Character, Conscience, and Destiny

In authoring the definitive biography of Archibald Cox, Professor Ken Gormley has also favored us with a study of character, its formation, and its effect upon history. What is more, he has demonstrated once again that while events may present men with opportunity, men make history and not vice versa. Into the bargain, Mr. Gormley offers yet more proof of the correctness of Heraclitus\u27s dictum, character is destiny. As the author is human, the book has its faults. They range from the mere erroneous use of language (misusing smells for odors (pp. 59, 307), misusing anxious for eager (p. 46), and using the redundant ink pen (p. 42)) to the careless (referring to the original Watergate prosecutors as assistant attorneys general (p. 256) rather than Assistant United States Attorneys and an inapt reference to the biblical Ruth, implying that her Whither thou goest vow referred to her husband rather than to her mother-in-law) (p. 326); to unscholarly prejudice (referring to those Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States who voted against some of President Roosevelt\u27s New Deal congressional legislation as mutinous (p. 36) and to the events of the war in Southeast Asia as travesties (p. 219)). There also are significant missed opportunities in the author\u27s research. He includes John Dean\u27s Blind Ambition3 and Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin\u27s Silent Coup4 in his list of books read in preparing to write his biography of Mr. Cox, and also lists among his sources an interview of Mr. Dean as recent as June 22, 1996. Surely Mr. Dean must have made Mr. Gormley aware of his suit for defamation against, inter alia, Messrs. Colodny and Gettlin and their publisher, St. Martin\u27s Press. Surely also Professor Gormley\u27s scholarly instincts must have told him that the record of that case, on file in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, would provide a rich vein of information on Watergate in general and Mr. Dean\u27s involvement in particular. Had he availed himself of that record, Mr. Gormley would have discovered that Mr. Dean - who wrote that he prepared for writing Blind Ambition the same way I prepared to testify before the Ervin Committee, before the special prosecutors, and in the coverup trial by reviewing an enormous number of documents as well as my own testimony and who was prepared to take a lie detector test to prove it6 - admitted when deposed that not only did he not write Blind Ambition, he did not even fully read it. Moreover, Mr. Colodny\u27s Second Amended Response to Plaintiffs\u27 Interrogatories lists thirty-seven separate alleged Dean perjuries and the sources supporting the falsity of Dean\u27s sworn statements

Character, Conscience, and Destiny

In authoring the definitive biography of Archibald Cox, Professor Ken Gormley has also favored us with a study of character, its formation, and its effect upon history. What is more, he has demonstrated once again that while events may present men with opportunity, men make history and not vice versa. Into the bargain, Mr. Gormley offers yet more proof of the correctness of Heraclitus\u27s dictum, character is destiny. As the author is human, the book has its faults. They range from the mere erroneous use of language (misusing smells for odors (pp. 59, 307), misusing anxious for eager (p. 46), and using the redundant ink pen (p. 42)) to the careless (referring to the original Watergate prosecutors as assistant attorneys general (p. 256) rather than Assistant United States Attorneys and an inapt reference to the biblical Ruth, implying that her Whither thou goest vow referred to her husband rather than to her mother-in-law) (p. 326); to unscholarly prejudice (referring to those Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States who voted against some of President Roosevelt\u27s New Deal congressional legislation as mutinous (p. 36) and to the events of the war in Southeast Asia as travesties (p. 219)). There also are significant missed opportunities in the author\u27s research. He includes John Dean\u27s Blind Ambition3 and Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin\u27s Silent Coup4 in his list of books read in preparing to write his biography of Mr. Cox, and also lists among his sources an interview of Mr. Dean as recent as June 22, 1996. Surely Mr. Dean must have made Mr. Gormley aware of his suit for defamation against, inter alia, Messrs. Colodny and Gettlin and their publisher, St. Martin\u27s Press. Surely also Professor Gormley\u27s scholarly instincts must have told him that the record of that case, on file in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, would provide a rich vein of information on Watergate in general and Mr. Dean\u27s involvement in particular. Had he availed himself of that record, Mr. Gormley would have discovered that Mr. Dean - who wrote that he prepared for writing Blind Ambition the same way I prepared to testify before the Ervin Committee, before the special prosecutors, and in the coverup trial by reviewing an enormous number of documents as well as my own testimony and who was prepared to take a lie detector test to prove it6 - admitted when deposed that not only did he not write Blind Ambition, he did not even fully read it. Moreover, Mr. Colodny\u27s Second Amended Response to Plaintiffs\u27 Interrogatories lists thirty-seven separate alleged Dean perjuries and the sources supporting the falsity of Dean\u27s sworn statements

Telehealth Applications to Enhance CKD Knowledge and Awareness Among Patients and Providers

CKD affects 13% of the US adult population, causes excess mortality, and is associated with significant sociodemographic disparities. Optimal CKD management slows progression of disease and reduces cardiovascular-related outcomes. Resources for patients and primary care providers, major stakeholders in preventive CKD care, are critically needed to enhance understanding of the disease and to optimize CKD health, particularly because of the asymptomatic nature of kidney disease. Telehealth is defined as the use of electronic communication and telecommunications technology to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, and public health and health administration. It provides new opportunities to enhance awareness and understanding among these important stakeholders. This review will examine the role of telehealth within existing educational theories, identify telehealth applications that can enhance CKD knowledge and behavior change among patients and primary care providers, and examine the advantages and disadvantages of telehealth vs usual modalities for education

A Systematic Review of Patient Acceptance of Consumer Health Information Technology

A systematic literature review was performed to identify variables promoting consumer health information technology (CHIT) acceptance among patients. The electronic bibliographic databases Web of Science, Business Source Elite, CINAHL, Communication and Mass Media Complete, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, and PsycInfo were searched. A cited reference search of articles meeting the inclusion criteria was also conducted to reduce misses. Fifty-two articles met the selection criteria. Among them, 94 different variables were tested for associations with acceptance. Most of those tested (71%) were patient factors, including sociodemographic characteristics, health- and treatment-related variables, and prior experience or exposure to computer/health technology. Only ten variables were related to human-technology interaction; 16 were organizational factors; and one was related to the environment. In total, 62 (66%) were found to predict acceptance in at least one study. Existing literature focused largely on patient-related factors. No studies examined the impact of social and task factors on acceptance, and few tested the effects of organizational or environmental factors on acceptance. Future research guided by technology acceptance theories should fill those gaps to improve our understanding of patient CHIT acceptance, which in turn could lead to better CHIT design and implementation