体态语交际

从体态语研究的发展历史、体态语的分类、体态语的特点、体态语与语言语的异同和体态语交际几个方面说明体态语在跨文化交际中的重要作用.     

I~2C总线与PC机接口设计

介绍一种简单、成本低的 I2 C总线与 PC机的接口卡 ,普通微机便可以与 I2 C系列的外接设备数据传输 ,构成一个工业自动化生产过程的监控系统     

高速网实时通信的调度能力

提出了一种通用实时连接调度模型 .在抢先最早预定日期调度策略下 ,给出了任意网络结点上实时连接调度能力的充分必要条件 .在实时通信服务中 ,这些条件形成了 Qo S确定性保证的数学基础 .     

Toward Improving Food Safety in the Domestic Environment: A Multi-Item Rasch Scale for the Measurement of the Safety Efficacy of Domestic Food-Handling Practices

To reduce consumer health risks from foodborne diseases that result from improper domestic food handling, consumers need to know how to safely handle food. To realize improvements in public health, it is necessary to develop interventions that match the needs of individual consumers. Successful intervention strategies are therefore contingent on identifying not only the practices that are important for consumer protection, but also barriers that prevent consumers from responding to these interventions. A measure of food safety behavior is needed to assess the effectiveness of different intervention strategies across different groups of consumers. A nationally representative survey was conducted in the Netherlands to determine which practices are likely conducted by which consumers. Participants reported their behaviors with respect to 55 different food-handling practices. The Rasch modeling technique was used to determine a general measure for the likelihood of an average consumer performing each food-handling behavior. Simultaneously, an average performance measure was estimated for each consumer. These two measures can be combined to predict the likelihood that an individual consumer engages in a specific food-handling behavior. A single "food safety" dimension was shown to underlie all items. Some potentially safe practices (e.g., use of meat thermometers) were reported as very difficult, while other safe practices were conducted by respondents more frequently (e.g., washing of fresh fruit and vegetables). A cluster analysis was applied to the resulting data set, and five segments of consumers were identified. Different behaviors may have different effects on microbial growth in food, and thus have different consequences for human health. Once the microbial relevance of the different consumer behaviors has been confirmed by experiments and modeling, the scale developed in the research reported here can be used to develop risk communication targeted to the needs of different consumer groups, as well as to measure the efficacy of different interventions.