Suchergebnisse

This report of a study of 36 adults with visual impairments found that self-esteem was related to three self-report measures of skills: dependence on others, difficulty, and motivation to learn. Relationships were found between educational level and self-esteem, educational level and the three measures of skills, and employment status and motivation to learn.

A discussion of the results and methods used in a study of conceptions of official leader roles in two relatively small and isolated AF installations. Scaling problems dealt with are: (1) how define the limits to the universe of relevant attitudes toward leadership? (2) how select items from such a universe? (3) to what degree may inferences about scalable items be generalized to the universe? Problem (1) was solved by means of content analysis of a sample of non-directive interviews with personnel on the installations, and subsequent grouping of statements into four hypothetically scalable attitude areas. The latter were: interest in men, way of giving orders, adherence to AF regulations, and consistency in disciplinary matters. questionnaire items were then in large part paraphrased from interview statements and expressed in terms of 3 official leader roles: commanding officer, non-commissioned officer, and a `generalized officer' role. Scalability or near-scalability was attained in the first 3 of the 4 areas of attitudes toward leader roles. Randomly selected items from each of the 3 areas appear to form a common or `composite' scale for each of the 3 roles though they do not meet the criterion of definition. Responses to the 3 roles also seem scalable, suggesting that the men 'tend to think of their various official leaders in similar ways'. Finally, it is suggested, that inferences about scalability not be extended beyond the content of the items tested. For example, in regard to attitude area 3, adherence to regulations, 'no conclusive statement about attitudes toward drinking regulations could be made, since none of the six items specifically concerns drinking.' K. Geiger.

In the member states of the EU and in the USA, scientists are obliged by animal welfare legislation not to conduct an animal experiment if another scientifically satisfactory method is reasonably and practicably available. To meet the regulatory obligation to use alternatives to animal experiments, scientists should consult literature and other relevant sources on alternatives prior to any experimental study on laboratory animals. It is the responsibility of the individual scientist to select the most appropriate database to obtain information on alternatives, which have been defined as methods that refine, reduce or replace animal experiments (the 3 Rs concept of Russell and Burch (1959)). Specialised information services provide support to scientists searching for publications on alternative methods. On occasion of a workshop in Berlin in November 2003, representatives of animal welfare information centres discussed currently available information sources on alternative methods, index terms for alternative methods, and search strategies based on index terms for alternative methods. ZEBET presented an investigation on the current status of indexing systems on alternative methods in established literature databases. The project analysed how the results of a search for publications on alternatives was influenced by the indexing procedure. The results of the study were exemplified by a typical search result. The results of the study indicated that the current indexing systems do not provide the required information, since not all of the relevant information is indexed under "alternative methods". The workshop participants developed recommendations for ad hoc working groups and research projects, e.g. development of suitable search strategies on alternative methods for scientistsAuf der Grundlage der Vorschriften der Tierschutzgesetzgebung sind Wissenschaftler verpflichtet, die Unerlässlichkeit von Tierversuchsvorhaben zu prüfen. Ein Tierversuch darf nicht durchgeführt werden, wenn andere wissenschaftlich anerkannte Methoden zur Verfügung stehen. Zur Erfüllung dieser Verpflichtung recherchieren Wissenschaftler in Literaturdatenbanken und anderen relevanten Informationsquellen über Alternativmethoden. Dabei ist es dem Wissenschaftler selbst überlassen, die geeignetsten Datenbanken und Suchstrategien auszuwählen. Fachinformationsdienste bieten Unterstützung bei der Suche nach Alternativmethoden für Tierversuche an. Auf dem Berliner Workshop im November 2003, trafen sich die Vertreter verschiedener internationaler Informationsdienste für Tierschutzfragen und Alternativmethoden und diskutierten über das gegenwärtige Informationsangebot über Alternativmethoden, Indexierungsbegriffe für Alternativmethoden und Suchstrategien, die diese Begriffe verwenden. ZEBET stellte eine eigene Untersuchung über Indexierungssysteme von Alternativmethoden in etablierten Literaturdatenbanken vor. Die Studie befasste sich mit der Frage, wie Suchergebnisse zu Alternativmethoden in internationalen Datenbanken durch die Art und Weise der Indexierung von Publikationen beeinflusst werden. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse wurden anhand einer Beispielrecherche vorgestellt. ZEBET kam dabei zu dem Schluss, dass die gegenwärtigen Indexierungssysteme nicht ausreichend alle relevanten Publikationen zu Alternativmethoden erfassen. Die Teilnehmer des Workshops entwickelten Themenvorschläge für Arbeitsgruppen und zukünftige Projekte, um die Entwicklung geeigneter Suchstrategien über Alternativmethoden zu verbessern.