Book reviews

Shelter Is Not Enough: Transforming Multi-Storey Housing. Graham Towers. Policy, Bristol, 2000. ISBN 1861341563. 259 pp. RRP £19.99.

Social Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Critical Introduction. Christine Cheyne, Mike O'Brien and Michael Belgrave. Oxford University Press, Auckland, 2000. ISBN 0195584422 (paperback). 275 pp.; bibliography and index. RRP NZ$37.95, A$28.95.

Citizenship and Migration: Globalization and the Politics of Belonging. Stephen Castles and Alastair Davidson. Macmillan, London, 2000. ISBN 0333643100. vii + 258 pp.; RRP $47.00.

Queer City: Gay and Lesbian Politics in Sydney. Craig Johnston and Paul van Reyk (eds). Pluto, Sydney, 2001. ISBN 1864031921. 322 pp. RRP $32.95.

Environmental Planning and Management in New Zealand. P. Ali Memon and Harvey C. Perkins (eds). Dunmore, Palmerston North, rev. edn, 2000. ISBN 086469363X (paperback). 401 pp.; bibliography and index. RRP NZ$66.00.

Resetting the Compass: Australia's Journey Towards Sustainability. David Yencken and Debra Wilkinson. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 2000. ISBN 0643063854 (paperback). 416 pp.; endnotes and index. RRP $39.95.     

A revision of the Job Diagnostic Survey: Elimination of a measurement artifact.

The dimensionality of the original Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) and a revision were investigated. Factor analyses of two data sets identified six dimensions underlying the original JDS. Five of the factors correspond to the pattern expected for the JDS items; the sixth was identified as a measurement artifact. Five of the JDS items were subsequently rewritten to eliminate the artifact. The revised survey was administered to employees of a printing company (N?=?134) and the a priori five-factor solution was obtained with no artifact factor. Scale–factor correlations were also computed. The resulting coefficients suggest that the revised JDS scales are measuring their underlying constructs with reasonable accuracy. As a result of the measurement artifact in the original JDS, it is recommended that the revised JDS should be used in future research concerned with task characteristics. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A software tool for research in linguistics and lexicography: Application to Somali

General-purpose database management systems, whose structure is built in, are not an appropriate solution to situations where problems of translation or areas of research cannot be bounded in advance, for example, when lexicography and linguistic research are closely related. Consequently, an original system has been developed, and is being applied to linguistic and lexicographical data on the Somali language.Jacqueline Lecarme has a master's degree in Lettres Classiques (University of Grenoble, 1969) and a Ph.D. in linguistics (University of Montreal, 1978). Carole Maury has a master's degree and a doctorate in computer science (University of Nice, 1986).     

Evaluating the health risks and benefits of birth control methods

The health risks and benefits of the various methods of birth control vary not only according to the method used, but with the age and other characteristics of the user. For example, the Pill is the most effective and generally the safest method for teenagers. Mortality from Pill use could be reduced enormously if Pill users stopped smoking, if women did not take the Pill past age 35, and if no women took high-dose Pills. If health risks were the only consideration, a woman's safest course would be to start contraception with the Pill, continue with that method for about four years, have the number of children she desires by her mid-twenties, and then persuade her male partner to have a vasectomy. The most notable benefits of contraceptive use are some protection conferred by the Pill against ovarian and endometrial cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, ovarian retention cysts, and iron deficiency anemia; considerable protection by the barrier methods, especially the condom, against sexually transmitted disease, including AIDS; and protection by male and female sterilization against ectopic pregnancy. The major disadvantages are increased risk of heart attack and stroke associated with Pill use (mainly among those over 35 who smoke); significant risk of pelvic inflammatory disease associated with IUD use; surgical complications and anesthesia deaths from sterilization and abortion procedures; and complications of pregnancy from failure of barrier methods and of periodic abstinence.     

Cultural perspectives on contraceptive technology

The cultural setting in which people live influences how they view contraceptives and, ultimately, what method—if any—they decide to use. While a method's effectiveness, safety and convenience always are important to users, these attributes and others may be viewed differently by different groups. If specific attributes are viewed negatively, method acceptability and use will be low. It is imperative that organizations conducting contraceptive research and development take cultural factors into account so that they can design methods that will have broad appeal. Family planning programs and other groups working to introduce and adapt contraceptive methods to specific populations also need to take cultural factors into account in order to develop the most appropriate distribution channels, publicity campaigns, and educational materials. Agencies and programs working to make methods more culturally appropriate must obtain ethnographic data on how people perceive family planning, and integrate this information into their plans.     

Relationship between functional status and the capacity to regulate behavior among elderly persons following hip fracture.

Objective: To assess the relationship between behavioral self-regulation and functional status among older rehabilitation inpatients. Study Design: Prospective outcome study. Setting: Fourteen inpatient rehabilitation units and skilled nursing facilities. Participants: Two hundred twelve older adults following hip fracture or replacement. Measures: Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale, Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale (BDS), and nurse-rated functioning on activities of daily living (ADLs) and the Barthel Index. Results: Risk-adjusted analyses found the BDS to be strongly associated with all 11 ADLs and the Barthel Index. The MMSE made an additional contribution to 4 models. Conclusion: The results suggest that the ability to use intentions to guide purposeful behavior is an important contributor to functioning among older adults, affecting rehabilitation potential. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing a computer workshop to facilitate computer skills and minimize anxiety for early childhood educators.

Early childhood educators (n=133) were assigned to 1 of 3 instructional conditions (direct, guided discovery, or no-exposure control) to assess the impact of computer workshops on their level of computer anxiety, computer knowledge, and comfort with computer technology. Groups were matched for computer experience and anxiety, early childhood education (ECE) experience, and ECE center. The direct and guided discovery groups attended a 3-hr hands-on workshop covering hardware, software, and Internet material. Immediately after the workshops, computer anxiety was lower and comfort with computer technology increased. Six months later, the control group had reduced computer anxiety, but the other groups maintained greater knowledge and comfort. Direct instruction reduced computer anxiety slightly but did not promote the acquisition of information of the guided condition. Overall, workshops provided gains that could translate into more effective and efficient computer use in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal study of cognitions, life events, and depression in psychiatric inpatients.

Administered the Beck Depression Inventory, Attributional Style Questionnaire, Social Readjustment Rating Scale and an irrational beliefs inventory to 47 psychiatric inpatients (mean age 32 yrs) when they were admitted to the hospital, to 32 of them when they were discharged, and to 20 of them 7 mo later. The study tested the models of depression of A. T. Beck (1972) and of L. Y. Abramson et al (see record 1979-00305-001) that predict that stressful life events interact with certain types of cognitions (irrational beliefs in Beck's model; attributions in the Abramson et al model) to produce clinical depression. Results of multiple regression analysis show that severity of depression was related to irrational beliefs, attributions, the interaction of Attributions and Life Events, and the interaction of Attributions and Session. There was no relationship between depression and the interaction of Irrational Beliefs and Life Events. The Attributions?×?Session interaction indicated that the relationship between attributions and depression changed over the period studied; the relationship between irrational beliefs and depression was stable over time. Attributions and irrational beliefs changed over the period studied, indicating that they are not stable, unchanging aspects of personality. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)