Book review

Abstract

A Guide to the Organisation and Operation of In-Plant Occupational Health Services by Jean Spencer Felton, Boston/Toronto/London, Little Brown and Company (1990). [Pp. xi + 571.] £70·00. ISBN 0–316-27775–4.     

Social Work in Academia

Social work has long attempted to gain public recognition and support as a profession and as a “legitimate” university program. Although efforts to improve the image of social work as a profession have been moderately successful, attempts to solve the problems within the university setting are yielding less than satisfactory results. This article carefully considers the dual roles of social work within the university as both an academic discipline and as a profession. Eight criteria are identified that clearly differentiate professional disciplines from academic disciplines. These criteria are presented in an attempt to help identify the problems with which social work educators struggle. Five guiding principles—(1) cooperation, (2) identity, (3) education, (4) leadership, and (5) fact-finding—are offered for consideration as strategies and solutions for developing a plan of action.     

The Making of Heroes: An Attributional Perspective

Abstract

Through the use of posed vignettes in a telephone survey, we investigate the construction of heroes. We examine the extent to which respondents attribute hero status to three potential 9/11 and “war on terrorism” heroes: Todd Beamer, Army Private Jessica Lynch, and President George W. Bush. Findings suggest the importance of the extraordinary nature and the rarity of action(s) performed by heroes in the attribution of hero status; the role of class, status, and party in the attribution process; and the moral consideration of what should be done in each posed vignette. In addition, the study indicates the utility of attribution theory for the sociological examination of heroism and the viability of normative constructs in examining heroic behavior.     

Was Quetelet’s Average Man Normal?

Abstract

Quetelet’s data on Scottish chest girths are analyzed with eight normality tests. In contrast to Quetelet’s conclusion that the data are fit well by what is now known as the normal distribution, six of eight normality tests provide strong evidence that the chest circumferences are not normally distributed. Using corrected chest circumferences from Stigler, the χ² test no longer provides strong evidence against normality, but five commonly used normality tests do. The D’Agostino–Pearson K² and Jarque–Bera tests, based only on skewness and kurtosis, find that both Quetelet’s original data and the Stigler-corrected data are consistent with the hypothesis of normality. The major reason causing most normality tests to produce low p-values, indicating that Quetelet’s data are not normally distributed, is that the chest circumferences were reported in whole inches and rounding of large numbers of observations can produce many tied values that strongly affect most normality tests. Users should be cautious using many standard normality tests if data have ties, are rounded, and the ratio of the standard deviation to rounding interval is small.     

A confidence region with multiple intervals in multivariate bioassay

The exact confidence region for log relative potency resulting from likelihood score methods (Williams (1988) An exact confidence interval for the relative potency estimated from a multivariate bioassay, Biometrics, 44:861-868) will very likely consist of two disjoint confidence intervals. The two methods proposed by Williams which aim to select just one (the same) confidence interval from the confidence region are nearly – but not completely – consistent. The likelihood score interval and likelihood ratio interval are asymptotically equivalent. Williams's very strong claim concerning the confidence coefficient in the second selection method is still theoretically unproved; yet, simulations show that it is true for a wide range of practical experimental situations.     

Numerical computation of bridge probabilities

This paper contains an analysis of the problem of computing the joint probability density of the honor card point count in each of four hands in the game of bridge. Efficient representation of the data is considered. Computational algorithms are given for dealing with a compressed form of the density. From the joint density, the densities of the point count in the best and worst hands are obtained. Also obtained is the conditional distribution that a partnership has m points given that one of the partners has n1 points.     

Understanding the relative influence of attitudes and societal norms on dietary intentions among African-Caribbean women

This study applies the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to understand the relative influence of personal attitude (AT) toward three chronic diseases (diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension), and social normative (SN) groups (family, friends, and church), toward intention to engage in dietary behaviors associated with obesity and chronic disease risk. The sample consists of N = 183 women, aged 18–55 years, in Barbados, West Indies, selected through a stratified cluster sample technique. The instrument includes demographic and anthropometric variables and components of the TRA. Analyses using structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that the TRA explains 22%, 35% and 19% of the variances in intention to consume high-fat foods, alcohol, and fruits, nuts and vegetables, respectively. SN is a predictor of all three dietary intentions, while AT predicts only intention to eat fruit, nuts, and vegetables. In the models, social pressure from family is relatively more important than friends and church in influencing dietary intentions. It can be concluded that social normative influences have a stronger effect on intentions to consume fatty foods, alcohol, and fruit, nuts and vegetables than do personal attitudes.     

Health-enhancing physical activity during practice among student football managers at a Division I university

Abstract

Objective: Student football managers have demands on their time that may pose barriers to meeting recommended current physical activity (PA) guidelines. The study sought to assess the amount of PA obtained by student football managers at a NCAA Division I Football university. Participants: Subjects were student football managers (n?=?14) with data collected in the fall 2015. Methods: Participants wore an Omron HJ-720ITFFP pedometer for seven consecutive days during football activities only, while self-reporting their overall PA on day 7. Measures were analyzed using repeated measures and mixed-design ANOVAs. Results: Managers averaged 8474 steps/day for each practice/game. All PA measures significantly varied by day and manager experience. Overall PA equated to 78?hours of walking. Conclusions: Student football managers easily met and surpassed the recommended aerobic health-enhancing PA guideline. While their manager-related PA was 140?minutes per week, other PA allowed them to easily reach significantly healthy levels of PA.     

Correlates of Engaging in Survival Sex among Homeless Youth and Young Adults

Using a sample of 1,625 homeless youth and young adults aged 10 to 25 from 28 different states in the United States, this study examines the correlates of having engaged in survival sex. Findings suggest that differences exist based on demographic variables (gender, age, race, and sexual orientation), lifetime drug use (inhalants, Valium?, crack cocaine, alcohol, Coricidin?, and morphine), recent drug use (alcohol, ecstasy, heroin, and methamphetamine), mental health variables (suicide attempts, familial history of substance use, and having been in substance abuse treatment), and health variables (sharing needles and having been tested for HIV). In addition to replicating previous findings, this study's findings suggest that African American youth; gay, lesbian, or bisexual youth; and youth who had been tested for HIV were significantly more likely to have engaged in survival sex than White, heterosexual youth, and youth who had not been tested for HIV, respectively. Implications for interventions with youth and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Queer Is the New Black? Not So Much: Racial Disparities in Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination

The present study examines the intersection of race and sexual orientation in the experience of discrimination among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. The results of the study suggest that while a majority of LGBTQ individuals report being victims of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, racial minorities experience even greater levels of anti-LGBTQ discrimination than do White LGBTQ people. The findings suggest that the intersection of race and sexual orientation creates elevated levels of discrimination risk beyond the already elevated rates of discrimination experienced by members of the LGBTQ community for LGBTQ racial minorities.