Authoritative Opinion Research Articles

The book as mass commodity: The audience perspective

An examination of the issue of literary massification and degradation of taste in the light of how locally organized reading groups select and respond to books. Although commodification does somewhat narrow the universe of choice for these groups it seems less important in shaping their use of books than are the opinions of cultural authorities or the reader’s own personal experience. Further, the responses of these readers of “good” books resemble in certain ways what is known of reader responses to mass market books, which also undermine a rigid dichotomy between high culture and mass culture.

An evaluation of temporomandibular joint sounds

The purpose of this study was to obtain authoritative opinion on the importance of joint noises. Experts in the areas of orthopedics, rheumatology, and arthritis were asked four questions to evaluate the importance of clicking and crepitus in joints other than the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The general response of these experts indicated that clicking in the absence of other symptoms is not important, clicking in the presence of other symptoms may be important, crepitus in the absence of other symptoms may be important, and crepitus in the presence of other symptoms is important. Caution is advised in treating clicking when it is the only sign.

Sports Medicine: A New Concept for AJDC

Some months ago Dick Blumberg of our editorial board suggested that we explore the development of a sports medicine section for AJDC readers. He cited the paucity of definitive articles in this area and the increasing demand placed upon pediatricians and See p 786. family physicians for authoritative opinions concerning their patients who were engaged in individual or team sport activities. The idea was met with enthusiasm by our full board and I sought one of the most active people in this discipline to head our efforts. Nate Smith readily agreed. He has impressive credentials. His education includes both pediatrics and pathology and is of international flavor; he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Paris and has been a visiting professor in Chile and Turkey, as well as throughout the United States. He has been on the faculties of Temple University, UCLA, Wisconsin, and the University of Washington,

Variations of the Bender-Gestalt Test: Implications for Training and Practice

Although the Bender-Gestalt Visual Motor Test has been a popular and influential clinical assessment instrument for the last half century, authoritative opinion and a substantial research literature are often inconsistent or contradictory. This paper documents variations in designs, administration procedures, forms, and applications to particular populations. A careful review of scoring systems indicates the current status of objective approaches as contrasted with interpretation that is global, intuitive, and subjective. Some implications of these variations and interpretive procedures for training and assessment practice are discussed. The major conclusions of the review are summarized in seven points.

Evaluating school psychological reports, part I: A procedure for systematic feedback

This paper provides a rationale for obtaining systematic evaluative feedback concerning the perceived usefulness of school psychological reports and their impact on the development of individual educational plans for referred students. Research data and authoritative opinion are used to support the need for school psychologists to obtain feedback about their reports on a case-by-case basis, rather than to obtain global perceptions of the meaningfulness and usefulness of reports in general. A working copy of a brief evaluation form that can be attached to the report and forwarded to the referral agent is included for the benefit of interested readers.

Hobbes's Behemoth and the Argument for Absolutism

Hobbes's history of the English Civil War, The Behemoth, has been neglected by contemporary scholars, yet it provides the clearest statement of the problem that Hobbes's political science is designed to solve. In Behemoth, Hobbes shows that societies such as seventeenth century England inevitably degenerate into civil war because they are founded on authoritative opinion. The claim that there is a single, authoritative definition of Tightness or truth which is not an arbitrary human choice is an illusion of “intellectual vainglory,” a feeling of pride in the superiority of one's opinions which causes persecution and civil strife. By presenting Hobbes's historical and psychological analysis of this problem, I illuminate his argument for absolutism and show that Hobbes is not a precursor of totalitarianism but a founder of liberalism.

Hobbes's Behemoth and the Argument for Absolutism

Hobbes's history of the English Civil War, The Behemoth, has been neglected by contemporary scholars, yet it provides the clearest statement of the problem that Hobbes's political science is designed to solve. In Behemoth, Hobbes shows that societies such as seventeenth century England inevitably degenerate into civil war because they are founded on authoritative opinion. The claim that there is a single, authoritative definition of Tightness or truth which is not an arbitrary human choice is an illusion of “intellectual vainglory,” a feeling of pride in the superiority of one's opinions which causes persecution and civil strife. By presenting Hobbes's historical and psychological analysis of this problem, I illuminate his argument for absolutism and show that Hobbes is not a precursor of totalitarianism but a founder of liberalism.

Pathology of Cardiac Valves

The Pathology of the Heart, by E. G. J. Olsen, ed 2; 402 pp, with illus, $79.50, Baltimore, University Park Press, 1980. Pathology of Cardiac Valves is a nicely printed book with many good pictures, which provides informative descriptions of floppy valves, rheumatic valvulitis, infective endocarditis, and complications of valve surgery. It is not a reference book, and those interested in tricuspid atresia, Brucella valvular disease, cerebral embolism complicating a floppy mitral valve, or impacted atrial myxoma will find the subjects either slighted or uncited. The last item is concealed in a figure legend and not indexed. There are fewer than ten photomicrographic figures and fewer than one fourth of the illustrations are from surgical material. This is morbid anatomy, heavy on anecdotal and authoritative opinion, light on evidence of etiology and newer morphological methods. Contradictions occur: Fig 1.4 is opened normal aortic valve from a woman of 70 years.

Effective widths in prestressed single t-beams

This paper is concerned with the determination of effective widths of the flanges of prestressed single T-beams. There does not appear to exist any authoritative opinion on the effect of prestressing on shear lag when dealing with a monolithically constructed T-beam. Existing results can probably deal with the case when an already prestressed rib interacts with a concrete slab through embedded dowels connecting the two. Results show that effective width values for the prestressed T-section under live load are slightly different from those for the unprestressed section. It is thought that the differences are such that a single table of effective widths could still be applied in both cases. Detailed results are presented. These results have been calculated for a uniformly distributed load and for point loading.

Medical inflation.

MEDICAL INFLATION* WILLIAM A. SILVERMAN^ Retrolental fibroplasia (RLF), a newly recognized eye disorder of premature infants, was described in 1942. After 12 years of bafflement, this form of blindness (which affected approximately 10,000 children throughout the world) was found to be associated with the use of supplemental oxygen in the management of babies in the first days of life [I]. The outbreak was followed by a series of similar treatment disasters. In retrospect, one may ask, Why did most of these catastrophes begin in the United States? Clues to the answer to this question are to be found, I believe, in some developments which took place immediately after World War II and in the material circumstances of the country during this period. It was an optimistic time in the history of American medicine . When peace was restored, this country, unlike most others, was in a position to direct its attention and considerable resources to deal with medical issues of national importance. Prominent among these was the frequent loss of life among newborn infants. The attack mounted to respond to this challenge in the arena of public health was similar in many ways to the all-out strategem which brought American victory in the war: mobilization of enormous material assets and rapid increase in technologic development. But we can argue, with the wisdom of hindsight, for the advantage of limited strategies in medical "warfare ": slower and safer approaches used in the face of spotty "intelligence ." Let us consider some of the consequences of the "mass action" approach—how sheer expansion ofactivities influenced events in American nurseries in the 1940s and 1950s. I suggest that the momentum of actions continues to the present time. Some of the elements in this inflation were increased visibility of premature infants; affluence; proliferation of programs, facilities, and equipment; publicity; and the in- *This article will appear as a chapter in William A. Silverman, Retrolental Fibroplasia: A Modern Parable, Monographs in Neonatology, ed. T. K. Oliver (New York: Grune & Stratton ). tAddress: 90 La Cuesta Drive, Greenbrae, California 94904.© 1980 by The University of Chicago. 0031-5982/80/2304-0178$01.00 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine ¦ Summer 1980 | 617 creased influence of authoritative opinion. Several of the disastrous "events" which I will describe bore a striking resemblance to the RLF prototype. Innovative effort usually follows closely on the heels of newly visible problems. This relationship was seen in developments which took place in the United States when there was a sharp change in perception of the scope of the topic of premature birth: In 1949, the underdeveloped newborn infant suddenly achieved numerical prominence [2]. Before this time, there was a limited amount of statistical information on prematurity from local areas or from individual hospitals. The Standard Certificate of Live Birth, prior to 1939, did not call for a statement either on the duration of pregnancy or on birth weight. An item on "Number of months of pregnancy" was carried on the revised certificate for 1939, but the data were not satisfactory for tabulation. On the 1949 revision of the certificate, the items "Length of pregnancy—weeks" and "Weight at birth" were added. At intervals beginning in 1949, the National Office of Vital Statistics published special reports which indicated that infants weighing less than 2.5 kg (5 lb, 8 oz) accounted for a higher toll of infant life than any other condition. The U.S. Children's Bureau presented these data in its publication, Statutical Series, and emphasized the need for concerted action at local, state, and national levels. In 1949, the Committee for the Study of Child Health Services of the American Academy of Pediatrics pointed out that in medical schools in the United States, training in the care of newborn infants was the weakest feature in the pediatric course and that many teaching hospitals provided very little experience in the care of premature infants. During the same year the U.S. Children's Bureau recommended to the New York Department of Health that the Department of Pediatrics of the New York HospitalCornell Medical Center in New York City offer a series of institutes on premature infant care for physicians and nurses. This program of...

Public Opinion and the Counterfeit Consensus

M o s t people over the past few generations have had better educational opportunities than their par­ ents had. Being upwardly mobile, they have been self-conscious about their origins, and this has made them docile in intellectual matters. Where we feel our inadequacy, we tend either to keep quiet or to repeat what others say rather than risk exposing a personal shortage of brains and knowledge. We are supposed to be “educated,” and so we want at least to appear to be living up to the role of Informed Citi­ zen. And the easiest way to do that is to imitate what sounds like authoritative opinion. This has led to the rise of a new thing: Public Opinion. The usual assumption is that everybody has his own ideas about things, and when you add them all up and average them out you get a kind of mean, which is Public Opinion. But this is not the case. Because we are expected to have informed opinions on all kinds of things beyond our ken, we fall back on the familiar formula. Public Opinion is not what people think: it is, rather, what people think other people think. That is why we speak of opinion-leaders and opinion-makers, phrases that would make no sense if each of us made up his own mind. I hope you don’t think I am striking an aristocratic pose and sneering an insinuation that there are only a few of us honest-to-goodness independent minds.

Minimum Winning Coalitions on the U.S. Supreme Court

It has been claimed that in nonthreat situations opinions of the Court tend to receive a minimum winning vote. Using the private papers of Justice Burton, the size of the original vote on the merits was compared with the size of the opinion vote. No support was found for the minimum winning thesis except that smaller than minimum winning coalitions at the original vote tended to become minimum winning at the opinion stage. This finding, however, can be explained as a consequence of the desire of the opinion writer to secure an authoritative opinion of the Court.

Study of subway station design and construction : O'Neil, R S; Worrell, J S; Hopkinson, P Washington, DC: De Leuw, Cather and Co report, March 1977, 208P

Due to the high cost of urban underground transit construction in recent years, construction practices used in other countries were reviewed to determine if construction methods which are commonly accepted there might be adapted to U.S. practice. Design and administrative practices were also reviewed to determine which have the most significant effect on station costs to assure that future system developers are aware of the items that offer the greatest opportunities to control costs. Using 13 on-site interviews in Europe and North America, unusual construction methods, design considerations, and general considerations which offer opportunities for cost savings were identified. Two basic points for reducing costs were emphasized repeatedly by those interviewed: the basic recommendation for obtaining economy in station design and construction is to take advantage of every opportunity which the locale and site offer; and while final design and construction practices are the most visible sources of expenditure, it is almost universally the early policy, planning, and design decisions which have the greatest effect on the final cost of a transit project. With the experience and opinions of the many transit authorities and construction agencies and a review of current literature as a base, a set of seven recommended subway station designs were developed. To examine costs, three series of estimates were performed comparing the station types among themselves, comparing the costs of varying major station dimensions, and comparing costs of alternative construction methods, such as slurry walls and other excavation support systems which performed multiple functions.

TV update

The public debate over television and its impact on children is heating up. Two highly visible skirmishes of 1978 are the investigation into television advertising to children by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the trial in California of a bizarre rape claimed to have been perpetrated in imitation of a crime which appeared on a television drama. The FTC has scheduled nile-making hearings in the fall of 1978 to consider whether television advertising to young children is inherently "unfair and deceptive" and whether restrictions should be placed specifically on the advertising to children of sugared products. Entering into these deliberations will be research and anecdotal evidence and authoritative opinions about the developmental capacity of children to make discerning judgments regarding advertising; the relation between sugar intake and dental caries and obesity; and the potentially disruptive effects of TV commercials on family life.

The Battle of the Washita: The Sheridan-Custer Indian Campaign of 1867-69

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was victorious in only one engagement against the American Indians--the Battle of the Washita. Eight years before the Little Bighorn, Custer marched his men through heavy snows to attack a village of Cheyenne Indians under Chief Black Kettle, the most peaceful of the Cheyenne leaders. Indians did not consider themselves to be at war and were taken by surprise by the dawn attack. Over one hundred men, women, and children were killed and eight hundred horses shot.Was the massacre justified? History has tended to take Custer's word for it, but the facts behind the event may speak differently. It must be left to the conscience of the reader to decide which is commemorated by the marker erected on the site of the battle: a great victory for Custer or a tragedy for the Cheyennes.With much evidence of exhaustive research, this volume is an unusually well-written and engrossing account. It makes every effort to maintain historical objectivity, and in cases where the matter is controversial [the author] is careful to quote the opinions of both principals and authorities. This detailed narrative is particularly revealing with regard to the competence and frailties of army officers, including General Custer.--Library JournalStan Hoig lives in Edmund, Oklahoma. Among his books are The Humor of the American Cowboy (also a Bison Book), The Sand Creek Massacre, The Peace Chiefs of the Cheyennes, and Tribal Wars of the Southern Plains.

Rationality, emotionality, and testing

Controversy and confusion surround the question of the appropriateness of tests for minority groups. The amount of emotion aroused by this question tends to cloud issues and impede rational thinking. It is believed that the matter should be approached rationally and that examining it relative to empirical, construct, and content validity will be helpful. Conclusions are drawn regarding the fairness of tests for minority groups as a result of examining research evidence and authoritative opinion.

Hemophilia in Children

This compact and readable monograph covers the entire scope of hemophilia in childhood. The 13 chapters have been contributed by 17 authors and coauthors, all of whom are acknowledged experts in the specialized management of patients with coagulation disorders. Careful editing and chapter design have eliminated the redundancy so commonly found in multiauthored monographs, while preserving divergency of authoritative opinions. Approximately 30% of the text is devoted to the immunologic, biochemical, genetic, and laboratory aspects of hemophilia. The sections dealing with molecular structure and its variants and the genetic considerations are particularly scholarly. More than half of the book attends to the nittygritty diagnosis and management of the specific problems frequently encountered in hemophilia, namely, musculoskeletal, renal, neurological, and dental. The chapter on current management of inhibitors is up to the minute in its perspective. The sections dealing with dental and oral surgery are exceptionally well done, and the material

Who and what

The modern exponential increase of scientific information in medicine has been accompanied by a distressing decline in skepticism. The growth of science owes much to Bacon's warning against uncritical acceptance of authoritative opinion, yet, paradoxically, in present-day medicine the voice of authority, as a result of the electronic revolution and the jet airplane, is louder and more broadly cast than ever. Who says what, is more important than what is said. There are objective indicators of the increasing "personalization" of evidence. For example, the increasing attention paid to the identity of authors can be seen in the trend of the count of names credited to each original article published in Pediatrics over the past 26 years(fig.1).

Letter: Hypertensive work-ups.

To the Editor.— I have some criticisms of Dr. Melby's defense of the rationale in favor of doing extensive hypertensive work-ups (231:399, 1975) that were not mentioned in the rebuttal by Dr. Finnerty (231-402, 1975). First, Dr. Melby implies in context that all secondary hypertension is curable hypertension. This is a greatly overoptimistic stand, especially in the group of renovascular anomalies and abnormalities, the most common subgroup of conditions causing secondary hypertension. Second, in presenting data on Dr. Laragh's work in high-, normal-, and low-renin hypertension as an additional support in favor of the extensive work-up, he did not mention the considerable body of authoritative opinion, based on good studies, that in the last year have tended to refute Laragh's results or at least render them tentative. The general impression of most clinicians, that Laragh's data are not generally reproducible and not yet applicable to the current clinical therapeutic setting,

Minimal Brain Dysfunction in Children, by Paul H. Wender, M.D. New York: Wiley-Interscience, A Division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1971, 242 pp., $10.50

Every medical student, physician, and scientist should read the story of the Emperor's new clothes and identify with the child who, unimpressed by the weight of authoritative opinion, cried "But the Emperor has no clothes." Leon Eisenberg is a children's psychiatrist whom I respect enormously. But although I am glad to have read this book, I can't accept his unqualified recommendation of it. Not all the blame lies with the author, for the publisher's assessors have not done their job.