Communication Disconnection Research Articles

A Conceptual and Clinical Model of Youth Violence in America

This work is based on the assumption that youth violence continues to be a serious problem in American society. It is exacerbated by the history of violence, cultural factors, and the nature and quality of interpersonal relations encountered by youth in their daily lives. The metaphor of “a nation at war with itself” is used to highlight the fact that more Americans are regularly killed by other Americans at home than those killed in foreign wars. These conditions set the stage for the development of a psycho-social model of youth violence in America today. The model is a take-off from the author's earlier hypothesis that all violence may be construed as a powerful reaction to overcome powerlessness. It identifies four correlates of powerlessness: disconnection, anonymity, selfishness, and lack of adult-youth communication about violence. These variables are subsequently integrated into an explanatory and predictive device for one category of violence only, homicides committed by youth. The model may, however, apply to other categories of interpersonal violence as well. It is dedicated to the urgent task of curbing youth violence in America, and by implication, in other similar cultural contexts.

Managing Our Future: The Generation X Factor

The potential impact of the backgrounds of Generation Xers and BabyBoomers was reviewed to determine whether key factors and defining moments in their histories may explain the communication disconnect in our nation's workplace. Of special concern, the review sought to analyze the backgrounds of Generation Xers and BabyBoomers to find out how these perspectives influence workplace attitudes and perceptions. It is contemplated that, if these issues can be discussed openly, a more positive work relationship can be cultivated. Additionally, the techniques that could be used by Boomer supervisors to communicate effectively with Xers were reviewed. The results show that, despite a lot of name-calling and blaming, the American workforce and ethic remain strong, and Xers are, slowly but surely, altering the work environment in a manner that may ultimately benefit the family unit and reaffirm America's strong individualistic spirit. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the unique backgrounds of Xers and Boomers and develop a methodology for resolving workplace conflicts between the two generations.

Surgical disconnection of lymphorenal communication for chyluria: a 15-year experience.

To present the results of surgical lymphorenal disconnection and its advantages in patients with severe chyluria. Seventy-eight patients (40 men and 38 women, age 22-58 years) with severe chyluria of variable duration (5 months to 14 years), underwent surgical disconnection of the lymphorenal communication after confirming the diagnosis of chyluria by urine examination for fat globules, lymphangiography to delineate the side, site and extent of lymphorenal communication, and cystoscopy to decide the side to be operated. The areolar tissue containing dilated lymphatics travelling to the kidney in the perirenal and hilar region was dissected and divided between ligatures, thus stripping these structures completely; only one side was operated at a time. All 78 patients were available for a minimum follow-up of 1 year, with the longest follow-up 15 years. Lymphangiography showed unilateral communication in 52 (66%) and bilateral in 26 (34%). If the patient was given a high-fat meal before surgery, the intra-operative visualization of the lymphatics was improved. With unilateral surgery, clearance was achieved in 74 (94%) immediately, with final success in 69 (88%) patients. Of the 26 (34%) patients with bilateral lesions, nine (12%) required bilateral surgery, giving a clearance rate of 97%. In two cases of failure, repeat surgery was successful in one; thus the overall success rate was 98%. Lymphorenal disconnection for chyluria is simple, successful as a permanent cure and with almost negligible complications. Bilateral lymphorenal communication seen on lymphangiography does not always warrant bilateral surgery.

Communication Port: A Language Concept for Concurrent Programming

A new language concept–communication port (CP), is introduced for programming on distributed processor networks. Such a network can contain an arbitrary number of processors each with its own private storage but with no memory sharing. The processors must communicate via explicit message passing. Communication port is an encapsulation of two language properties: "communication non-determinism" and "communication disconnect time." It provides a tool for progranmers to write well-structured, modular, and efficient concurrent programs. A number of examples are given in the paper to demonstrate the power of the new concepts.

Uncoupling of an epithelial cell membrane junction by calcium-ion removal.

Calcium takes part in maintaining ion communication between salivary gland cells (Chironomus thummi). Its withdrawal from the cell systems results in virtual disconnection of ion communication, at Ca(++) concentrations which do not noticeably affect cell adhesion. The junctional membrane surfaces. which are normally quite freely permeable to ions, become as impermeable as the nonjunctional membrane surfaces; each cell seals itself off irreversibly as a unit. In maintaining ion communication Mg(++) substitutes for Ca(++)