Design and development of the European American values scale for Asian Americans.

Existing instruments for measuring Asian American acculturation emphasize behavior acculturation to the exclusion of value acculturation. Most are based on the assumption that acquisition of European American behavior occurs simultaneously with the loss of Asian behavior. With the advent of the Asian Values Scale (AVS; B.S.K. Kim, D.R. Atkinson, & P.H. Yang, 1999), it is now possible to assess adherence to Asian cultural values. This article describes the development of a scale that can be used to measure Asian American adherence to European American values. The current scale, combined with the AVS, can be used to independently measure Asian American acculturation to European American values and enculturation in Asian values.

Cultural value similarities and differences among Asian American ethnic groups.

Using data on 570 Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Japanese American college students from 3 previous studies (1 published [B. S. K. Kim, D. R. Atkinson, & P. H. Yang, 1999] and 2 unpublished [B. S. K. Kim, 1999; E. C. Wong, B. S. K. Kim, N. W. S. Zane, I. J. Kim, & J. S. Huang, 1999]), the authors subjected 22 items constituting 6 value dimensions of the Asian Values Scale (AVS; B. S. K. Kim et al., 1999) to the following structural equation modeling procedures: confirmatory factor analysis, factorial invariance analysis, and structured means analysis. The results of confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a hierarchical factor model when this model was compared with 2 competing models. The results of factorial invariance analysis indicated that the meanings of the factors within the hierarchical model were conceived similarly among the 4 Asian American ethnic groups. On the basis of these results, a structured means analysis was conducted, revealing similarities and differences between the ethnic groups' adherence to 6 cultural value dimensions. Implications regarding psychological services for these Asian Americans are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered.

The effect of an air-powder abrasive system on in vitro root surfaces.

An air-powder abrasive system, the Prophy-Jet model C-100, is now available for use by the dental community. However, its use has been restricted to cleaning enamel surfaces of stain and dental plaque. The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain the effects of this air-powder abrasive system on root surfaces of extracted human teeth. Thus, root surfaces of 20 teeth were covered with a template consisting of a metal band with a centrally located 2-mm diameter hole. The banded root surfaces, under controlled conditions, were exposed to the air-powder abrasive for 30 seconds. The resulting defects were measured by using a light microscope equipped with a graduated focus knob. Three teeth were randomly selected for examination by scanning electron microscopy and one was selected for histologic evaluation by light microscopy. Untreated extracted teeth were used as controls. In addition, one untreated tooth root was exposed to the air-powder abrasive without use of the template. In this instance, a brush stroke was used for approximately 1 minute, as might be done in a clinical situation. This tooth root was also examined by scanning electron microscopy. The Prophy-Jet air-powder abrasive system removed an average of 636.6 micrometers of root structure in 30 seconds of exposure time. The resulting surface was smooth, free of connective tissue fibers and debris, and all cementum was removed. Few open dentin tubules were observed since most appeared to have been obliterated. The powder crystals, as viewed by scanning electron microscopy, were sharp-pointed, somewhat elongated and of varying lengths. The Prophy-Jet air-powder abrasive system appears to have considerable potential for treatment of periodontally diseased root surfaces. However, its use should be tempered by the results of this and future research and sound clinical judgment.

Two cases of mycobacteriosis in psittacine birds.

Two cases of mycobacteriosis in individual psittacine birds from two separate small aviaries are described. The lesions consisted of infiltration of organs with large macrophages, containing numerous acidfast organisms. There was no caseation or encapsulation of the lesions. No microbiological studies were conducted as mycobacteriosis was not suspected at the time of necropsy.

Community influences on mental health program evaluation.

Research in community psychology has demonstrated that community environments can play a key role in defining the operations of human service institutions. This study questioned whether significant community groups might indirectly influence the program evaluation record-keeping of mental health outpatient programs to reflect contact with problem areas considered important by those groups. An inventory of program evaluation materials was conducted in three types of mental health programs. The ranked frequencies of record completion for 10 designated problem areas were correlated with staff rankings of importance for agency work with problems identified by key community groups. Results indicate that the more important the community demand is to the staff, the more systematically complete will be data sources which document agency performance for that demand. Given the general lack of comprehensive development of program evaluation in many mental health programs, the results suggest that community interest groups may play a major role in determining what types of information on mental health problems are made available to the public. The resultant lack of balance and scope in these data inevitably limit the range of community responses for program improvement.