"Some of my best friends are black...": Interracial Friendship and Whites' Racial Attitudes

We examine the major tenets and assumptions of the well-knowncontact theory of prejudice, and we compare them with the morecynical reasoning implied by the infamous "Some of my best friendsare black, but..." expression. After assessing the extant evidencefor the contact theory, we use a unique set of national surveydata to address the central postulates of that theory. We examinethe racial beliefs, feelings, social dispositions, and policyviews of whites who have contact with blacks as friends, acquaintances,or neighbors. Our results suggest that personal interracialcontact is selective in its effects on whites' racial attitudes,that intimacy is less important than variety of contacts, andthat any effects are contingent on the relative socioeconomicstatus of black contacts. On the basis of our analysis, we reassessthe contact theory and propose a more political conception ofthe attitudes of dominant groups toward subordinates. We arguethat the message contained in the relationship between personalcontact with subordinates and intergroup attitudes is less benignthan is suggested by the contact theory.     

Trust,Power and Safety in the Social Work Supervisory Relationship: Results from Australian Research

Social work, as a discipline, places considerable importance on the provision of supervision, promoting it as a key process supporting critical reflection and practice improvement. A supervision relationship built on trust has the potential to provide a safe context within which practice issues can be explored. This article reports on an Australian study of social work supervision and the ways in which a trusting supervision relationship supports safe practice and critical reflection. A context of trust within the supervisory relationship is found to promote safe practice, providing the basis for what supervisees felt was satisfying supervision. Within a trusted and supportive supervisory relationship participants wanted and valued challenge which was seen to promote professional growth and positive client outcomes. Whether this occurs, however, depended on how power was exercised and how safe they felt in the supervisory relationship. The research argues the need for social work to reclaim supervision through a revitalised commitment to advancing supervision practice, research, and research-based policies.     

Intuitive Expertise and Empowerment: The Long-Term Impact of Simulation Training on Changing Accountabilities in a Biotech Firm

This paper describes a two-year study in which high levels of performance were achieved and sustained among so-called low-level workers in a biotech company. The purpose of the study—funded by National Science Foundation and lnvitrogen Corporation—were to explore the effectiveness of an accelerated learning Operational Simulation (OpSim) training on workers in biological manufacturing. While greater responsibility is demanded of “front-line” workers in biotech, efforts at “empowerment” have not worked well in this context. In this particular OpSim, workers were facing a large and expensive backorder problem. The OpSim did not target or specify the skills or means for greater responsiveness; rather we emphasized only goals and challenged the groups to develop a solution. All groups failed on the first try, but exceeded desired outcomes on the second try and subsequently sustained these performance objectives. Implications for Naturalistic Decision Making, training, and empowerment are discussed.     

Papua New Guinea Highlanders Ancient And Modern

D.K. Feil. The evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1987. xii, 286pp., plates, maps, tables, bibliography, index. $59.50. ISBN 0 521 33423 3.     

Book reviews

Abstract

Social Policy, Public Policy Meredith Edwards, Cosmo Howard, Robin Miller (2001), Allen & Unwin, Sydney ISBN 1 86448 9480 $35.00 RRP.

Spirituality in social work practice: Narratives for professional helping Sonia Abels (Ed) (2000), Love Publishing Company, Denver, Colorado 131 pp. $56.90 (paperback)

Family — centered policies and practices: International implications Katharine Briar-Lawson, Hal A. Lawson, Charles B. Hennon and Alan R. Jones, Columbia University Press, New York Chichester, West Sussex ISBN 0 231 12106 7 462 pp. (soft cover)

Lookin' after our own: Supporting Aboriginal families through the hospital experience Angela Clarke, Shawana Andrews and Neville Austin (2000), A report sponsored by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation

Making stepfamilies work A course for couples Irene Gerrard & Margaret Howden (1998), Stepfamily Association of Victoria Inc. ISBN 0 646 3622 4 (spiral bound)

The empowerment approach to social work practice: Building the beloved community Judith AS Lee (2001), Columbia University Press, New York, ISBN 0 231 11548 2 517 pp. (hardback)     

Stability and Change in Kindergartners' Friendships: Examination of Links with Social Functioning

Stability and change in kindergartners' friendships were examined based on a typology of profiles (stable, fluid, loss, gain, friendless). Our purpose was to determine whether children belonging to the five profiles differed in their social functioning. The sample was composed of 2353 kindergartners. Reciprocal friendships and social functioning indices were measured using peer nominations collected in October and May of the same year. A series of repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that children in the friendless profile were less accepted by their peers, more shy, more withdrawn, and more aggressive than other children. Moreover, children in the stable profile were significantly more accepted by their peers, more prosocial, and less shy than children in the fluid profile. Lastly, children in the loss profile became less accepted by their peers and less prosocial over the course of the year whereas children in the gain profile became more accepted and prosocial.     

Bayesian compartmental model for an infectious disease with dynamic states of infection

Population-level proportions of individuals that fall at different points in the spectrum [of disease severity], from asymptomatic infection to severe disease, are often difficult to observe, but estimating these quantities can provide information about the nature and severity of the disease in a particular population. Logistic and multinomial regression techniques are often applied to infectious disease modeling of large populations and are suited to identifying variables associated with a particular disease or disease state. However, they are less appropriate for estimating infection state prevalence over time because they do not naturally accommodate known disease dynamics like duration of time an individual is infectious, heterogeneity in the risk of acquiring infection, and patterns of seasonality. We propose a Bayesian compartmental model to estimate latent infection state prevalence over time that easily incorporates known disease dynamics. We demonstrate how and why a stochastic compartmental model is a better approach for determining infection state proportions than multinomial regression is by using a novel method for estimating Bayes factors for models with high-dimensional parameter spaces. We provide an example using visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil and present an empirically-adjusted reproductive number for the infection.     

The relationship between binge drinking and prosocial bystander behavior among college men

Abstract

Objectives: This study prospectively examined binge drinking’s effect on prosocial bystander behavior and indicators of bystander behavior: intentions to intervene, self-efficacy to intervene, and positive outcome expectancies for intervening. Participants: College men were recruited from February to April 2010. Methods: Pre- and posttest surveys were administered as part of a randomized controlled trial (n?=?743). Potential confounders were identified using Pearson product-moment correlations. Controlling for covariates, multiple linear regression was used to examine whether binge drinking was predictive of prosocial bystander behavior and indicators of bystander behavior. Results: Binge drinking was related to lower bystander behavior (p<.05), lower intentions to intervene (p<.001), and less positive outcome expectancies for intervening (p<.05). Conclusions: Binge drinking may reduce the ability to notice a risk situation and intervene as a prosocial bystander. Results highlight the need for bystander programs to address alcohol use within the context of bystander behavior.     

Transitions to Adulthood of ‘At Risk’ Young Men: New Analysis from Two Norwegian Qualitative Longitudinal Studies

This paper focuses on two cohorts of Norwegian young men whose behaviour in childhood and adolescence caused serious concern to their parents, teachers, social workers and, in some cases, the police, Despite having been identified as ‘at risk’, they made transitions to positive adult masculine identities in two different historical contexts; the 1980s and 2000s. The paper analyses the difference that historical context makes to these young men’s lives, their gendered identity work and their perspectives on their past, present and future. In particular, it identifies the ways in which supportive intergenerational relationships and significant others serve to produce positive turning points and, over time, help the young men to develop resilience and potentially happy and successful futures.