Multiracial Groups Research Articles

Training aid for pressurized inhalers

Drugs administered by pressurized inhalers play a major role in the treatment of bronchial asthma. The use of pressurized inhalers demands an adequate tidal volume and accurate synchronization of the discharge of the aerosol with the phase of respiration (Paterson 1978). Estimates of the proportion of patients who fail to use pressurized inhalers efficiently vary between 14% (Paterson & Crompton 1976) and 75% (Orehek et al. 1976). This proportion is dependent upon the amount of training received and increases when there are difficulties of communication between doctor and patient. Failure to synchronize inhaler discharge with the commencement of inspiration is a major source of inefficiency (Orehek et al. 1976). A simple training aid has been devised to overcome this problem in a multiracial group of asthmatics in Borneo.

Beating the Gong and Chasing the Dragon in the Lion City

The use or abuse of opium, in its three main forms, chandu (prepared opium), morphine, and heroin, covers a span of 160 years, from the founding of “modern” Singapore in 1819—when opium was exchanged as a gift between the Temenggong (Malay Sultan) and Raffles (the founder of Singapore) to 1978—when the first person to be convicted of drug-trafficking was hanged for the offense. For the three distinct products of the opium poppy—smokeable extract of opium (prepared opium or chandu), morphine, and heroin—with their three distinctive modes of administration—smoking, injection, and inhalation—there seem to be three distinct periods when each drug emerged as the main drug of addiction. Opium smoking was known in the earliest days, morphine injection appeared during the first half of the twentieth century, and heroin smoking became popular during the 1970s. The history of opium smoking can be traced among the early settlers of Singapore. These people were multiracial, but the Chinese predominated. Morphine injection became popular among adult Chinese and Indian/Pakistanis after its introduction around the turn of the century. Heroin abuse has become widespread among multiracial groups of young adults during the 1970s. For each product of the opium poppy antecedent factors are examined: the drug, the host, and the environment, especially the presence or absence of favorable or deterrent official, commerical, cultural, or political responses. For opium smoking, there was no preceding drug of abuse, its use having been introduced by a prevailing older tradition. In the case of morphine, its introduction found fertile ground among the abundance of opium smokers and new inductees did not have to cross cultural barriers. In the case of heroin abuse, its introduction was facilitated by a milieu that had been initiated to drugs in a milder form—“pot and pills.” The author examines the nature of drug use from the point of view of an outsider, but retains a vested interest in treating and rehabilitating his patients “for their own good.” Having seen the essential tragedy of their lives, such as elderly men becoming “vagrants” remanded to a “House of Detention,” or the first morphine death from overdose in the first drug dependence clinic for young “pot and pill” users in 1971, he speculates on what might perpetuate opiate drug use among the people of Singapore. The paper concludes with identification of serious questions and profound issues that as yet have not been thoroughly addressed and may continue to remain inadequately treated.

Training aid for pressurized inhalers

Drugs administered by pressurized inhalers play a major role in the treatment of bronchial asthma. The use of pressurized inhalers demands an adequate tidal volume and accurate synchronization of the discharge of the aerosol with the phase of respiration (Paterson 1978). Estimates of the proportion of patients who fail to use pressurized inhalers efficiently vary between 14% (Paterson & Crompton 1976) and 75% (Orehek et al. 1976). This proportion is dependent upon the amount of training received and increases when there are difficulties of communication between doctor and patient. Failure to synchronize inhaler discharge with the commencement of inspiration is a major source of inefficiency (Orehek et al. 1976). A simple training aid has been devised to overcome this problem in a multiracial group of asthmatics in Borneo.

Milk drinking by the elderly of three races

The three objectives of this study were to determine: (a) If milk was acceptable for multi-racial groups of elderly people, some of whom had previously been described as lactose intolerant, (b) the frequency of milk rejection attributed to symptoms of lactose intolerance, and (c) the importance of offering different types of milk. The study was carried out on 347 elderly citizens participating in the Title VII Nutrition Program for the Elderly in Harris County, Texas. Eighty-five per cent of the Mexican-Americans, 93.5 per cent of the blacks, and 94 per cent of the Anglos surveyed reported drinking the milk served with their meal. Only 6.6 per cent of the Mexican-Americans, 1.4 per cent of the blacks, and 2.5 per cent of the Anglos did not consume the milk because of symptoms that might be related to low levels of intestinal lactase. It was concluded that milk could and should be served to multi-racial groups of elderly people. Offering a choice of milk type appeared to be important for acceptance. Twenty-two per cent of the blacks, 4 per cent of the Mexican-Americans, and 16 per cent of the Anglos always preferred buttermilk.

From Birth to Latency: Behavioral Differences in a Multiracial Group of Twins

From Birth to Latency: Behavioral Differences in a Multiracial Group of Twins

From Birth to Latency: Behavioral Differences in a Multiracial Group of Twins

WERNER, EMMY E. From Birth to Latency: Behavioral Differences in a Multiracial Group of Twins. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1973, 44, 438-444. Intrapair differences in a multiracial group of twins, from the cohort of 1955-57 births on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, are reported for infant behavior ratings and cognitive skills in early and middle childhood. Among discordant twins, both MZ and DZ, the second-born had experienced more adverse perinatal events than the first-born. Birth sequence differentiated more among discordant twins than birth weight, favoring the first-born on maternal ratings of activity at year 1; Cattell IQ at year 2; PMA reasoning factor, visual-motor development, and school achievement at year 10. Intrapair differences in activity level, sociability, and temper at 1 year persisted and were related to cognitive skills at 2 and 10 years.