Transitions in Visual Proprioception: A Cross-Sectional Developmental Study of the Effect of Visual Flow on Postural Control

In the present study, a moving room paradigm was used that characterized the developmental progression of the effects of visual perturbations on stance control in subjects (N = 39) from 5 months to 10 years of age. Kinematic (probability of recording sway, magnitude of sway response) and electromyographic (probability and patterns of muscle activation, muscle onset latencies) data were found that suggested that visual flow simulating sway activates organized postural muscle responses and results in subsequent sway in standing infants as young as 5 months of age, well before they are able to stand independently. In new walkers, there was an increase in the magnitude of the effect of the visual perturbation, suggesting a possible increase in reliance on visual information. The magnitude of sway decreased to very low levels in older children and adults. The large-amplitude responses observed in the youngest age groups may indicate an inability to switch from an unreliable to a reliable source of perceptual information or an inability to modulate the responses produced following the perturbations. With increasing age and experience, the ability to resolve the conflict increased, with adult subjects demonstrating little sway response.

A survey of health sciences libraries in hospitals: implications for the 1990s

In response to an expressed need for comprehensive data on health sciences libraries in hospitals, the American Hospital Association (AHA) conducted a survey of all U.S. registered hospitals in 1990. The response rate was 57%. Results showed that 2,167 hospitals (31.6% of all U.S. registered hospitals) had on-site libraries that met four definitional criteria. Survey results also indicated that hospitals use diverse resources and approaches to provide information services to a wide array of health care providers and consumers. These baseline data, combined with an assessment of key environmental factors affecting hospitals, can provide guidance to hospital libraries as they face the challenges of the 1990s. The AHA has added the health sciences library to services tracked in its annual survey of hospitals; additional research opportunities in this area remain.

Journals indexed by the AHA Resource Center for Hospital Literature Index and HEALTH database

The American Hospital Association (AHA) Resource Center indexes journals for the Health Planning and Administration (HEALTH) database and Hospital Literature Index (HLI). These journals, designated special list health journals, are selected to provide access to a wide and balanced coverage of hospital and health care administration and health policy literature. This article provides background information on HEALTH and HLI and describes special list health journals in detail (including historical information, information sources, and broad subject divisions). It also discusses AHA policies relating to journal and article selection and current subject distribution of special list health journals.

Membership: return on investment

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Communication: a means to an end

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The marketing audit: a new perspective on library services and products

A marketing audit enables a library to look at audiences, services, and products with a structured approach. The audit can be used to assess operations and to provide a framework for ongoing decision making, evaluation, and long-range planning. An approach to the audit process is presented and its application is demonstrated in a case study featuring the American Hospital Association Resource Center.

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The bingo model. IV. The statistics of survivorship in the bingo-gamma model

The survivorship (time to death or failure) of a bingo-gamma (BG) model is defined as the minimum among the waiting times for completion among k independent gamma processes. The ith process is of order ni, with a mean rate for the occurrence of hits of ai. In this paper we address the case where, for all competing processes, the order and the rate at which hits occur are the same but both they and k are unknown. We denote by k the multiplicity, by n the order or the number of hits to failure, and by a the transition parameter. The joint maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of the three parameters of this BG process is developed. An algorithm for calculating it has been devised and a computer program in BASIC has been written. The properties of the MLE have been explored systematically, mainly by Monte Carlo simulation. The distributions, means, variances, covariances, and correlation coefficients of the three parameters are explored for samples of size 25 and samples of size 100. Also, the simple average of the observed survival times (which gives a method of moments estimator of the mean survival) is compared with the MLE of the mean survival; the two estimators seem to be unbiased and about equally efficient.

The economics of clinical genetics services. II. A time analysis of a medical genetics clinic

In a time-and-reimbursement analysis of our clinical genetics service, we documented (1) the time spent by professionals and staff in serving families before, during, and after the clinic visit; (2) the charges and reimbursement for the services provided; and (3) the relationship between income from clinical practice and the personnel costs of the clinic. We found that newly referred and returning families required 7.1 and 4.0 h, respectively. Average collections for professional services were +135 (+19/h) for new families and +49 (+12/h) for returning families. Income from clinical practice covered 37% of the clinical portion of personnel costs. These results indicate that cognitive clinical genetics services are labor intensive, yield low payments per service hour, and are not financially self-supporting. To improve the economic status of genetics clinics, administrators might consider rendering services more efficiently; increasing charges for services; billing for all services provided to all family members; billing for all genetics professionals, including counselors and social workers; and requesting payment at the time of service.

Information needs of university programs in health administration: report of survey response

Program directors and librarians providing information support for academic programs in health administration share similar perceptions of the information needs of their students and faculty. Where they differ in identification of helpful products or key discussion topics, the difference appears to be a function of their role. For example, it is probable that librarians do not consider preparation of user-specific bibliographies from on-line databases as an important AHA Resource Center product because they prepare these themselves at the local level. Conversely, it is probable that program directors do not see an overview of current issues in health administration as a high-priority topic for a meeting because they have access to more immediate resources for that kind of information. Not unexpectedly, program directors and librarians alike see the AHA Resource Center's role as a secondary one and look within their own institution first for information support. A report of survey results and information about the AHA Resource Center were shared with survey respondents and nonresponding program directors in January 1985. The AHA Resource Center is utilizing responses to this survey to plan services and programs that will be helpful to faculty and students in university programs in health administration and to library staff serving these programs.

Health science library and information services in the hospital

In an increasingly information-based society, hospitals need a variety of information for multiple purposes--direct patient care, staff development and training, continuing education, patient and community education, and administrative decision support. Health science library and information services play a key role in providing broad-based information support within the hospital. This guide identifies resources that will help administrators plan information services that are appropriate to their needs.

Library development and the joint commission on accreditation of hospitals standards

The author traces the historical development of standards for library services prepared by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, emphasizing those elements of the present standards that auger well for the development of libraries in hospitals. Then examined are the role of librarians and new roles for libraries, stressing sound management practices that ensure continued development.