教育与人的发展

从"教育"与"人的发展"这两个术语的定义,以及"人的发展"这一术语近来多次出现的背景及其所带来的对教育的不同规定,论述教育与个体发展的相互作用、个体发展的两个尺度,以及在这一问题研究方面所取得的成就与面临的挑战。鉴于目前人们对教育的看法过于狭隘,建议扩大教育的范围,将价值观念、性格、责任感和情感文化等也纳入教育的范畴。     

New Approaches in Risk Assessment for Carcinogens

Methods are needed to improve the ability of biomonitoring and epidemiological studies to identify potential carcinogenic hazards and to quantify human risk. The limitations of pharmacokinetic models can be mitigated by the direct measurement of molecular markers of biologically effective dose of carcinogen. Parallel animal and human studies are recommended as a means of validating these markers.     

Bicycle ergometry in subacute-stroke survivors: feasibility, safety, and exercise performance

This study evaluated the feasibility, safety, and findings from a protocol for exercise-bicycle ergometry in subacute-stroke survivors. Of 117 eligible candidates, 14 could not perform the test and 3 discontinued because of cardiac safety criteria. In the 100 completed tests, peak heart rate was 116 +/- 19.1 beats/min; peak VO(2) was 11.4 +/- 3.7 ml x kg x min(-1), peak METs were 3.3 +/- 0.91, exercise duration was 5.1 +/- 2.84 min, and Borg score was 14 +/- 2.6. Among 71 tests, anaerobic threshold was achieved in 3.0 +/- 1.7 min with a VO(2) of 8.6 +/- 1.7 ml x kg x min(-1). After screening, this protocol is feasible and safe in subacute-stroke survivors with mild to moderate deficits. These stroke survivors have severely limited functional exercise capacity. Research and clinical practice in stroke rehabilitation should incorporate more comprehensive evaluation and treatment of endurance limitations.     

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.     

A Goodness of Fit Test for the Multilevel Logistic Model

It is crucial to test the goodness of fit of a model before it is used to make statistical inferences. However, no satisfactory goodness of fit test is available for the case of categorical multilevel data which occur when categorical data are clustered or hierarchical in nature. Hence the aim of this paper is to develop a new goodness of fit test for multilevel binary data based on Hosmer and Lemeshow and Lipsitz et.al. In order to identify the properties of the developed test, simulation studies were carried out to assess the Type I error and the power.     

Normal Theory and Bootstrap Confidence Interval Estimation in Assessing Diagnostic Performance Gain When Combining Two Diagnostic Tests

Many diagnostic tests may be available to identify a particular disease. Diagnostic performance can be potentially improved by combining. “Either” and “both” positive strategies for combining tests have been discussed in the literature, where a gain in diagnostic performance is measured by a ratio of positive (negative) likelihood ratio of the combined test to that of an individual test. Normal theory and bootstrap confidence intervals are constructed for gains in likelihood ratios. The performance (coverage probability, width) of the two methods are compared via simulation. All confidence intervals perform satisfactorily for large samples, while bootstrap performs better in smaller samples in terms of coverage and width.     

Pathway to Financial Success: Autonomy Through Financial Education in India

ABSTRACT

This study evaluates attitudinal outcome of financial education workshops on the financial autonomy of the participants (homemakers) in the state of Gujarat, India. A series of financial education workshops were conducted with 300 female homemakers. A pretest and follow-up (after 3 months) survey design was used to assess changes. The survey identified 3 types of autonomy outcomes (reflexive, emotional, and functional) using 15 variables. Data were analyzed using a paired t test, and significant results were obtained between the pretest and follow-up surveys. Specific findings may help financial education providers to design and implement such programs more effectively and may provide guidelines to assess their effect. Directions for future research are suggested.     

A theory-based approach to understanding sexual behavior at Mardi Gras

Using the Triandis Model of Interpersonal Behavior (TIB), we considered the unique context of Mardi Gras, the annual festival in New Orleans, Louisiana, and how it might influence sexual behavior. This study utilized a two-stage, qualitative and quantitative methodological framework. Focus groups of past Mardi Gras participants were held to gather data to inform the development of the study instruments, and data were subsequently collected from 300 Mardi Gras participants in February 2004 using a pencil-and-paper questionnaire. For women, the TIB model did not significantly predict intentions to engage in sexual behavior at Mardi Gras. Cognitive beliefs and subjective social norms predicted intentions to engage in oral and vaginal sex among male participants. For men and women, peer sexual activity, intentions, and previous sexual experience predicted engaging in sexual behaviors at Mardi Gras. Situational conditions related to Mardi Gras culture predicted anal sex behavior. The TIB, as a guiding framework for the study, makes apparent the importance of cultural context when developing interventions related to sexuality that are to be implemented in a specific setting like Mardi Gras.     

Modeling Exposure to Air Pollution from the WTC Disaster Based on Reports of Perceived Air Pollution

We examined the utility of a newly developed perceived air pollution (PAP) scale and of a modeled air pollution (MAP) scale derived from it for predicting previously observed birth outcomes of pregnant women enrolled following September 11, 2001. Women reported their home and work locations in the four weeks after September 11, 2001 and the PAP at each site on a four-point scale designed for this purpose. Locations were geocoded and their distance from the World Trade Center (WTC) site determined. PAP values were used to develop a model of air pollution for a 20-mile radius from the WTC site. MAP values were assigned to each geocoded location. We examined the relationship of PAP and MAP values to maternal characteristics and to distance of home and work sites from the WTC site. Both PAP and MAP values were highly correlated with distance from the WTC. Maternal characteristics that were associated with PAP values reported for home or work sites (race, demoralization, material hardship, first trimester on September 11) were not associated with modeled MAP values. Relationships of several birth outcomes to proximity to the WTC, which we previously reported using this data set, were also seen when MAP values were used as the measure of exposure, instead of proximity. MAP developed from reports of PAP may be useful to identify high-risk areas and predict health outcomes when there are multiple sources of pollution and a "distance from source" analysis is impossible.