Work/training programs for international health science librarians in American medical school libraries

World understanding is more than a desirable goal today: it may be crucial to our survival. Many universities realize this and have in the past decade spent a great deal of time and money to ensure a steady flow of faculty and students between the U.S. and other countries. Librarians with faculty or academic status may benefit from promoting such relationships themselves. Job exchanges and training programs offer librarians in the United States the opportunity to become acquainted with their counterparts in other countries. Such programs enable librarians of various countries to become aware of one another's special needs and common problems, and allow them to share ideas and expertise. This paper presents an overview of international training programs for foreign librarians in the United States, focusing on programs for health sciences librarians in United States medical school libraries. Information is given on the availability and types of institutionally sponsored programs, as well as on MLA's Cunningham Fellowship Program. Some of the difficulties and the benefits of such programs are discussed.     

VALUE-FRAMING ABORTION IN THE UNITED STATES: AN APPLICATION OF MEDIA SYSTEM DEPENDENCY THEORY

This paper is in the tradition of social analysis aimed at creatingframeworks to join mass media and public opinion processes (e.g.Clarke and Evans, 1983; Gamson, 1975; Gitlin, 1980; Hall, 1977;Iyengar and Kinder, 1987; Lang and Lang, 1968, 1983; Lippman,1922; Mollotch and Lester, 1974; Noelle-Neuman, 1974; Paletzand Entman, 1981; Shaw and McCombs, 1977; Turner and Paz, 1986).After a brief review of media system dependency (MSD) theory,we illustrate how it may apply to public opinion processes thatentail contested issue ‘value-frames’ (Ball-Rokeachand Rokeach, 1987). In such cases, the media system is directlyimplicated in the negotiation of legitimacy of opposing positionson an issue. Our illustrative case is the abortion issue asit has been played out in the United States over recent decades(Luker, 1984). We focus upon the respective capacities of pro-and anti-abortion movements to control the value-frame of mediacoverage of the issue (Guthrie, 1989). A value-frame may beconceived as ‘... the main substantive theme of a moralityplay’ (Ball-Rokeach and Tallman, 1979) wherein the distinctionbetween ‘good’ and ‘bad’ hangs in thebalance; in this case, between positions on abortion. We suggestthat change in the value-frame of media coverage and publicdiscourse may be understood, at least in part, as an outcomeof change in contestants' MSD relations.     

Cardiovascular and ventilatory responses during formalized T'ai Chi Chuan exercise

T'ai Chi Chuan (TCC) is a widely practiced Chinese martial art said to physically develop balance and coordination as well as enhance emotional and mental health. TCC consists of a series of postures combined into a sequential movement providing a smooth, continuous, low-intensity activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the ventilatory and cardiovascular responses to the Long Form of Yang's style TCC. In addition, the subjects' TCC responses were compared to their ventilatory and cardiovascular responses during cycle ergometry at an oxygen consumption (VO2) equivalent to the mean TCC VO2. Six experienced (M = 8.3 yrs) male TCC practitioners served as subjects with data collected during the Cloud H and movement of the TCC exercise. Significantly (p less than .05) lower responses for ventilatory frequency (Vf) (11.3 and 15.7 breaths.min-1), ventilatory equivalent (VE/VO2) (23.47 and 27.41), and the ratio of dead space ventilation to tidal volume (VD/VT) (20 and 27%) were found in TCC in comparison to cycle ergometry. The percentage of minute ventilation used for alveolar ventilation was significantly higher during TCC (p less than .03) than cycle ergometry, with mean values of 81.1% and 73.1%, respectively. Cardiac output, stroke volume, and heart rate were not significantly different between TCC exercise and cycle ergometry at the same oxygen consumption. We concluded that, during TCC, expert practitioners show significantly different ventilatory responses leading to more efficient use of the ventilatory volume than would be expected from comparable levels of exertion on a cycle ergometer.     

Health locus of control predicts free-living, but not supervised, physical activity: a test of exercise-specific control and outcome-expectancy hypotheses

We statistically controlled fitness (1.5-mile run), outcome-expectancy values, and perceived barriers for physical activity and then compared internal health locus of control (IHLOC) with internal exercise locus of control (IEXLOC) for predicting the physical activity of college students (N = 84). Prospective observations of self-reported free-living physical activity (seven-day recall) and supervised running (time x distance) were made at 2-, 5-, and 9-week intervals. IHLOC predicted seven-day recall at Week 2 (beta = .19) and Week 5 (beta = .36) (increase in adjusted R2 ranged from .05 to .12, p less than .05). Consistent with theory, the prediction was not reproducible when generalized outcome-expectancy value rather than outcome-expectancy value for health was assessed. IHLOC was unrelated to supervised running. IEXLOC was unrelated to activity in all analyses, even though exercise-specific measures of outcome-expectancy values (beta s = .20) and perceived barriers (beta s = .27-.32) predicted both seven-day recall and supervised running (p less than .05). IHLOC also discriminated (p less than .05) high active and low active subjects when criterion groups were formed from population norms on seven-day recall (greater than or less than 280 kcal.kg-1.week-1). Results indicate that tests of decision theories that include locus of control measures specific to health or exercise must adjust for fitness, perceived barriers to physical activity, and behaviorally relevant outcome-expectancy values of physical activity when studying college students. The construct validity of exercise locus of control remains uncertain for college students.