Quality assurance. Evaluate thyself

Quality assurance (qa) programs must be documented carefully, systematically, and completely to be of continued value. A literature review revealed that no tools had been developed to evaluate the effectiveness of qa programs. A tool was designed and tested to assess the reports of qa studies, as an initial step in establishing the benefits of qa. The tool was found to yield reproducible results and its use is recommended to others.

“Why Me?”: An Attributional Analysis of a Major Illness

The applicability of attribution theory in general, and Weiner's model in particular, to a medical setting was investigated. Patients undergoing thoracic surgery were interviewed before and after surgery to ascertain why they thought they had the disease and why they were recovering at an adequate or inadequate rate from the surgery. These data were analyzed to answer two primary questions. First, to what extent can Weiner's academically-based attribution model be applied to a medical setting? Secondly, do the attributions that patients make about the cause of their disease affect their ability to recover from it? The results indicated that Weiner's theory can be applied to this situation, although a modification in one major dimension of the theory (the Locus dimension) seems warranted. In addition, the causal attributions that patients made about their disease correlated with recovery, although the pattern of attributions for successful patients was complex and theoretically ambiguous. Suggestions for modifying Weiner's model to make the theory more applicable to a medical setting are presented.

The momentum of population growth with time dependent net maternity function

The momentum of population growth problem of Keyfitz is generalized to contain a gradual change of the age-specific birth rate to the level of bare replacement. Assuming a time dependence for the net maternity function of the form , R being the net reproductive rate, we show that for the Malthusian model the asymptotic birth rate is increased by exp (r/λ), where r is the rate of increase of the population before t = 0. A numerical method for obtaining the asymptotic birth rate for a general net maternity function with the same time dependence is outlined.

The stable births resulting from a time dependent change between two net maternity functions

The asymptotic birth rate for a one-sex population in which the net maternity function changes to one of bare replacement was first discussed by Keyfitz and has since been studied by several authors. The present generalization allows for a time dependent transition from any net maternity function to another and, thus, includes all previous models.

The stable births resulting from a time dependent change between two net maternity functions

The asymptotic birth rate for a one-sex population in which the net maternity function changes to one of bare replacement was first discussed by Keyfitz and has since been studied by several authors. The present generalization allows for a time dependent transition from any net maternity function to another and, thus, includes all previous models.

The momentum of population growth with time dependent net maternity function

The momentum of population growth problem of Keyfitz is generalized to contain a gradual change of the age-specific birth rate ro the level of bare replacement. Assuming a time dependence for the net maternity function of the form (formula: see text) R being the net reproductive rate, we show that for the Malthusian model the asymptotic birth rate is increased by exp (r/lambda), where r is the rate of increase of the population before t = 0. A numerical method for obtaining the asymptotic birth rate for a general net maternity function with the same time dependence is outlined.

Relationship of locus of control to preoperative anxiety

Scores on Rotter's I-E scale and Zuckerman's Multiple Affect Adjective Check List, Today Form for 91 presurgical patients (18–85 yr.) were symmetrically distributed. When I-E scores were partitioned Externals were significantly more anxious than Internals, but the actual mean difference was small. About 10% of the variance in anxiety was accounted for by the r of .31 with I-E scores. Time of day of test was not critical.

An Investigation of Finite Strain in an Isotropic Material Subjected to Hydrostatic Pressure and its Seismological Applications

An attempt is made to reduce the generality of the usual theories of finite strain and to concentrate on the case of hydrostatic pressure. The method used has been based on the works of Murnaghan (1951) and Birch (1952), and yields a general relation giving the elastic constants in terms of the strain and the derivatives of pressure with respect to strain.