A Peer-Facilitated Intervention to Reduce Risky Drinking Among Fraternity and Sorority Members

Results from a pilot study of a peer-facilitated brief motivational interview using personalized normative feedback with members of fraternities and sororities are presented. Eight fraternity and sorority houses were randomly selected and then randomized into treatment or control conditions. Quantitative data testing intervention efficacy indicated no differences between treatment and control group 30 days postintervention on measures of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences. Qualitative information from follow-up focus groups of intervention participants identified themes related to intervention dosage, and credibility of the normative data and peer educator. Recommendations are made for future research and intervention strategies with this population.     

Evaluating the effects of canine urine on urban soil microbial communities

Due to extensive areas of impermeable surfaces, combined sewer overflow (CSO) is currently a major problem in urban areas across the United States. In CSO systems, sewage can travel through underground pipes to be decontaminated in treatment facilities, or it can combine with stormwater after a precipitation event and discharge into local waterways. Many cities are implementing green infrastructure installations, which use vegetation and bioactive soil microbial communities to enhance soil water-holding capacity, thereby minimizing CSO events. Understanding the factors that structure soil microbial communities in green infrastructure will facilitate more effective management of these engineered ecosystems; however, few studies to date have evaluated ecological patterns and processes of microbes in the urban environment. Nitrogen loading is known to be a major factor structuring fungi and bacteria in non-urban soils, and since cities also contain large populations of canines, N-rich urine deposition is a potential factor that could be important for structuring soil microbes in ground-level green infrastructure installations. Our study investigated the effects of canine urine on the urban soil microbial communities in a greenhouse experiment by treating Liriope muscari, a common plant found in New York City green infrastructure, with different concentrations of canine urine for 4 weeks in an experimental setting. We found that urine application significantly decreased total soil microbial biomass and microbial richness, and increased water runoff volume. These findings indicate that canine urine may have negative consequences for soil water-holding capacity and nutrient cycling in urban green infrastructure installations by directly decreasing the abundance and richness of soil microbial communities.

     

SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR SCALE PARAMETERS USING TWO-SAMPLE U-STATISTICS

Let be k independent populations having the same known quantile of order p (0 p 1) and let F(x)=F(x/_i) be the absolutely continuous cumulative distribution function of the ith population indexed by the scale parameter ₁, i = 1,…, k. We propose subset selection procedures based on two-sample U-statistics for selecting a subset of k populations containing the one associated with the smallest scale parameter. These procedures are compared with the subset selection procedures based on two-sample linear rank statistics given by Gill & Mehta (1989) in the sense of Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency, with interesting results.     

A robust procedure for testing the equality of mean vectors of two bivariate populations with unequal covariance matrices

A robust test is developed for testing equality of the mean vectors of two bivariate (multivariate) populations when the variance-covariance matrices are not necessarily equal. The test is an extension of the univariate robust test given by Tiku and Singh (1981).     

Managing Instability in Cross-Cultural Alliances

Cross-cultural alliances and the global reach that they can offer would appear to be the strategic answer to companies’ international ambitions. Yet many alliances are doomed to failure because of tensions between the partners. This paper takes a case study approach to explore why instability can emerge in cross-cultural ventures. The examples involve two Japanese joint ventures with local partners in the UK and in Malaysia. The authors find that key factors affecting stability are trust, conflict and dependence. The relative importance of these factors varies according to partner nationality: the main driver for joint venture stability for the Japanese is trust; for the British it is dependence; while in the Chinese Malaysian’s case both trust and dependence are important.     

Play services for disabled children: mothers' satisfaction

A study of six play services for disabled school children used mixed methods to investigate the perspectives of mothers and children. This paper reports the range of mothers' satisfaction as expressed in semistructured interviews. There was a high level of satisfaction. Play services were seen as alleviating difficulties by providing an element of respite, and as providing child-centred benefits such as play, companionship and varied experiences. Grounds for dissatisfaction included insufficient availability of services, lack of information about them, insufficient attention towards children from staff, and activities which were not age appropriate.     

Provision of Auricular Acupuncture and Acupressure in a University Setting

Abstract

Auricular acupuncture using the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) protocol ¹ National Acupuncture Detoxification Association. “About NADA”. Available at: http://acudetox.net/about-nada/12-faqs. Accessed May 2, 2013 [Google Scholar] stimulates 5 points in each ear—the Shen Men, sympathetic nervous system, liver, kidney, and lung. This protocol is also known as Acu Detox, and has been used for recovery in community-based settings and drug use treatment programs. It has also been proven to be effective in alleviating stress and enhancing a general sense of well-being. This article describes the auricular acupuncture and acupressure program developed for a university setting and its use as a tool to enhance harm reduction and mental health services.     

Social work and law in a foster care/adoption program

The push toward permanency planning has led to a blurring of distinctions between foster care and adoption, and consequent emotional and legal entanglements. The program described here was designed to emphasize cooperation between social workers and lawyers to safeguard the rights of all parties, and the authors discuss the pitfalls of casework with both biological and foster parents.     

Product-limit estimators of the gap time distribution of a renewal process under different sampling patterns

Nonparametric estimation of the gap time distribution in a simple renewal process may be considered a problem in survival analysis under particular sampling frames corresponding to how the renewal process is observed. This note describes several such situations where simple product limit estimators, though inefficient, may still be useful.