The academic elite in marketing: linkages among top-ranked graduate programs.

The 10 top-ranked graduate programs in marketing, based on a national survey of deans and top administrators, were linked to one another by these programs hiring one another's graduates. Approximately one-half of the faculty members in these 10 programs had graduated from one of these same 10 programs. It is suggested that this linkage helps these programs to maintain and enhance their prestige.

Hiring practices in British sociology: linkages among top-rated sociology doctoral programs.

The extent to which top-rated and lower-rated doctoral programs in sociology in Great Britain hired their own and one another's graduates was evaluated. The 8 top-rated doctoral programs in sociology in Great Britain did not hire one another's graduates to the extent this occurs in such doctoral programs in sociology in the United States.

Linkages among top-ranked graduate programs in special education: a brief report.

The 10 top-ranked graduate programs in special education, based on national surveys of deans, top administrators, and senior faculty, were substantially linked to one another by hiring one another's graduates. We suggested that this linkage helps these programs to maintain and enhance their prestige.

The academic elite in health services administration: linkages among top-ranked graduate programs.

The eleven top-ranked graduate programs in health services administration, based on a national survey of deans, top administrators, and senior faculty, were linked to one another by hiring one another's graduates. It is suggested that this linkage helps these programs maintain and enhance their prestige.

Teachers' perceptions of occupational stress factors.

Perceptions of factors in occupational stress were examined using the 17 elementary and 25 high school teachers' gender, age, experience, and grade taught. Statistically significant differences were reported.

Hiring practices in dental education: comparison of top-and lower-ranked schools.

The ten top-ranked dental schools, as indicated in The Gourman Report, had hired significantly more faculty members from among their own graduates (Mdn=42.5%) than had ten randomly selected lower-ranked dental schools (Mdn=19.6%). However, the proportions of faculty members hired by the ten top-ranked dental schools from graduates of the top-ranked schools other than their own (Mdn=15.9%) were nearly identical to the proportions of faculty members hired by the lower-ranked schools from graduates of the ten top-ranked schools (Mdn=17.2%). Both top-ranked and lower-ranked schools showed wide variations in their tendencies to hire faculty from top-ranked schools. Some variables that might account for these variations in hiring practices are noted.

Comment on Witherspoon, Long, and Nickell's study of speaking anxiety, self-esteem, crime, and educational achievement.

Witherspoon, Long, and Nickell (1991) did not convincingly demonstrate that anxiety about speaking was related to dropping out of school or to the types of crimes that inmates commit. These authors did not control for variables related to these behaviors, and they did not compare the anxiety levels of the most appropriate groups of persons.

Suicide rates, handgun control laws, and sociodemographic variables.

The association of state handgun control laws to state suicide rates was investigated while controlling for sex, age, percent black, percent metropolitan population, population density, and rates of population change, divorce, crime, and unemployment. Gun control laws formed two statistically identifiable groups, (1) laws that place restrictions on the sellers of handguns and (2) laws that place restrictions on the buyers of handguns. A multiple regression analysis indicated that suicide rates were significantly lower in states with low divorce rates, low crime rates, and stringent firearm control laws, as those laws affect both the sellers and the buyers of handguns. The variables in this analysis accounted for 69% of the variance of suicide rates.

Diagnosis of synthetic vascular graft infection: comparison of CT and gallium scans.

Sixteen patients were examined with both abdominal CT and 67Ga scintigraphy for suspected synthetic vascular graft infection. Two patients were studied twice, yielding a total of 18 paired tests. A total of 25 grafts were analyzed. The results of CT and 67Ga scintigraphy were compared for grafts in specific anatomic locations including the retroperitoneum, groin, and abdominal wall, and for combined sites. When all locations were considered as a group, CT had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 72%; 67Ga scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 94%. 67Ga scintigraphy proved to be more specific than CT (p less than .05) for combined sites, but no significant difference in sensitivities was demonstrated, possibly because of the small number of infected grafts in our study. No differences in sensitivities or specificities were statistically significant when grafts in individual anatomic sites were analyzed. Since no significant difference between the sensitivities of CT and 67Ga scanning was demonstrated in our study, although the number of infected grafts was small, CT is recommended as the initial examination when graft infection is suspected because it can be performed immediately. 67Ga scintigraphy remains an important complementary test, adding specificity to the diagnostic workup.

Fetal omphalocele and gastroschisis: a review of 24 cases.

Fetal omphalocele and gastroschisis are congenital defects of the abdominal wall that require prompt surgical management at the time of delivery. To evaluate the role of prenatal sonography in identifying factors that influence prognosis, 24 cases of abdominal-wall defect (16 omphalocele, eight gastroschisis) were reviewed. Sonograms were evaluated for location of umbilical cord insertion, contents of the ventral defect, presence or absence of a covering membrane, fetal ascites, bowel-wall thickening, and coexisting anomalies. Sonographic differentiation between omphalocele and gastroschisis was possible in 18 (75%) of 24 cases. Eighteen patients had congenital defects in addition to the abdominal-wall defect. Associated abnormalities were present in 14 (88%) of 16 fetuses with omphalocele and four (50%) of eight with gastroschisis. Overall survival rate was 50%, excluding six terminated pregnancies. Survival rate was 33% for neonates with omphalocele and 83% for those with gastroschisis. The better prognosis for neonates with gastroschisis appears to reflect the lower frequency of associated congenital anomalies.

Human communication needs and organizational productivity: the potential impact of office automation.

Much of what white collar workers do in offices is communication-related. White collar workers make up the majority of the labor force in the United States today and the majority of current labor costs. Because office automation represents more productive structured techniques for handling both written and oral communication, office automation therefore offers the potential to make organizations more productive by improving organizational communication. This article: (1) defines communication, (2) identifies the potential benefits to be realized from implementing office automation, and (3) offers caveats related to the implementation of office automation systems. Realization of the benefits of office automation depends upon the degree to which new modes of communication may be successfully substituted for traditional modes.