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PubMedDate not supplied

The acoustic vowel space of modern Greek and German.

The spectral characteristics of vowels in Modern Greek and German were examined. Four speakers of Modern Greek and three speakers of German produced four repetitions of words containing each vowel of their native language. Measurements of the fundamental frequency and the first three formats were made for each vowel token. These measurements were then transformed into log frequency ratios and plotted as points in the three-dimensional auditory-perceptual space proposed by Miller (1989). Each vowel token was thus represented by one point, and the points corresponding to each vowel category were enclosed in three-dimensional target zones. For the present corpus, these zones differentiate the five vowels of Modern Greek with 100% accuracy, and the fourteen vowels of German with 94% accuracy. Implications for the distribution of common vowels across languages as a function of vowel density are discussed.

Auditory Perception↗

PubMed2004

The impact of pump-priming funding on genitourinary medicine and modernization of services.

Genitourinary (GU) medicine services are under increasing pressure due to increased workload. The Department of Health responded to this crisis by allocating pump-priming funding of ?5 million direct to GU medicine clinics in 2002-03. A survey was performed of all clinics in England to determine if funding was received, its utilization and the extent of modernization of services. Response rate was 71% (147 of 206 clinics), with 95% (140) receiving their allocation. Additional clinics were instated by 54% (74/137) and of these 51% (35/69) had thus reduced their waiting times. Extensive modernization of services was under way, with 89% (130/146) reducing proportion of follow-up attendances, 87% (127/146) extending the nurse role and the majority of clinics looking at developing or extending their clinical networks. This study has shown the direct benefit of increased funding allocated to GU medicine and the extent of modernization under way.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗

PubMed1984

Modern or traditional? A study of treatment preference for neuropsychiatric disorders in Botswana.

Subjects in Botswana were asked to state their preference between modern (doctor or nurse) or indigenous (traditional or religious healer) care for three case vignettes of epilepsy, psychosis, and tuberculosis. Nurses, medical patients, and a general village population were studied. Many subjects preferred modern care for all disorders, whilst a small number favoured indigenous treatment only. A significant percentage discriminated between disorders, choosing indigenous care for some and modern for others. Indigenous care was most favoured for epilepsy, and least for tuberculosis. Psychosis took an intermediate position. The size of the discriminating group varied between populations, but the overall pattern of attitudes remained the same. Neither demographic factors nor aetiological beliefs consistently identified those who choose indigenous care.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

A measure of individual modernity.

Individual modernity may be defined as a syndrome of attitudes and beliefs, including progressivism, secularity, optimism, future-oriented perspectives, and a sense of personal efficacy. Measures of individual modernity have frequently been used in sociological and cross-cultural inquiry, but less attention has been paid to these devices by psychologists. An attempt was therefore initiated to construct- a new, brief index of modernity suitable for group administration and as free as possible from nuisance relationships to generalized distrust and anomie. An 8-item scale appearing to possess the desired attributes was developed on samples of 80 males and 139 females. Tentative norms were derived from a new sample of 766 subjects, and preliminary interpretational information was presented.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Why are modern families small? Toward an evolutionary and cultural explanation for the demographic transition.

As societies modernize, they go through what has become known as "the demographic transition;" couples begin to limit the size of their families. Models to explain this change assume that reproductive behavior is either under individual control or under social control. The evidence that social influence plays a role in the control of reproduction is strong, but the models cannot adequately explain why the development of small family norms always accompanies modernization. We suggest that the widening of social networks, which has been found to occur with modernization, is sufficient to explain the change in reproductive norms if it is assumed that (a) advice and comment on reproduction that passes among kin is more likely to encourage the creation of families than that which passes among nonkin and (b) this advice and comment influence the social norms induced from the communications. This would, through a process of cultural evolution, lead to the development of norms that make it increasingly difficult to have large families.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMed2002

Understanding the practical advantages of modern ANOVA methods.

Examined the fundamental problems associated with standard hypothesis testing techniques. This article explains why many articles have failed to detect problems due to nonnormality and discusses the basics of modern methods aimed at correcting these problems. Based on hundreds of published articles, it is now known that when groups differ, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) F test and related techniques that assume normality and homoscedasticity (equal variances) can perform poorly. In practical terms, if researchers interested in clinical child and adolescent psychology want to detect important differences among groups and accurately assess how the groups differ, and by how much, modern technology has much to offer. In fact, even highly nonsignificant results based on an F test can become significant. Moreover, modern methods offer improved control over the probability of a Type I error and more accurate confidence intervals.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Deterioration in carbohydrate metabolism and lipoprotein changes induced by modern, high fat diet in Pima Indians and Caucasians.

The transition from a high carbohydrate to a high fat diet may explain in part the dramatic increase in the prevalence of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus among Pima Indians over the last century. In this study, 12 Pimas and 12 caucasians, all nondiabetic, were admitted to a metabolic ward and, in random order, fed 2 14-day weight-maintaining diets: a traditional Pima diet (percentage of calories: carbohydrate, 70% fat, 15%; protein, 15%) and a high fat modern diet (carbohydrate, 30%; fat, 50%; protein, 20%). Carbohydrate metabolism was characterized using the modified iv glucose tolerance test (minimal model), the acute insulin responses to arginine during a 3-step glycemic clamp, and the oral glucose tolerance test. Compared with the traditional diet, the modern diet was associated with a decrease in oral glucose tolerance (P less than 0.01) and higher plasma cholesterol concentrations (P less than 0.02). The decline in glucose tolerance was associated with similar insulin-mediated, but 23% lower glucose-mediated (P less than 0.001), glucose disposal, a 17% lower acute insulin response to glucose (P less than 0.03), a 9% lower beta-cell sensitivity to glucose (P less than 0.02), and similar beta-cell capacities. Pimas and caucasians responded similarly, except for larger changes in plasma lipids among the Pimas. Since glucose-mediated glucose disposal, beta-cell function, and glucose tolerance deteriorated on the modern diet, it is likely that diet composition affects the prevalence of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in both Pimas and caucasians.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Development and validation of a scale measuring modern prejudice toward gay men and lesbian women.

This paper describes the psychometric properties of the Modern Homonegativity Scale (MHS), which measures contemporary negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians (i.e., attitudes not based on traditional or moral objections to homosexuality). In Study 1 (N = 353), a preliminary version of the MHS was developed, and its psychometric properties were examined. Participants in Studies 2 and 3 (Ns = 308 and 233, respectively) completed the MHS and other attitudinal measures. The relationships among these variables were investigated to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the scale's construct validity. In Study 4 (N = 36), a behavioural expression of modern homonegativity was examined using the attributional ambiguity paradigm. The results of these studies indicate that the MHS is unidimensional, possesses a high degree of internal consistency, and is factorially distinct from a measure of old-fashioned homonegativity. As hypothesized, scores on the MHS correlated positively with political conservatism, religious behaviour, religious self-schema and modern sexism, but did not correlate significantly with social desirability bias. In addition, the MHS appears to be less susceptible to floor effects than a commonly used measure of old-fashioned homonegativity. Finally, the experimental study revealed that participants obtaining high scores on the MHS were less likely to sit beside individuals wearing T-shirts with pro-gay or pro-lesbian slogans when they could justify their seating choice on nonprejudicial grounds.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Trauma surgery and traffic policy in Germany in the 1930s: a case study in the coevolution of modern surgery and society.

This paper analyzes how in Germany in the first half of the twentieth century the development of surgery and modern automobile traffic were intertwined. It describes the mutual influence of traffic policy and trauma surgery under the conditions of National Socialist politics of modernization. This coevolutionary development provides an example of how the rise of much of modern surgery can be better understood by taking into account other, nonmedical developments in society.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2006

Understanding social insurance: fairness, affordability, and the 'modernization' of Social Security and Medicare.

Americans have been urged for several decades to view Social Security and Medicare as political relics--both unaffordable and unfair in light of contemporary demographic and fiscal circumstances and the practices of modern financial markets and modern medicine. Proposals abound for "modernizing" both systems to emphasize choice, competition, and individual ownership. This paper contends that critics of Social Security and Medicare have misanalyzed the problems of both programs and are urging misdirected reforms. The critics, we argue, are often wrong factually and sometimes confused conceptually. More fundamentally, these critiques and proposals are either ignorant of or hostile to the fundamental logic of social insurance.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Modern antipsychotic drugs: a critical overview.

Conventional antipsychotic drugs, used for a half century to treat a range of major psychiatric disorders, are being replaced in clinical practice by modern "atypical" antipsychotics, including aripiprazole, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone and ziprasidone among others. As a class, the newer drugs have been promoted as being broadly clinically superior, but the evidence for this is problematic. In this brief critical overview, we consider the pharmacology, therapeutic effectiveness, tolerability, adverse effects and costs of individual modern agents versus older antipsychotic drugs. Because of typically minor differences between agents in clinical effectiveness and tolerability, and because of growing concerns about potential adverse long-term health consequences of some modern agents, it is reasonable to consider both older and newer drugs for clinical use, and it is important to inform patients of relative benefits, risks and costs of specific choices.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

PubMed1997

Seminal truth: a modern science of male celibacy in north India.

Many scholars have noted that brahmacharya (celibacy) is an important concept in Hindu notions of male identity (cf. Kakar 1981, 1982, 1990; Obeyesekere 1976, 1981; for comparison, see Gilmore 1990). Although the psychological basis of this concept has been studied, there is very little in the literature on the "medical mechanics" of being and becoming a brahmachari. Nor is there is a comprehensive account for the precise relationship between sex and the meaning of physical health in modern urban India. Through an examination of the popular Hindi literature on brahmacharya, interpreted within the context of therapeutic celibacy as put in practice by a modern yoga society, this article shows how a discourse about sex, semen, and health is conceived of in terms of embodied truth. Using Foucault's critique of Western sexuality as a contrasting frame of reference, I argue that the "truth" about sex in modern North India is worked out in somatic rather than psychological terms, in which morality is problematically defined by male physiology and gendered conceptions of good health.

Humans↗

PubMed2005

A test of the formal and modern theories of matching.

The present study tested a formal, or purely mathematical, theory of matching, and a modern account derived by McDowell (1986) that incorporates deviations from strict matching-bias and sensitivity. Six humans pressed a lever for monetary reinforcers on five concurrent variable interval (VI) schedules of reinforcement. All schedules were presented during each session. The magnitude on one alternative remained constant, and five magnitudes were presented across sessions on the other alternative. To test the formal account, two absolute response rate equations were fitted to the response and reinforcement rates at each alternative at each magnitude. Although the equations accounted for a high percentage of variance, there was a significant negative correlation between the standardized residuals and the predicted response rates. To test the modern account, an ensemble of four equations was fitted to the data. The equations predicted relative and absolute responding, and the independent variables in each equation were adjusted for bias and sensitivity. The equations accounted for a high percentage of variance, and the standardized residuals were not correlated with the predicted response rates. The values of the parameters were consistent with empirical findings and theoretical predictions, including the prediction that k should remain constant across changes in reinforcer magnitude. The results suggest that the formal theory of matching does not describe the data, and that the modern theory may provide an accurate and coherent description of concurrent and single-alternative responding.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

The modernizing Kazakhstan: a review of biomedical data.

In order to focus the situation of Kazakhstan today in relation to the processes of modernization and transition to a market economy and to evidence their effects on the biology and health status of the population of Kazakhstan, we have reviewed recently available data for this region (1993-1999). Kazakhstan is still characterized by a pyramid shaped age distribution of its population and by a high incidence of not communicable diseases and lack of nutrient and micronutrients, especially among children. However, the population of Kazakhstan seems to be not immune to the diseases of the modernization. I.e., among women obesity is more frequent than underweight, especially in the urban areas. In rural populations the frequency of clinically relevant hypertension resulted low in the more isolated and traditionally living communities but it increased to 20% in the less isolated one. Although it is expected a strong increase of urbanized population in the next 25 years, currently, modernization is probably influencing life style and nutritional habits of almost only a minority of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan.

Anthropology, Cultural↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Modernization and geographical diffusion as explanations for regional differences in the consumption of wine and beer in the European Community.

Mediterranean and Northern countries in Europe differ strongly in drinking cultures and drinking patterns. However, since about 1960 the Mediterranean and Northern countries in Europe have converged with respect to per capital consumption and beverage choice. This paper explores whether modernization and/or geographical diffusion explain the convergence in beverage choice for countries belonging to the EC. The results show that for wine and two of the indicators of modernization, the expected results are found. The diffusion of beer is not related with the indicators of modernization used in this study. There is no or only very limited support for the relevance of geographical proximity for the diffusion of beer and wine.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

The modern family and rehabilitation of the handicapped: a macrosociological view.

Modernization of society has fundamentally altered the family institution and at the same time has produced a medical institution capable of decreasing the prevalence of infectious diseases, while increasing the prevalence of chronic handicaps. Structural and functional changes in the family resulting from modernization include: smaller size and increased mobility; more women employed outside the home; age segregation and increased longevity of members; higher rates of dissolution; and loss of functions to other institutions in a more specialized society. Changes making the modern family ill-equipped to care for the chronically disabled are discussed, together with implications for rehabilitation.

Persons with Disabilities↗

PubMed2003

The symbol of modern medicine: why one snake is more than two.

Today, two serpent motifs are commonly used to symbolize the practice and profession of medicine. Internationally, the most popular symbol of medicine is the single serpent-entwined staff of Asklepios (Latin, Aesculapius), the ancient Greco-Roman god of medicine. However, in the United States, the staff of Asklepios (the Asklepian) and a double serpent-entwined staff with surmounting wings (the caduceus) are both popular medical symbols. The latter symbol is often designated as the "medical caduceus" and is equated with the ancient caduceus, the double serpent-entwined staff of the Greco-Roman god Hermes (Latin, Mercury). Many physicians would be surprised to learn that the medical caduceus has a quite modern origin: Its design is derived not from the ancient caduceus of Hermes but from the printer's mark of a popular 19th-century medical publisher. Furthermore, this modern caduceus became a popular medical symbol only after its adoption by the U.S. Army Medical Corps at the beginning of the 20th century. This paper describes the ancient origin of the Asklepian and how a misunderstanding of ancient mythology and iconography seems to have led to the inappropriate popularization of the modern caduceus as a medical symbol.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Methodological challenges in the study of psychological recovery from modern surgery.

Most cases of elective surgery in the UK are now undertaken in day-case facilities, and the trend is set to increase. Surgical and anaesthetic health care is changing rapidly. Traditional pre- and post-operative nursing intervention, once commonly taught and practised, must now be re-evaluated as a result of such transformations. However, undertaking research in order to investigate the fresh challenges facing nursing in the modern surgical environment may present many difficulties. Methodological issues, such as the application of research approaches, time for adequate data collection, and the utilisation of patients as participants undergoing modern surgery, will present numerous barriers. In this article, Mark Mitchell identifies and discusses three problematic methodological issues that currently challenge the effective study of psychological recovery from modern surgery in the UK.

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗