Examining the relationship between gender and drug-using behaviors in adolescents: the use of diagnostic assessments and biochemical analyses of urine samples

The present study examined the relationship between gender and drug-use among adolescents using diagnostic assessments and biochemical analyses of urine samples. The data were collected in the context of a referral and assessment program for adolescents suspected of using drugs, using the Adolescent Substance Battery [1]. A six-month random sample of 20 percent of adolescents assessed for drug use were targeted for biochemical assay. Compliance for urine delivery was relatively high at 91 percent. Urine samples were quantitatively screened for pharmaceuticals using a standard thin-layer chromatography (TLC) technique [2]. Statistical significance was found in the relationship between gender and marijuana use (p < .05). This study confirms that gender and drug-using behaviors among adolescents need additional research and evaluation.     

Achieving proficiency in various specialized literacies

The primary purpose of this article is to share conceptualizations of selected specialized literacies, such as scientific, health and technological literacy, that are moving from boundaried work environments to the world at large, Secondly, We relate those conceptualiztions to the attributes of the adult literate reader that are necessary for world in general. The final goal is to develop preliminary guidelines for the specialist to use with the general public when communicating ideas from the specialized environment.     

Corporate planning using government information systems

Agencies of the U.S. Government collect large quantities of data some of which are useful for private firms (eg) in developing long-range plans. However a problem arises in that considerable time may elapse before the data is published. As a result it often becomes too old for companies to use if they are operating in dynamic markets.

The information system discussed in this paper (relating to the Fertilizer industry) bypasses this delay. It enables a private firm to have direct access to the files maintained by the National Fertilizer Development Centre of TVA.     

The Relationship Between Anxiety, Smoking, and Gambling in Electronic Gaming Machine Players

Given higher reported rates of smoking in populations under treatment for problem gambling, in a sample of 81 Electronic Gaming Machine players, this study considered whether: 1) there were relationships between tobacco dependency and problem gambling, and 2) a common mechanism such as negative affect was involved. The untreated sample comprised eighty-one Electronic Gaming Machine players that completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Tobacco Dependence Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. There was a relationship between smoking status and scores on the South Oaks Gambling Screen, and negative affect contributed to both gambling problems and tobacco dependence. It was suggested that gambling problems and tobacco dependence have similar characteristics. The data has implications for treatment and anti-smoking legislation in gaming venues.     

Educational attainment and the transition to first marriage among Japanese women

I use data from a large nationally representative survey to examine the relationship between women's educational attainment and the timing of first marriage in Japan. The results indicate that later marriage for highly educated women primarily reflects longer enrollment in school, that university education is increasingly associated with later and less marriage, and that the trend toward later and less marriage is occurring at all levels of educational attainment. These findings are consistent, albeit weakly, with the argument that higher education should be negatively associated with marriage only in countries in which gender relations make it particularly difficult for women to balance work and family.     

Correlates of internalized homophobia and homosexual identity formation in a sample of gay men

Eighty-six behaviourally homosexual men, at various stages of homosexual identity formation (HIF), were participants in a study that examined correlates of internalized homophobia (IH) and HIF. Results indicated higher levels of internalized homophobia were correlated with lower stages of HIF. In addition, internalized homophobia was significantly related to lower levels of self-esteem, to lower levels of self-concepts of physical appearance and emotional stability, and to higher levels of sex guilt. Post hoc regression analysis revealed that perceived level of repression against homosexuals predicted internalized homophobia and sex-guilt, which were mediator variables to the resolution of HIF. This research supports theory, that suggests internalized homophobia is a major developmental difficulty in gay men.     

Evaluating Social Service Agencies: Fuzzy Pictures of Organizational Effectiveness

This article presents a case study of how members of three funding organizations evaluated the same two agencies in Canada. The research on which the article is based sheds light on the organizational effectiveness construct, on the ways in which the evaluators use it to reach conclusions on agency effectiveness, and the relation between these conclusions and funders' decisions on agency funding. The authors describe a framework for understanding evaluation processes, describe three funders in terms of this framework, set out predominant patterns in evaluation processes the funders used, and show the effects of these patterns from the agency's perspective. They then discuss the implications of the findings for agency managers and how the findings relate to theories of organization.