Low Level Of Acceptance Research Articles

Resistance and Power

It is clear that computer implementation in social service facilities, despite their recognized need, may be delayed or aborted due to user resistance. The literature has suggested that many factors may contribute to this phenomenon, one possible explanation being the shift in power structures as organizations move from manual to automated systems. This study was conducted at Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services to test this hypothesis among a group of front line social workers, 64% of whom have MSWs. It was found that the general level of acceptance of computers was high, but that there were considerably lower levels of acceptance when related to the organization's power to monitor and evaluate worker's performance. When analyzed further, a substantial number of respondents indicated that they were threatened by this power and confused as to how it would be utilized. It was noted that this study suffered from a number of limitations and that further research in this area was required. In addition, it was suggested that despite a sense of general positive attitudes, areas of resistance may reside within groups and that this resistance requires positive intervention strategies if the project is to succeed.

An Examination of Young Adolescents' Knowledge of and Attitude Toward Sexuality According to Perceived Contraceptive Responsibility1

A total of 442 ninth‐grade, black, inner city adolescents participated in a survey of their knowledge of human reproduction, level of self‐esteem, and attitudes toward birth control and sexual intercourse. Ninety‐two percent of the females and 33% of the males responded that they or they and their partner were responsible for using birth control. The 148 males perceiving contraceptive responsibility as belonging to their partner or no one were most accepting of sexual intercourse and agreed that teenage parenthood is an index of adulthood. Girls were nearly unanimous in their low level of acceptance of sexual intercourse. Annual birth statistics from their high school indicate, however, that a minimum of 13% of these ninth‐grade girls will become pregnant in the ensuing academic year. The apparent contradictions of young adolescents' knowledge of and attitudes toward sexuality are discussed in the context of developmental theory.

Young adolescents' contraceptive knowledge and attitudes: Implications for anticipatory guidance

Four hundred forty-two ninth-grade, black, inner-city adolescents participated in a survey of their knowledge of human reproduction, level of self esteem, and attitudes toward birth control and sexual intercourse. Ninety-two percent of the girls and 33% of the boys responded that they, or they and their partner, were responsible for using birth control. The 148 boys who perceived contraceptive responsibility as belonging to their partner or no one were most accepting of sexual intercourse and agreed that teenage parenthood is an index of adulthood. Girls were nearly unanimous in their low level of acceptance of sexual intercourse. However, annual birth statistics from their high school predict that a minimum of 13% of these ninth-grade girls will become pregnant in the ensuing academic year. The implications of adolescents' knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality for pediatric nursing practice are discussed.

A survey on factors affecting acceptance of measles vaccine.

The reasons for the low level of acceptance of measles vaccine were investigated through interviews with the mothers at the time of their children enrollment in the first year of attendance at several nursery schools in Milan city and its suburbs. Data were also collected on the natural disease. Only 192 (13.8%) of the 1386 children included in the study had already suffered natural measles and 45 of them before the age of 12 months. Of the total, 10% of the children had been vaccinated, more in the city of Milan than in the suburbs. Approximately one-half of the vaccinations had been administered by family doctors and the other half in Public Health facilities. Less than half of the vaccinations administered in the city of Milan proved to have been registered in Public Health Office records. The frequency of vaccinated children was significantly higher among mother with higher levels of education than among those with lower levels of education. The reasons for the lack of vaccination most frequently given by the mothers of the 1247 unvaccinated children were "ignorance about the vaccine" (38% of the mothers) and the "belief that measles is an innocuous disease" (36%). These were followed by "fear of post-vaccinal reactions" and "advice against measles vaccine" given, in most cases, by family doctors. The frequency of responses for each one of these reasons was significantly different in Milan with respect to the suburbs. This difference was also evident in the comparisons between mothers with higher levels of education with respect to mothers with low levels of education.

Fighting the stigma: a unique approach to marketing mental health.

Although stigma is a problem, there is a definite solution. As this material suggests, an impact can be made by targeting various markets. Since these markets have either positive, negative or neutral impressions of their local mental health organizations and related services, knowing the rating of the organization and related services helps to identify the most likely targets. Advertising can directly affect the strength of that rating in a positive direction. The extent of that effect, whether it's a change in attitude or level of recognition, will depend on the continuity of the message, the channels of communication, and synchronization of distribution. In addition, the degree of impact is contingent on how amenable the target audience is to the message. In the case of mental health, the lower level of acceptability presents an even greater challenge. The FTS project takes on the challenge with a marketing plan that is necessary because our publics say it's necessary. And it can work because, again, our publics say it works. The supporting evidence is more than just an increase in name recall and favorability factors. The supporting evidence results from any project which has been planned and implemented with the consumer in mind. Finally, the supporting evidence is clear in the interest and contributions of each participant in the FTS pilot as well as the 27 mental health organizations in 17 U.S. markets which have participated in FTS 11.

Fighting the stigma: a unique approach to marketing mental health.

Although stigma is a problem, there is a definite solution. As this material suggests, an impact can be made by targeting various markets. Since these markets have either positive, negative or neutral impressions of their local mental health organizations and related services, knowing the rating of the organization and related services helps to identify the most likely targets. Advertising can directly affect the strength of that rating in a positive direction. The extent of that effect, whether it's a change in attitude or level of recognition, will depend on the continuity of the message, the channels of communication, and synchronization of distribution. In addition, the degree of impact is contingent on how amenable the target audience is to the message. In the case of mental health, the lower level of acceptability presents an even greater challenge. The FTS project takes on the challenge with a marketing plan that is necessary because our publics say it's necessary. And it can work because, again, our publics say it works. The supporting evidence is more than just an increase in name recall and favorability factors. The supporting evidence results from any project which has been planned and implemented with the consumer in mind. Finally, the supporting evidence is clear in the interest and contributions of each participant in the FTS pilot as well as the 27 mental health organizations in 17 U.S. markets which have participated in FTS 11.

The pattern and attitude of Nigerian women in Benin City towards female sterilisation.

SummaryAll the cases of female sterilisation at the maternity unit of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria, between January 1974 and December 1981 are analysed. There were a total of 248 sterilisation out of 19,905 deliveries, an incidence of 1 in 80 or 1.25%. There were 176 voluntary sterilisations out of 3,256 grand multipara, an incidence of 1 in 18 or 5.6%. To find out the background of the practice level, 560 grandmultipara were interviewed about their attitude towards female sterilisation. Reasons for the low acceptance level included desire for more children, permanent nature of the procedure, opposition from relations, blockage of tubes at reincarnation, fetal wastage and religious opposition.

An observational study of the social adjustment of spina bifida children in integrated settings.

Summary. Eight spina bifida children of average academic ability attending regular primary schools were matched with controls and systematically observed in the playground during recess and lunch breaks. The disabled had significantly fewer interactions overall, interacted with fewer people, and spent more time alone or in dyads. Peers initiated significantly fewer interactions with the disabled, thus suggesting lower levels of acceptance. Underlying patterns of interaction also appeared to differ, especially in terms of setting and length. The disabled also interacted less with opposite sex peers.

Knowledge engineering: A daily activity on a hospital ward

Two common barriers against the development and diffusion of expert systems in medicine are the difficulty of design and the low level of acceptance. An original experience which entails potential solutions of these issues is reported on: the task of knowledge engineering is performed by residents and medical students on a psychiatry ward. They developed a computer program for the psychopharmacological treatment of depression, using a sophisticated knowledge acquisition system, EMYCIN. The knowledge engineering sessions are analysed in detail and a structured method is proposed. A transcript of a sample run of the resulting program is presented along with an evaluation of its performance, acceptance, educational potential, and amount of endeavour required. The impact of the knowledge engineering process itself is then assessed both from the residents and the medical students standpoint. Finally, the possibility of generalizing the experiment is examined.

Bright greenish‐yellow fluorescence and aflatoxin in recently harvested yellow corn marketed in north carolina

AbstractCorn kernels that exhibited bright greenish‐yellow fluorescence (BGYF) under long‐wave ultraviolet light were hand‐picked from samples of yellow corn produced in eastern North Carolina. The BGYF kernels from 113 4‐kg samples contained an average of 8665 parts per billion (ppb) aflatoxin compared to an average of 46 ppb in the non‐BGYF kernels. A regression analysis between the ppb aflatoxin concentration and the wt % BGYF kernels in 2,304 4.5‐kg samples produced the regression equation: ppb in sample =197 (wt % BGYF). The correlation coefficient for the analysis was 0.90. Testing programs to reduce aflatoxin concentrations in purchased lots of corn based on either the BGYF method or the AOAC chemical assay method were compared. The average aflatoxin concentration in lots accepted by the AOAC method was 4 ppb, 10 ppb or 18 ppb when an acceptance level of < 20 ppb, < 50 ppb or < 100 ppb, respectively, was used. For the BGYF method, the average aflatoxin concentration in accepted lots was 10 ppb, 16 ppb or 22 ppb when an acceptance level of < 0.10% BGYF, < 0.25% BGYF or < 0.50% BGYF, respectively, was used. Approximately the same percentage of lots were accepted by both methods when either the low, medium or high acceptance level was used.

Women-Oriented Health Care: New Hampshire Feminist Health center

There are today some 200 women's health centers in the United States providing information and, in many cases, direct health and family planning services to women in a manner responsive to their needs and preferences, and that involves them in the design and provision of services. This approach to delivering services was specifically recommended by the International Conference of Family Planning in the 1980's held in Indonesia in April 1981. in addressing the challenges facing family planning programs in the decade ahead, the conference noted that in many parts of the world, women often have little control over decisions related to their own fertility. Furthermore, low levels of acceptance and use of family planning, which are characteristic of many programs, often reflect a failure to design and provide services in a manner that is responsive to the needs and perceptions of the users. The conference called for measures to improve the status of women, and recommended that women be involved in all aspects of program design, management, policymaking, and provision of services. In this special report, Judith Bruce describes how women-oriented services are designed and provided at one of the women's health centers, The New hampshire Feminist Health Center.

Census Efficiency and Number of Visits to a Study Plot when Estimating Bird Densities by the Territory Mapping Method

(1) The territory mapping technique is a standard method in bird census work, usually involving eight to ten surveys of the study plot in the breeding season. The population estimate is based on the number of clusters of 'registrations' (point-records), each acceptable cluster containing at least a standard minimum number of registrations. Difficulties may arise for inconspicuous species with low 'visit efficiency'. (2) It is shown in this paper, by theoretical calculations, that if the visit efficiency is above c. 60% the final population estimate after the several visits will be accurate. If visit efficiency is about 40-60%, accurate estimates can with some caution usually be obtained provided the number of visits is sufficiently high and the 'level of acceptance' can be set fairly low. If the visit efficiency falls below c. 40% the population estimate will be inaccurate and very variable because it is highly sensitive to small shifts in efficiency. (3) It is recommended that if the efficiency of a count is expected to be low one should not try to correct the population estimate with the aid of a calculated efficiency factor but instead reorganize the field work schedule so that a sufficiently high efficiency is obtained. This can be achieved by increasing the number of visits, optimizing the time of the visits, lengthening the duration of visits and carrying out additional surveys for problem species. Arguments are given against using a lower level of acceptance of a territorial cluster than three registrations.

Effects of aldactazide and DOCA injections on saline preference in gerbils ( Meriones unguiculatus)

Experiment 1 assessed the percentage of 4.0, 6.0, and 8.0% NaCl solution ingested by gerbils when they were given a choice between one of these saline solutions and water. The gerbils showed a uniformly low level of acceptance of these hypertonic solutions. When given a choice between 4.0 and 8.0% NaCl (Expt 2), the gerbils showed a preference for 4.0% saline. Experiment 3 evaluated the effects of Aldactazide on the gerbils' intake of 6.0% NaCl solution. The results indicated that relative to intake before and after the injection days, the gerbils showed a significant increase in saline intake. Experiment 4 examined the effects of DOCA injections on the gerbils' intake of 6.0% NaCl. The effects were dose-related. Injections of 5 mg of DOCA significantly increased the gerbils' saline intake while injections of 1 mg of the mineralocorticoid had no effect.

Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children

GOTTMAN, JOHN M. Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 513-517. There are 2 separate definitions of social isolation in existing literature, 1 based on low frequencies of peer interaction and 1 based on low levels of peer acceptance using sociometric measures. 113 children in 8 Head Start classrooms were assessed using sociometric measures of acceptance and rejection and observational measures of behavior when alone, when interacting with peers, and when interacting with the teachers. There was no relationship between peer acceptance and the relative frequency of peer interaction, suggesting that these 2 measures of social isolation do not tap the same dimension. A direct cluster rotation analysis resulted in 5 orthogonal clusters of children which defined 5 pure types. These types were: (1) sociometric stars, (2) sociometric rejectees, (3) children who had highly negative interactions with the teacher, (4) children who interacted frequently with peers, and (5) children who were frequently "tuned out" or off task when alone. Of these 5 groups, the tuned-out children also had the lowest means on peer acceptance and were high on a set of shy, anxious, and fearful behaviors coded "hovering." This group seems to best fit the construct of the shy, socially anxious child who also is neither accepted nor rejected, but rather is ignored by peers.

Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children

GOTTMAN, JOHN M. Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 513-517. There are 2 separate definitions of social isolation in existing literature, 1 based on low frequencies of peer interaction and 1 based on low levels of peer acceptance using sociometric measures. 113 children in 8 Head Start classrooms were assessed using sociometric measures of acceptance and rejection and observational measures of behavior when alone, when interacting with peers, and when interacting with the teachers. There was no relationship between peer acceptance and the relative frequency of peer interaction, suggesting that these 2 measures of social isolation do not tap the same dimension. A direct cluster rotation analysis resulted in 5 orthogonal clusters of children which defined 5 pure types. These types were: (1) sociometric stars, (2) sociometric rejectees, (3) children who had highly negative interactions with the teacher, (4) children who interacted frequently with peers, and (5) children who were frequently tuned out or off task when alone. Of these 5 groups, the tuned-out children also had the lowest means on peer acceptance and were high on a set of shy, anxious, and fearful behaviors coded hovering. This group seems to best fit the construct of the shy, socially anxious child who also is neither accepted nor rejected, but rather is ignored by peers.

The Dilemma of Family Planning in a North Indian State

An empirical study of the family planning program and its clients in the rural areas of Allahabad Division of Uttar Pradesh in India was undertaken in 1971-1972. While family planning acceptance in this region is low, interviews with villagers and family planning staff suggest that organizational shortcomings of the program may help to explain the low level of acceptance. The reported level of contact between the program field staff and the village population was unexpectedly low. The paper discusses a number of administrative problems within the family planning organization, especially at the level of the primary health center. It is concluded that in designing family planning programs, efforts should be made to minimize organizational requirements.

Attitudes Toward Abortion Among Young Blacks

Interviews in 1970 with 300 young black women in Baltimore, Maryland, mostly from low-income families, indicated a low level of acceptance of abortion as a method of family planning. There was an increasing acceptance of abortion as a woman approached or exceeded the family size she desired. 2 different groups were involved: 1/2 the women were young mothers and 1/2 were classmates of the mothers. All had been part of a study begun 4 years earlier, and at that time they shared many background characteristics although a slightly higher percentage of mothers came from broken families and fewer had parents who had completed high school. By 1970, the following differences were noted: all the mothers had at least 1 child, 1/2 had 2, but only 1/3 of the classmates had ever been pregnant; a little more than 1/2 the mothers had been or were married which was the case with only 1/5 of the classmates, but more mothers had broken marriages; fewer mothers had completed high school (42% vs 67%); far fewer attended school (16% vs 46%); and 2/5 of the mothers were working compared to 3/4 of the classmates. Few in either group had had an abortion. In spite of these differences, 2/3 of the mothers and 3/5 of the classmates expressed qualified disapproval of abortion, and 1/3 of the total expressed mixed feelings although they generally disapproved of abortion as a means of family limitation. More than 4/5 of those opposed to abortion felt so for moral reasons; the others opposed abortion because of health factors, cost, and illegality. As the mothers reached their desired family size, almost 1/3 said they might have an abortion. The majority of the women strongly favored birth control, which suggests that well-designed contraceptive programs are indispensable in helping these women avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Influence of Internal and External Change Agents in a Simulated Educational Organization

An experiment involving the introduction of two different budgeting methods into a simulated educational organization was carried out using internal and external change agents. It was hypothesized that external change agents would be associated with more conflict; a greater level of threat to the harmony, authority structure, and overall effectiveness of the organization; and a lower level of acceptance of the budgeting method introduced. The hypothesis concerning the external change agent's threat to the harmony, authority structure, and overall effectiveness of the organization was confirmed. The other hypotheses were not confirmed. Explanations of the findings of superior performance in groups with external change agents and possible implications for actual situations are suggested.