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Biomedical subjects

L A Jason

Publications and source records attributed to L A Jason.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Pedestrian jaywalking under facilitating and nonfacilitating conditions.

Each year, thousands of pedestrians are killed or injured while crossing streets in the United States. Pedestrians who jaywalk across busy intersections increase their risk of being injured by an automobile. The present series of studies investigated pedestrian jaywalking behaviors under temporal conditions which appeared to control noncompliance and compliance with pedestrian walk signs. An intersection involving three major streets was the target site of the studies. The timing of walk and no-walk light sequences was different in the clockwise and counterclockwise direction and produced differential delays. In three separate studies, significantly more pedestrians jaywalked when walking in the long-delay as opposed to short-delay direction. Traffic planners might use these findings to establish safer pedestrian signal systems.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Reduction of cigarette smoking in a university cafeteria.

Passive smoking has been shown to be hazardous to the health of nonsmokers. Given this documented link between exposure to smoke-filled environments and deleterious health consequences, there is a need to develop effective procedures that establish and maintain no-smoking areas in various public settings. The present study focused on decreasing cigarette smoking in a section of a university cafeteria. Posting of no-smoking signs was found to decrease levels of smoking only minimally. However, when smokers were verbally prompted not to smoke, in the presence of the signs, marked decreases in smoking occurred in the target area.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Modifying dog litter in urban communities.

Dog litter not only damages the esthetic quality of a community but also poses a serious health problem. The present paper summarizes a series of projects which were designed to ameliorate this litter problem. Two studies indicated that surrounding specific target areas with posts connected by string effectively eliminated dog droppings. Two other studies, which focused on prompting dog owners to pick up their dogs' droppings, also brought about considerable reductions in dog litter.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Enhancing social interactions and activity among the elderly through stimulus control.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of a stimulus control procedure (access to free coffee and cookies) in increasing attendance and interactions among elderly in a lounge area of a nursing home. Following a baseline period, residents were provided access to coffee and cookies. The results showed that the refreshments were effective in increasing attendance and interactions and in decreasing television watching. In addition, attendance and participation during a subsequent activity session increased. Attendance, interactions, and participation decreased during a return to baseline period, and increased again with reimplementation of treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Preventive intervention programs for disadvantaged children.

This paper describes a 6-year effort aimed at developing educational interventions for a group of economically disadvantaged children. The program provided an opportunity for psychologists and student paraprofessionals to join with personnel at urban health care facilities in responding to a serious identified community problem--disadvantaged youngsters, ages 1 and 2, who are vulnerable to later school and life difficulties. The intervention succeeded in enhancing academic skills among six groups of disadvantaged toddlers. As ongoing research results indicated the need for new program elements, the university personnel piloted innovations and the health centers gradually incorporated effective components into the existing program.

Child Behavior Disorders↗
PubMed1978

Behavioral versus process consultation interventions in school settings.

Teachers experiencing difficulties in managing disruptive, acting-out children in two parochial first-grade classes were provided either behavioral or process consultation. The behavioral intervention included discussions of behavior modification principles, feedback concerning contingent praise, and individualized behavioral interventions. In contrast, the process consultant used clarifying, supportive, and reflective responses to help the teacher better understand classroom difficulties and enhance her ability to work with problem children. Results of the interventions indicated that during consultation sessions and follow-up, problem behaviors were significantly reduced and attention to desirable behaviors significantly increased. The results were observed in three problem children in the classroom provided with behavioral consultation, and there only. Both teachers rated problem children as being less disruptive following program involvement. Significant positive relations were found between directly observed and teacher ratings of problem behaviors.

Acting Out↗
PubMed1976

Relational and behavioral interventions with economically disadvantaged toddlers.

Matched groups of children, ages 12-24 months, referred for early social or verbal developmental lags or home-environment problems, participated either in a center-based "relational" or a home-based "behavior modification" intervention. Although both programs accelerated youngsters' intellectual development, there were few differences between groups on the criterion change measures.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gender and smoking behavior in a worksite smoking cessation program.

Gender-specific patterns in smoking behavior among 844 men and women who participated in a worksite smoking cessation program were explored. Although gender did not predict outcome, men and women did differ on a number of smoking behaviors and smoking history variables. Male participants smoked cigarettes with a higher nicotine content and smoked a greater number of cigarettes per day. Females reported having made more previous attempts to quit, less confidence about quitting, greater effort to quit, greater worry about smoking-related illness, and that they would be less likely to quit on their own if this program were not offered. Females did tend to report receiving higher levels of general social support, as well as partner support for quitting smoking; however, greater support did not lead to higher quit rates. At the 2-year assessment, 14.3% of female participants (n = 532) reported abstinence, while 13.5% of male participants (n = 312) reported abstinence, when missing data were recoded as smoking.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Feminist perspectives on the social construction of chronic fatigue syndrome.

We contrast Western medical views of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) etiology, diagnosis, and treatment with views maintained by a predominantly female CFS population. We argue that the failure of Western medicine to demonstrate a viral etiology for CFS led to a paradigmatic shift in research perspectives, which then embraced psychiatric and sociocultural explanations for CFS. As a result, CFS was delegitimized as a biomedical phenomenon within medical, academic, governmental, and public arenas. We compare alternative social constructions of CFS with issues pertaining to multiple sclerosis (MS), an illness that similarly predominates among women. Patient perspectives suggest that the history of medical attitudes toward CFS may eventually parallel the transformations that occurred in relation to MS. In particular, the discovery of biological markers for CFS may lay to rest the categorization of CFS as largely within the psychiatric realm.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and multiple chemical sensitivities in a community-based sample of persons with chronic fatigue syndrome-like symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine illness comorbidity rates for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), and multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS). An additional objective was to identify characteristics related to the severity of fatigue, disability, and psychiatric comorbidity in each of these illness groups. METHODS: A random sample of 18,675 residents in Chicago, Illinois, was first interviewed by telephone. A control group and a group of individuals with chronic fatigue accompanied by at least four minor symptoms associated with CFS received medical and psychiatric examinations. RESULTS: Of the 32 individuals with CFS, 40.6% met criteria for MCS and 15.6% met criteria for FM. Individuals with MCS or more than one diagnosis reported more physical fatigue than those with no diagnosis. Individuals with more than one diagnosis also reported greater mental fatigue and were less likely to be working than those with no diagnosis. Individuals with CFS, MCS, FM, or more than one diagnosis reported greater disability than those with no diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of coexisting disorders were lower than those reported in prior studies. Discrepancies may be in part attributable to differences in sampling procedures. People with CFS, MCS, or FM endure significant disability in terms of physical, occupational, and social functioning, and those with more than one of these diagnoses also report greater severity of physical and mental fatigue. The findings illustrate differences among the illness groups in the range of functional impairment experienced.

Adolescent↗