On a test of independence for contingency tables

Using the concept of distributional distance, a test statistic is proposed FOR the hypothesis of independence in multidimensional contingency tables. A Monte Carlo Study is done to empirically compare the power of the proposed test to the Pearson x² and the likelihood ratio test- Further, the nonnull distribution under various spike alternatives is tabulated     

A Computer-Assisted Analysis of Input,Process, and Output of a Social Work Educational Program

This paper describes how a computer may be used to provide repetitive data on a year-by-year basis on three sets of variables. First is input into the educational process (student characteristics); second is the throughput or students’ reactions to the educational process (grades, motivation, class participation, quality and quantity of work, etc.); third is output (the reactions of graduates to content taught, the kinds of jobs they have and success at these). In addition the computer can indicate what relations exist between various pairs of variables with implications for student selection and curriculum development.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Ideologies of Caring: Rethinking Community and Collectivism, by Gillian Dalley. Houndmills: Mac-Millan Education, 1988. $ 18.50. 165 pp., Paper. Reviewed By Brij Mohan

Bridges of Respect: Creating Support for Lesbian and Gay Youth, by Katherine Whitlock. American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, PA, 1988. $7.50. 97 pp. Reviewed By Ski Hunter

Courage and Love, by Gisela Konopka. Burgess Printing Company: Edina, Minnesota. 1988. $11.95. 337 pp. Reviewed By Ruth R. Middleman

Social Work Day to Day: The Experience of Generalist Social Work Practice, by Carolyn Cressy Wells. Longman: New York, 1989 2nd Ed. 205 pp. Reviewed By Elbert Siegel

Learning Through Field Instruction: A Guide for Teachers and Students, by Martha L. Urbanowski and Margaret M. Dwyer. Family Service America: Milwaukee, WI, 1988. $15.95. 180pp. Reviewed By Miriam S. Raskin

Dependency and Poverty: Old Problems in a New World, by June Axinn and Mark J. Stern. Lexington Books: Massachusetts, 1988. 178 pp. Reviewed By Frank R. Baskind     

Comment on Cross,Fine, Jones,and Walsh (2012): We Are Now on the Same Page

Role conflict has been an issue in the intervention of child abuse cases since the beginning of the alliance drawn between the legal and mental health professions. In child abuse cases, clearly defined roles will prevent an attack on the process, thereby providing successful interventions to protect children. The child advocacy center concept is one of the best ways to meld the two professional functions into a cohesive approach to those interventions.     

Anti-Homophobia Education in Public Schooling: A Canadian Case Study of Policy Implementation

SUMMARY

An 18-month study investigating the implementation of a Canadian anti-homophobia school policy found that such policies need to address homophobic ideas, institutional forms of homophobia and heterosexism, and individual expressions of homophobia. Teacher development is identical as an area in which Canadian policy implementation can be improved. More resources are needed to support the complex negotiations that educators must undertake when their professional and personal commitments to equity and human rights education collide with their own and others' personal and community religious beliefs about homosexuality.     

Variance partitioning in multilevel logistic models that exhibit overdispersion

Summary.  A common application of multilevel models is to apportion the variance in the response according to the different levels of the data. Whereas partitioning variances is straightforward in models with a continuous response variable with a normal error distribution at each level, the extension of this partitioning to models with binary responses or to proportions or counts is less obvious. We describe methodology due to Goldstein and co-workers for apportioning variance that is attributable to higher levels in multilevel binomial logistic models. This partitioning they referred to as the variance partition coefficient. We consider extending the variance partition coefficient concept to data sets when the response is a proportion and where the binomial assumption may not be appropriate owing to overdispersion in the response variable. Using the literacy data from the 1991 Indian census we estimate simple and complex variance partition coefficients at multiple levels of geography in models with significant overdispersion and thereby establish the relative importance of different geographic levels that influence educational disparities in India.     

Bayes linear computation: concepts,implementation and programs

We demonstrate how Bayes linear methods, based on partial prior specifications, bring us quickly to the heart of otherwise complex problems, giving us natural and systematic tools for evaluating our analyses which are not readily available in the usual Bayes formalism. We illustrate the approach using an example concerning problems of prediction in a large brewery. We describe the computer language [B/D] (an acronym for beliefs adjusted by data), which implements the approach. [B/D] incorporates a natural graphical representation of the analysis, providing a powerful way of thinking about the process of knowledge formulation and criticism which is also accessible to non-technical users.     

Interrelations between migration and fertility in Thailand

Based on special tabulations of 1960 census data on migration within Thailand, this analysis attempts to assess the role of migration in the urbanization process and the relation between migration and fertility. The importance of migration to urban growth is evidenced by the clearcut positive relationship between the percentage of persons classified as either lifetime or 5-year migrants and the urban character of their 1960 place of residence. Yet, the evidence also points to an increasing proportion of urban growth in recent decades attributable to natural increase. The specific relation between fertility and migration varies depending on the measure of migration used: Compared to nonmigrants in their place of destination, the fertility levels of lifetime migrants are not very different; but those of 5-year migrants are considerably lower. Regardless of migration status, however, fertility level is markedly lower for those living in urban places compared to those in rural places. This suggests the important role of both migration and urbanization in affecting fertility levels in Thailand.     

Urban-rural and educational differentials in marital status in China

Since 1950, laws aimed at delaying marriage have been 1 of the major means of slowing population growth in China, where marriage is nearly universal. Age at marriage has risen in recent decades, but not to the same extent in all localities. This article uses cross-tabulated data from China's 1982 census to assess the effects of urban-rural residence and educational level on the ages at which men and women have been marrying. The data also reveal the effects of residence and education on widowhood, divorce, and current marital status. As expected, exposure to development, indicated by urban residence and higher education, is associated with later marriage, but it also increases the likelihood of ever marrying, especially for men. Women's tendency to seek social mobility by marrying men from economically more developed areas results in bachelorhood for a substantial percentage of rural men, especially those who are illiterate.     

The Role of Dyadic Coordination in Organizing Visual Attention in 5‐Month‐Old Infants

In human infants, the ability to share attention with others is facilitated by increases in attentional selectivity and focus. Differences in early attention have been associated with socio‐cognitive outcomes including language, yet the social mechanisms of attention organization in early infancy have only recently been considered. Here, we examined how social coordination between 5‐month‐old infants and caregivers relate to differences in infant attention, including looking preferences, span, and reactivity to caregivers’ social cues. Using a naturalistic play paradigm, we found that 5‐month‐olds who received a high ratio of sensitive (jointly focused) contingent responses showed strong preferences for objects with which their caregivers were manually engaged. In contrast, infants whose caregivers exhibited high ratios of redirection (attempts to shift focus) showed no preferences for caregivers’ held objects. Such differences have implications for recent models of cognitive development, which rely on early looking preferences for adults’ manually engaged objects as a pathway toward joint attention and word learning. Further, sensitivity and redirectiveness predicted infant attention even in reaction to caregiver responses that were non‐referential (neither sensitive nor redirective). In response to non‐referentials, infants of highly sensitive caregivers oriented less frequently than infants of highly redirective caregivers, who showed increased distractibility. Our results suggest that specific dyadic exchanges predict infant attention differences toward broader social cues, which may have consequences for social‐cognitive outcomes.