Mental Health Literacy and Eating-Disordered Behavior: Beliefs of Adolescent Girls Concerning the Treatment of and Treatment-Seeking for Bulimia Nervosa

This research examined the “mental health literacy” of adolescents concerning eating-disordered behavior. A vignette describing a fictional 16-year old female meeting diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa was presented to 522 female high school students, followed by a series of questions concerning treatment of and treatment-seeking for the problem described. Results indicated that primary care practitioners, mothers and close female friends were most highly regarded as potential sources of help. Self-help interventions, including the use of vitamins and minerals, were also highly regarded, whereas participants were less positive about the benefits of mental health specialists and ambivalent about the use of anti-depressant medication. Most participants believed that the problem described would be difficult to treat, and that relapse was likely even given appropriate treatment. An additional finding of note was that among participants with a high level of eating disorder symptoms (n=36, 6.9%), recognition of an eating problem was poor. We conclude that beliefs likely to be conducive to low and/or inappropriate treatment-seeking for eating problems may be common among adolescent girls. In addition, the findings suggest that prevention programs for the eating disorders need to target not only at-risk individuals, but also individuals in their immediate social environment.     

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT OR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION?

Abstract: The debate over managerialism has been the most controversial issue in Australian public administration journals in recent years. Although most articles have been critical, there have been responses in favour of the changes by senior public servants. One unfortunate consequence of this debate has been the appearance of a gap between academic public administration and public service practice.
This paper argues that, from several angles, the work now carried out by public services is management rather than administration. It argues that managerialism is a long-overdue reform to a model which has outlived its usefulness. The traditional model of public administration was an irrelevance for many years; it was never efficient or effective and deserved to be replaced. However, public management does not necessarily mean the widespread and uncritical adoption of practices from the private sector. What it should mean is that a distinctive public management needs to be developed. This should take account of the differences between the sectors, but still recognise that the work being done by public servants is now managerial rather than administrative.     

B. Reviews: general

AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM. By GERHARD ENDRESS. Translated by CAROLE HILLENBRAND. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1988. ix + 293pp. H/B £29.95, P/B £9.50.

A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC SOCIETIES. By IRA M. LAPIDUS. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988. 1002pp. £35.00.

THE GREAT POWERS AND THE MIDDLE EAST 1919–1939. Edited by URIEL DANN. (Collected Papers Series of the Dayan Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University.) New York and London, Holmes and Meier Publishers, Inc., Africana Publishing Company, 1988. 434pp. $59.50 cloth.

THE RENTIER STATE. Edited by HAZEM BEBLAWI and GIACOMO LUCIANI. London, Croom Helm for Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome, 1987. 240pp.

DEVELOPMENT, ADMINISTRATION AND AID IN THE MIDDLE EAST. By GERD NONNEMAN. London and New York, Routledge, 1988. 203pp. Figures, tables. £25.00.

DOMESTIC POLITICS AND REGIONAL SECURITY: JORDAN, SYRIA AND ISRAEL. THE END OF AN ERA? By VALERIE YORKE. Aldershot, Brookfield ISA, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Gower. 1988. Published for the International Institute for Strategic Studies. 432pp. £35.00

THE BIRTH OF THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM. By B. MORRIS. Cambridge, Cambridge U.P., 1988. 400pp. £30.00.

ETHNIZITÄT UND MACHTKONKURRENZ IN INTER‐ARABISCHEN BEZIEHUNGEN: DER SYRISCH‐IRAKISCHE KONFLIKT UNTER DEN BA'ATH‐REGIMEN. By EBERHARD KIENLE. Berlin, Verlag Das Arabische Buch, 1988. 63pp.

THE SHATT‐AL‐ARAB BOUNDARY QUESTION: A LEGAL REAPPRAISAL. By KAIYIN HOMA KAIKOBAD. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1988. xix, 142pp. 10 maps and figures, table of legal cases. £25.00.

IRAN AND IRAQ AT WAR. By S. CHUBIN and C. TRIPP. London, I.B. Tauris, 1988. 328pp. £19.50.

THE ARAB GULF AND THE ARAB WORLD. Edited by BRIAN R. PRIDHAM. London, Croom Helm, 1988. xv, 302pp. £35.00.

THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL: RECORD AND ANALYSIS. By R.K. RAMAZANI. Charlottesville, University Press of Virginia, 1988. 256pp. $45.00.

SAUDI ARABIA IN THE OIL ERA—REGIME AND ELITES: CONFLICT AND COLLABORATION. By MORDECHAI ABIR. London, Croom Helm, 1988. xix, 247pp. £25.00.

THE IMAMATE TRADITION OF OMAN. By J.C. WILKINSON. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1987. xii, 415pp. £40.00.

MUSADDIQ, IRANIAN NATIONALISM AND OIL. Edited by JAMES A. BILL and ROGER LOUIS. Austin, University of Texas Press & London, Tauris, 1988. 358pp.

STATE, DEMOCRACY AND THE MILITARY: TURKEY IN THE 1980s. Edited by METIN HEPER and AHMET EVIN. Berlin and New York, Walter de Gruyter, 1988. 265pp.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE: THE ENLIGHTENED THINKERS AND AN ISLAMIC RENAISSANCE. By ALI SHARI'ATI. Edited and annotated by FARHANG RAJAEE; Foreword by JOHN L. ESPOSITO. Houston, Texas, Institute for Research and Islamic Studies, 1986. xix, 181pp. $25.95 (hardback), $11.95 (paperback).

THE QUR'AN IN ISLAM: ITS IMPACT AND INFLUENCE ON THE LIFE OF MUSLIMS. By ‘ALLAMAH SAYYID M.H. TABATABA'I. Translated by ASSADULLAH AD‐DHAAKIR YATE; Foreword by SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR. London and Blanco, Texas, Zahra Publications, 1987. 118pp. $14.95.

ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY: 1. FOUNDATIONS. Edited by SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR. (World Spirituality; an Encyclopedic History of the Religious Quest, vol. 19.) London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987. xxix, 450pp. 35 monochrome illustrations. £39.50.

THE MANTLE OF THE PROPHET: RELIGION AND POLITICS IN IRAN. By ROY MOTTAHEDEH. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, Peregrine Books, 1987. 418pp. £6.95.

EL PALACIO OMEYA DE AMMAN I. LA ARQUITECTURA. By ANTONIO ALMAGRO GORBEA. Madrid, Instituto Hispano‐Arabe de Cultura, 1983. 207pp., including an English and an Arabic summary (30pp., unnumbered), 63 plates, 52 figures, 39 loose‐leaf drawings.     

Adolescent conceptions of the homeland: A cross-cultural study

Irish (135) and United States (123) subjects, aged from 8 to 17 years, wrote essays on their respective homelands. A content analysis revealed that American subjects, as they grow older, identify the homeland increasingly with its political ideals, while Irish subjects identify theirs with certain psychological ideals which they associate with the rural culture and landscape. Irish essays tended to be longer and more varied, and they showed a higher level of affective development. Profiles of the homeland on 7 semantic differential scales showed the break-up of a halo effect in the Irish sample. Adolescents in both countries showed a transition from concrete to abstract topics with age. The implications of these findings for research on the adolescent self-image are discussed.     

Major study commencing into genetic discrimination in Australia

This article describes a nationwide empirical study that will be undertaken during the next three years into the newly emerging phenomenon of genetic discrimination. In particular, the study aims to investigate the nature and extent of genetic discrimination in Australia across three key perspectives: consumers, third parties and the legal system. Further, the study aims to examine the social and legal implications of genetic discrimination, with a view to making recommendations for use in the Australian legal and policy context. It is anticipated that the data produced from this multifaceted investigation will assist in identifying areas where legal or other reforms are required. It will contribute significant baseline data for facilitating ongoing assessment of the nature and extent of the problem, as well as for longitudinal evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of any reforms which may be introduced in the future to address the issue.     

Validation of chest X-ray comparisons for unknown decedent identification

Comparing skeletal structures between antemortem and postmortem chest radiographs is widely used by forensic specialists from many disciplines to positively identify unknown decedents. However, validity assessments of this method have been fairly limited. This study had three objectives: 1) to quantify the reliability of ante- and postmortem chest radiograph comparison for decedent identification; 2) to identify useful radiologic features supporting decedent identification; and 3) to recognize sources of error in decedent identification related to use of comparative radiographs. A forensic pathologist, a forensic anthropologist, and two radiologists participated in the study. Our results showed that chest radiograph comparisons proved reliable, if basic decedent information was provided, and antemortem and postmortem radiographs were adequately positioned and exposed. A "morphological approach" using normal anatomical structures for comparison may provide the most efficient method for accurate identification.     

Evaluation of some oxygen, sulfur, and selenium substituted ninhydrin analogues, nitrophenylninhydrin and benzo[f]furoninhydrin

Six ninhydrin analogues containing oxygen, sulfur, and selenium substituents at the C-5 position, 5-(4-nitrophenyl)ninhydrin, and benzo[f]furoninhydrin were evaluated as fingerprint development reagents. The analogues all showed good fingerprint color development but were not superior to ninhydrin in this respect. The benzo[f]furoninhydrin complex was strongly luminescent at room temperature following zinc complexation, while the remaining analogues required cooling to -196 degrees C to produce optimum luminescence. The benzo[f]furo, nitrophenyl, and methyl selenide analogues showed the best potential as fingerprint reagents with the benzo[f]furo analogue comparing favorably with DFO.