Position Of Respondents Research Articles

Decision no. 11591/2022/ 07.11.2022/Court, Iasi/Misdemeanour Complaint

Complainant X formulates a contravention complaint at the Suceava Court against the Official Report of Violations, Series ..., no... of 19.01.2022 and the Official Report of Violations Series ...., no .... of 19.01.2022, concluded at the headquarters of the Public Health Department of Iași County-Public Health Control Service and communicated on the date of . ... concluded by the health inspector of the DSP Iasi, whereby I was fined 3000 lei for "failure by the person entering the territory of Romania to complete the Digital Entry Form for Romania-SII-FDIR within 24 hours of entry into the country, according to art.2 paragraph (4) of GEO NR.129/2021, recorded in the report of the observation of sanitary and hygienic conditions no.106603 dated 19.01.2022, made on 10.01.2022, 12:55 PM... Within a maximum of 15 days from the date of delivery or communication of the official report of the finding and sanctioning of contraventions, he will be able to pay half of the minimum fine provided by the normative act, namely 1000 lei". 
 Against these minutes, in accordance with the provisions of art. 31 para. 1 of OG. no. 2/2001, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 180/2002, and art.118 para.1 of OUG 195-2002, the contravention complaint was formulated. In the course of the trial, the petitioner X took note of the respondent's position and asked the court to find: 1. "the contravention of the contravention of the offence held against the complainant by the report of the contravention" as a result of the fact that the legal conditions for admitting the complaint are not met, the consequence being the annulment of the report of the contravention as stated by the respondent; 2. The restitution of the amount of 1000 lei paid as a fine that was applied and which was paid to the "Local Taxes and Duties Directorate, Iasi" by "Receipt for the collection of local budget debts", in the amount of 1000 lei (Exhibit 4) representing "half of the minimum fine provided for by the normative act, namely 1000 lei" established by the Official Report of the contravention.

Reviewing the Decision of the Nigerian Supreme Court in Huebner v AIE and PM Co Ltd: A Dissenting Opinion

AbstractIn this case, the Nigerian Supreme Court had the opportunity to build on the foundations of Nigerian trust law. The court was faced with facts that should have led to the implication of a resulting trust in favour of the appellant, since he had purchased a large parcel of land in the name of the respondent. While accepting that it made no contribution to the purchase or development of the land, the respondent sought to escape its fiduciary duty by alleging illegality, using the provisions of the Land Use Act as a statutory shield. The Nigerian Supreme Court endorsed the respondent's position, by electing to focus on the breach of the statute, while ignoring that equity would not allow a statute to be used as an instrument of fraud. This article shows how the court erred, as the statutory breach was not fatal to the appellant's claim: equity does not demand that its suitors have led blameless lives.

How CSR Affects Polish Enterprises

Purpose: The article refers to the assessment of the activities of enterprises within CSR, according to the classification adopted in the Carroll’s pyramid model. Research on CSR issues in this approach has been conducted since the 1980s and is usually addressed to the top management. Design/Approach/Methodology: This article is based on research on the attitude to CSR activities of managers / employees at the operational level; in this way we endeavour to fill a certain cognitive gap. The research included a representative sample of large and medium-sized enterprises in Poland, including representativeness by economy sectors. Findings: The research results point to a different hierarchy of CSR domains than that suggested by the Carroll’s pyramid (and most of the results of previous research addressed to the top management). The highest rated by respondents was legal responsibility, before ethical, and only third place was taken by economic responsibility. Practical Implications: The research results could be useful for managers responsible for CSR impleneting and developing. Originality/Value: The article contributed to filling the cognitive gap regarding priorities declared by CSR managers, i.e. persons implementing CSR activities on behalf of enterprises in practice. The research results indicate that the respondent's job position (the scope of duties related to CSR) and the economic sector they represent have the greatest impact on the valuation of individual areas of CSR, while the size of the enterprise has a weak impact.

The Role of Academic Leaders in Private Jordanian Universities in Creating Competitive Environments in Their Universities According to the Strategic Condition Matrix (ADL Matrix)

The present study aimed at identifying the role of academic leaders in private Jordanian universities in creating competitive environments in their universities according to The Strategic Condition Matrix (ADL Matrix). The study population consisted of all academic leaders in private Jordanian universities in the academic year (2019-2020), whereas the study sample consisted of (105) academic leaders. It was found that the status quo of competitive environments in private Jordanian universities according to The Strategic Condition Matrix (ADL Matrix) from academic leaders’ point of view for the institution’s competitive position, and the institution’s maturity and development in providing services dimensions was moderate. It was also found that there were no significant differences between the estimations of the study sample on the status quo in creating competitive environments in the private Jordanian universities according to The Strategic Condition Matrix (ADL Matrix) from academic leaders’ point of view that is attributed to the Region variable. It was found that there were no significant differences between the estimations of the study sample attributed to the respondent's position. Based on the results, several recommendations were suggested such as adopting contemporary administrative concepts in universities’ management at various levels, for example: Quality Management, Knowledge Management, Labour Engineering, this will lead to upgrading the overall and main university functions and direct them towards competitiveness. Keywords: Competitiveness, Private Universities, Academic Leaders, The Strategic Condition Matrix (ADL Matrix) DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-26-13 Publication date: September 30 th 2020

A study on the educational significance of special needs education in basis PHN education - 1st report

Abstract Background For public health nurses to support school-aged children with disabilities who live in the community, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of special needs education and learn the inter-professional collaboration that takes place in it. A survey was conducted on school teachers supporting school-aged children with special needs, and the perception of educational significance in basic PHN education and its related factors were examined. Methods In December 2019, a survey questionnaire was sent to all 1,052 special needs schools in Japan. Of the 350 respondents, 330 valid replies were analyzed. Regarding the significance of providing special needs education in basic PHN education, we asked for answers on a four-point scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” and scored 4 to 1 points. Then, unpaired t-tests were performed between every two groups of “school-targeted type of disabilities,” “respondent's position,” and “respondent's perception/experience.” In addition, Pearson's correlation coefficient test was performed on the relationship with the years of teacher experience in special needs schools. Results Perception of the significance of providing education was as follows: “school-targeted type of disabilities” refers to school groups with hearing impairments (p < 0.05), “respondent's position” groups are special needs education coordinators (p < 0.05), “respondent's perception/experience” was significantly higher in the group with a high cognition of PHN work (p < 0.05) and in the group with experience of cooperating with PHN (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant correlation with the years of teacher experience in special needs schools. Conclusions There was a high perception of the significance of providing education in school groups with hearing impairment and groups with actual coordination experience, especially where early detection and care were particularly required, regardless of years of teacher experience. Key messages Special needs education should be included in basic PHN education to promote inter-professional collaboration for improving QOL of school-age children with disabilities living in communities. To foster the foundation for promoting special needs education in basic PHN education, in-service PHNs need to work closely with schools to meet their expectations for PHNs.

NEW TOOLS, METHODS, PROCEDURES IN CONTROL(-LING)

Controlling is a constantly ongoing managerial process of designing standards, measuring performance, comparing the performance with standards, and implementing corrective actions to ensure effective and efficient running of the organization's activities. It represents one of the basic functions in management in Anglo-American understanding. Its importance has significantly risen during the last economic crisis. Other managerial functions include planning, organizing and leadership as well as staffing, decision making, analyzing and implementing. This paper does not understand the concept of management accounting under the term controlling (German meaning). Based on results of our questionnaire survey in 331 companies operating in Slovakia, which collected data at the turn of 2016 and 2017, we analyze new tools, methods and procedures in controlling, which were introduced in companies operating in Slovak Republic over the prior year. We analyze the research results according to the different characteristics of our research sample, such as size of the company (no. of employees), economic result, respondent's position in the organizational structure of the company etc.

Appreciative management assessed by physiotherapists working in public or private sector: A cross-sectional study.

To describe how appreciative management occurs in the working environment of physiotherapists. Cross-sectional survey. The data was collected with an electronic questionnaire. The survey instrument was Appreciative Management Scale. The participants were 474 physiotherapists working in clinical or managerial positions from public or private sector. Appreciative management was realized on an average level within physiotherapy. The highest scoring dimension was Equality and the weakest was Systematic Management. Appreciative management and all of its four categories were associated with the management education received by the manager, the respondent's position, and his or her current duties. The dimension of Appreciation of Know-how and its subdimensions of Guidance and Autonomy were recognized more often when the manager's basic training was in physiotherapy rather than another field. It is important that managers in physiotherapy recognize the characteristics of appreciative management, so they can include them as part of their good practice and as part of their own leadership style. Managers in physiotherapy need to be encouraged to participate in management education and also enable the participation of others. A background in physiotherapy can be seen to further the practice and development of physiotherapy. Offering physiotherapists challenging assignments and enabling their career development in physical therapy units is therefore of great importance.

Caregiver Fatigue

This article describes the profound impact of fatigue and the process by which 1 academic medical center assessed fatigue levels, and associated factors, among nursing personnel in their effort to develop a comprehensive fatigue management program. To adequately perform amid high patient acuity and in today's fast paced healthcare environment, nurses must be attentive and react quickly and appropriately with clear judgment and reasoning-abilities that can be greatly impaired by fatigue. Nursing leaders are instrumental in systematically addressing work-related fatigue and implementing processes designed to prevent fatigue and overwork; however, baseline measures are necessary if the efficacy of these initiatives is to be assessed. The 15-item Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion/Recovery scale was used to assess current fatigue levels among nursing staff at a university medical center. Demographic and schedule-related questions were used to examine the characteristics of the population and identify any associated factors. Work-related fatigue is prevalent among all nursing staff, but differences were noted based on the respondent's position, age, and typical work shift. Nursing administrators and shared governance councils can address the factors contributing to work-related fatigue and negatively impacting nursing personnel's ability to rest and recuperate. Nurse leader involvement is needed to develop comprehensive fatigue reduction strategies.

The importance and formalization of service quality dimensions: a comparison of Chile and the USA

Purpose – Services account for a very large portion of the economic activity in most countries. While there is abundant academic research on service quality, which has focused mainly on determining service quality dimensions, understanding service quality antecedents, and relating service quality to key outcomes, such as customer satisfaction and performance, there is, however, limited research on an increasingly relevant issue, which is how service quality perceptions differ among cultures. The aim of this research is to address this question. Design/methodology/approach – The research used two identical surveys administered to managers in two different cultures. One survey was in English for the US sample and one was in Spanish for the Chilean sample. The surveys measured the importance of the five SERVQUAL service dimensions as well as relevant information about the respondent's experience, position and type of company at which he/she worked. Each country was examined for significant characteristics using Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Hypotheses were developed reflecting the differences expected by the characteristics of the cultures in which the respondents worked. Data was analyzed to extract meaning from the data using ANOVA. Findings – Of the five service quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy), reliability is the most important in both countries. Responsiveness is the second most important. Three of the hypotheses testing the difference in perceived importance among service quality dimensions between Chile and the USA, were supported. H1: no difference exists between the two countries in the importance of tangibles, is supported (p=0.000). H2: reliability is more important in Chile than in the USA, is also supported (p=0.039). H3: responsiveness is more important in the USA than in Chile, is supported as well (p=0.012). Research limitations/implications – Use of MBA students as survey respondents limits the generalizability of the results. Despite the fact that each subject was employed in a managerial position within a firm, each subject was also enrolled in an MBA program. Arguably, the subjects are all employed in business but differ from others who are not in degree programs. Practical implications – The research highlights the need to attend to perceptions of service quality globally. The Hofstede cultural dimensions provide a clear and easy to apply framework that allows companies to identify what is important in a host culture. That information will enable service quality adjustments that offer the potential of improving customer satisfaction and firm success. Originality/value – The current research is the first to use two tested conceptualizations to assess differences in service quality importance across cultures. It explores the relationship of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, with perceptions of service quality. It hypothesizes which service quality dimensions will be important based on the characteristics of the culture in which they are delivered. No other study has compared service quality perceptions between the USA and Chile. Each country has a vibrant, free market economy. The study provides a foundation for approaching other markets in Latin America and in countries with similar cultural dimensions.

Project Managers’ Emotional Intelligence – A Ticket to Success

The purpose of this paper is to introduce recent research on correlation between project managers’ emotional intelligence and their professional success. The implications of this research are important to both project managers who wish to improve their performance and success rate and organizations in their human resource policy. Theoreti- cal considerations discussed potential impact of emotional intelligence on project managers’ success through review on concept and dimensions of emotional intelligence, findings of numbered empirical studies and leadership theories. Complementing these theoretical considerations with research study showed significant correlation between project managers’ emotional intelligence and professional success. Research was conducted on representative sample consi- sted of 75 project managers from top 10 Serbian companies. Data collection instrument was questionnaire consisted of self-descriptive emotional intelligence test and data on respondent's position in organizational hierarchy and edu- cational level. The empirical research reveals that there is a very high positive correlation between emotional intelli- gence and professional success and these findings should have a number of implications for project managers’ pra- ctice. Firstly, project managers should be aware of the concept, their level and way of improving different dimensions of emotional intelligence. Further, the human resource management departments of project oriented organizations should consider concept of emotional intelligence when recruiting staff to the position of project managers but also when deciding on human resources development programs. In order to help good project managers to become excel- lent there is a need for further investigations on methods for development of emotional intelligence competencies.

Concepts of labour status and their operationalisation in cross-national comparative social surveys

In the social sciences, the occupation variable is used to derive socio-economic status and/or occupational prestige. This article describes occupation as an indicator for social status and labor status as an indicator of the respondent's position in the life-cycle. First, we identify variables necessary to measure occupation, employment and the labour force concept from ILO (International Labour Organisation, Geneva). Second, we introduce strategies for harmonizing the underlying social concepts of the measurements in surveys across countries. Third, we present our own instrument to measure occupation and labour status as social demographic background variables in cross-national comparative surveys. Finally, we summarize the findings from a pilot survey. The test revealed that the instrument enables the data needed for the social science analysis of socio-economic status and occupational prestige to be collected with ease.

Early onset ageing and service preparation in people with intellectual disabilities: Institutional managers’ perspective

Although longevity among older adults with intellectual disabilities is increasing, there is limited information on their premature aging related health characteristics and how it may change with increasing age. The present paper provides information of the institutional manager's perception on early onset aging and service preparation for this population. We used purposive sampling to recruit 54 institutional managers who care for people with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan. The present study employed a cross-sectional design using a self-administrative structured questionnaire that was completed by the respondents in November 2009. The results showed that more than 90% of the respondents agreed with earlier onset aging characteristics of people with ID. However, nearly all of the respondents expressed that the government policies were inadequate and the institution is not capable of caring for aging people with ID, and more than half of them did not satisfy to their provisional care for this group of people. With regard to the service priority of government aging policy for people with ID, the respondent expressed that medical care, financial support, daily living care were the main areas in the future policy development for them. The factors of institutional type, expressed adequacy of government's service, respondent's job position, age, and working years in disability service were variables that can significantly predict the positive perceptions toward future governmental aging services for people with ID (adjusted R 2 = 0.563). We suggest that the future study strategy should underpin the aging characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities and its differences with general population to provide the useful information for the institutional caregivers.

Assessing Cultural Competence at a Local Hospital System in the United States

Cultural competence in health care has come to the forefront with the changing demographics in the United States. Standards have been created by the Office of Minority Health for culturally appropriate health care. This article presents the findings of one hospital system's cultural competency assessment. Employee surveys and patient and physician focus groups were conducted to gain insight into cultural differences and challenges encountered in this system. Statistically significant effects of ethnicity and gender on language skills and awareness, as well as differences in awareness and knowledge by the respondent's employment position, were found. Patient concerns included access to care and respect from staff. The need for cross-cultural education and training for all health care delivery personnel was reinforced. Cultural competency will not be achieved if education, attention to diversity, trained interpreters, and the understanding that social factors have a profound influence on health and health outcomes are not considered.

Gender roles and values of children: Childless Couples in East and West Germany

Abstract Presuming that not just economic circumstances but also ideational factors influence fertility decisions, the paper examines the values of children of East and West-German childless men and women living with a partner. Based on the survey about 'Change and Development of Family Life Forms', a confirmatory factor analysis identifies an affective, a utility and a cost dimension of the values of children, and for West-German women an additional dimension of opportunity costs. Although East and West-German men and women differed in their values of children, hypotheses about the higher affective value of children for East Germans compared to West Germans or for women compared to men are not supported for the specific sample. The values of children varied with respondent's labour-market position and the division of household work. An analysis of panel data for West Germany shows that first-birth rates depended on the values of children especially of women and on the gender roles in the home. Couples that practised a patriarchal division of labour had a relatively high first-birth rate whereas less traditional couples' behaviour was more varied depending on their affective value of children. 1. Introduction A popular explanation of current fertility trends in Western societies is the neoclassical economic theory (Becker 1981), which assumes that it is economically advantageous for spouses to specialize in market and in family work, respectively. As women's level of employment has risen during the last decades, women's increasing income has raised the opportunity costs of having children, lowering the presumed advantage of specialization. While these changes explain the drop in fertility in many Western countries, they do not fully account for the differences in fertility levels between these countries (Friedman et al. 1994). Recent research on the low levels of fertility in Western societies has suggested that not just the division of market work between the spouses but also the division of household work are key to their explanation (McDonald 2000a, 2000b; Olah 2003; Cooke 2004; Torr and Short 2004; de Laat and Sevilla Sanz 2007). The main argument is that women find it difficult to combine work and family if the household work is divided in the traditional way between the spouses. As a consequence women are reluctant to have children especially if they pursue a career. A more egalitarian setting should be associated with fewer stressors and higher fertility rates. The other major explanation of current fertility trends emphasizes the importance of ideational and cultural factors as part of the theory of the 'Second Demographic Transition' (van de Kaa 1987; Lesthaeghe 1995). According to this approach, the drop in fertility in Western societies was related to a change in the role and structure of the family in the context of rising postmaterialist values of self-expression and quality of life. This change might have progressed differently in different societal groups. In contrast, Becker's neoclassical economic theory presumes that all people have the same preferences about children. If one assumes that some couples are more eager for the woman to have a career than others, and that some couples have a more positive attitude to children than others, one can distinguish three situations: (a) The couple values children highly and wants the woman to be in paid work: these couples should profit from equality in the societal institutions and in the home when pursuing their fertility goals. (b) The couple does not especially value the woman's involvement in paid work but still holds positive values of children. These couples' intentions are compatible with a more traditional male breadwinner model. (c) The couple does not hold positive values of children. For these couples one would expect no relationship between gender equality and fertility. To test these scenarios it is necessary to consider in fertility models attitudes to children and to women's careers and the anticipated gender division of household work. …

An analysis of complex multiple‐choice science–technology–society items: Methodological development and preliminary results

AbstractThe scarce attention to the assessment and evaluation in science education research has been especially harmful for teaching science–technology–society (STS) issues, due to the dialectical, tentative, value‐laden, and polemic nature of most STS topics. This paper tackles the methodological difficulties of the instruments that monitor views related to STS topics and rationalizes a quantitative methodology and an analysis technique to improve the utility of an empirically developed multiple‐choice item pool, the Questionnaire of Opinions on STS. This methodology embraces an item‐scaling psychometrics based on the judgments by a panel of experts, a multiple response model, a scoring system, and the data analysis. The methodology finally produces normalized attitudinal indices that represent the respondent's reasoned beliefs toward STS statements, the respondent's position on an item that comprises several statements, or the respondent's position on an entire STS topic that encompasses a set of items. Some preliminary results show the methodology's ability to evaluate the STS attitudes in a qualitative and quantitative way and for statistical hypothesis testing. Lastly, some applications for teacher training and STS curriculum development in science classrooms are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 90:681–706, 2006

Contextual factors and perceived self-reported sleepiness: a preliminary report

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to determine whether contextual factors affect self-reported sleepiness. Specifically, when a reference situation is held constant (e.g. watching television), does the respondent's position, location, or interest in the activity alter sleepiness rating. We also evaluated interactions between an individual's level of sleepiness and the effect of these contextual factors. Method: This is a prospective survey conducted at a teaching hospital. Samples were drawn from four populations: a general non-patient population ( n=53), a geriatric population ( n=22), a medical resident population ( n=18), and patients referred for sleep evaluation ( n=53). We developed and administered a questionnaire that included a list of activities varied according to respondent's position, location, or interest in the activity. This questionnaire, along with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), was administered to 146 individuals. Results: Overall, we found significant differences ( P<0.01) in self-reported sleepiness when contextual factors were varied. However, the influence of contextual factors declined as a function of increasing sleepiness (estimated using ESS scores). Conclusions: The results of this preliminary study indicate that contextual factors can influence self-reported sleepiness rating; however, this influence diminishes as sleepiness increases. Thus, clarifying context may improve test sensitivity in more alert individuals but does not appear to add incremental value to self-reported sleepiness in sleepy patients.

Socioeconomic position across the lifecourse and cognitive function in late middle age.

To examine the influence of childhood and adult socioeconomic position, socioeconomic mobility, and cumulative disadvantage across the lifecourse on cognitive function in late middle age. Cross-sectional population-based study of 486 men age 58 and 64 from eastern Finland. Respondent's socioeconomic position in childhood was measured using parent's education and occupation, and respondent's position in adulthood was indicated by attained education and personal income. Cognitive function was assessed using five neuropsychological tests: Trail Making, Selective Reminding, Verbal Fluency, Visual Reproduction, and the Mini-Mental State Exam. Each indicator of socioeconomic position made statistically independent contributions to levels of cognitive function: Respondents from poor childhood backgrounds, and those who attained a limited education and earned a low income, performed worst on each test. Men who occupied a disadvantaged socioeconomic position in childhood and then experienced upward mobility over the lifecourse exhibited better cognitive performance than those with similar socioeconomic origins but limited or no upward mobility. Conversely, men from advantaged childhood backgrounds who later in life experienced downward mobility scored poorer on each cognitive test than their counterparts who remained in the most advantaged groups throughout the lifecourse. There was a strong, graded association between cumulative socioeconomic disadvantage and cognitive function: Men who occupied a low socioeconomic position during both childhood and adulthood scored worse on every test than those who occupied a high position at all points in their lives. Socioeconomic conditions across all stages of the lifecourse appear to make unique contributions to cognitive function in late middle age. These results also suggest that in terms of cognitive function, origin is not necessarily destiny, as disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances in childhood may be overcome to some extent by upward mobility later in life.

Social Class Identification and Class Interest in Taiwan

AbstractAre social classes perceived as a meaningful source of identity in Taiwan? I explore this issue with data from a 1992 survey (N = 2,377) of the population of Taiwan. Respondents were asked, "If people in our society are divided into upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, working and lower classes, which class do you think you belong to?" Ninety-eight per cent placed themselves in one or the other of these six classes. The modal responses were "middle class" (41%) and "working class" (29%). Two tests are made of whether these responses are meaningful and consequential. First, I show that subjective class identification is rooted in respondent's position in the objective stratification system, i.e., the higher one's education, occupation, power and income, the higher the social class with which one identifies. The second test is the extent to which, controlling for one's objective position in the stratification system, subjective class identification has significant net effects on attitudes toward class issues (e.g, whether big enterprises have too much economic and political power). Class interest theory predicts that Taiwanese who identify with the "middle" or higher classes have a more conservative ideology concerning class conflict, while those who think of themselves as "working class" or lower are more likely to believe there is class conflict, to favor collective action by employees against their employer, and to think big enterprises have too much power. Multiple regression analysis provides at best weak support for class interest theory. Subjective class identification has a significant net effect on attitudes toward only two of eight class issues. While the Taiwan respondents are not generally conservative on these class issues, class identification appears to have little to do with whether one is conservative or nonconservative. A serendipitous finding concerns education, which more than any other variable had significant net effects on attitudes toward class issues. It is Taiwan's most educated who are the least conservative on class issues. This finding has parallels with what some observers of Europe and the United States have called the New Class. The paper concludes with a discussion of the reasons why class identification is only weakly consequential for class-relevant beliefs in Taiwan.

Current opinion regarding indications for emergency department thoracotomy.

Emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) is a dramatic but rarely lifesaving intervention. Clinical variability regarding indications for EDT has yet to be quantified. Members of the Eastern and American Associations for the Surgery of Trauma were questioned by mail to evaluate which clinical and demographic factors influence the decision to perform EDT and whether physicians perform EDT in accordance with current practice guidelines. A single mailing of an anonymous survey was sent to 1,124 surgeons to collect institutional and physician demographics as well as indications for EDT on the basis of variable mechanisms of trauma, duration of arrest, and signs of life (SOL). Statistical analysis included the Pearson and linear-by-linear association chi(2) tests, independent samples t test, and univariate and multivariate analyses of variance; p values of < 0.05 were considered significant. Completed surveys were received from 358 respondents. After 54 surveys were excluded that were incomplete, late, or from noneligible respondents, 304 surveys were analyzed. There were no significant differences in EDT indications among institutions of differing caseload volume, exposure to penetrating trauma, trauma level designation, American College of Surgeons verification status, or residency program affiliation. In addition, neither the respondent's position nor whether attendings versus residents performed the majority of EDTs influenced clinical decision-making. Performance criteria for EDT were liberal in comparison with established guidelines, especially for blunt trauma. The presence or recent loss of SOL influenced responses, but respondents varied greatly in their definition of SOL. A lack of agreement exists regarding the indications for EDT in multiple clinical scenarios as well as in defining SOL. Indications for EDT were liberal, especially for blunt trauma-related indications, and were determined by clinical parameters, not by physician or institutional factors. Our results suggest that clinical practice is at variance with Advanced Trauma Life Support guidelines. We recommend that practice guidelines for EDT be established on the basis of a consensus definition of SOL to allow for a more uniform and selective approach to EDT.

The effect of respondent's kinship position on reported levels of integrational contact: USA and Japan

Intergenerational relationships are a topic of general concern to social scientists because of the importance of the family for individual's well-being, especially in times of crisis. Hence, a considerable amount of research on relationships between parents and their adult children has been published in a broad array of social science journals. Most of this research examines intergenerational relationships from the perspective of only one generation and implicitly assumes that we would get the same results if we were to examine the rela- tionships from the point of view of other family members. In societies where there are strong norms regarding kin contact, this assumption is likely to be invalid. This research examines reported levels of face-to-face contact among kin in the USA and Japan, and tests whether these reports are systematically different for respondents in some kinship positions than in others. The results show that norms favoring patrilineal contact in Japan can produce reporting bias. In Japan, married daughters tend to underreport levels of contact with their parents. In the USA, children-in-law report lower levels of visiting.