Continuing professional development after qualification--partnerships,pitfalls and potential

Social work educators, employers and policy-makers have increasingly recognised the importance of continuing professional development. The UK social work qualification (DipSW) provides a broad base of practice skills, knowledge and values. However, increasingly complex work, frequent legislative and policy changes, research findings and challenges of working in a societal context of increasing change and diversity all contribute to the necessity of developing strategies for continuing professional development which adequately equip social workers. Such education cannot be alienated from social workers' employment context, and thus needs to remain mindful of employers' needs while concurrently maintaining academic rigour. This paper explores the development and delivery of a year-long post-qualifying training course run collaboratively between West Sussex Social and Caring Services and University College Chichester. It places some of the experiences of tutors, candidates and Training and Development Officers within the wider context of social work education, training and the delivery of social care. In exploring some of the contradictions and tensions experienced it seeks to further understand the challenge of delivering effective training in an increasingly complex and fragmented arena. Finally, it considers possible future developments, mindful of future changes in UK social work education.     

Six Propositions on Public Participation and Their Relevance for Risk Communication

New societal obligations for communicating risk information are emerging in a variety of contexts. This article draws upon the lengthy societal experience with citizen participation programs to identify how risk communication efforts may be effectively structured and implemented. Six major propositions address such themes as means/ends differences in expectations, the timing of the program, the role of credibility and trust, the need for technical and analytical resources, differing thresholds of public involvement, and limitations upon current understandings. Key conclusions for the design of risk communication programs are set forth.     

The effect of 6 months training on leg power, balance, and functional mobility of independently living adults over 70 years old

Where strength training has been used in conjunction with functional-task training in older people, not only have there been improvements in leg strength but also improved function has been measured (e.g., Skelton & McLaughlin, 1996). Many studies use participants from care homes rather than community dwellers. We investigated changes in leg power, balance, and functional mobility in community-dwelling sedentary men and women over 70 years of age (n = 6 for training group [TR]; n = 10 for control group [CN]). Progressive training took place over 24 weeks using seated and nonseated exercise. For TR, leg power increased 40%, from 108 +/- 40 to 141 +/- 53 W (p < .01); dynamic balance increased 48%, from 22.3 +/- 7.9 to 33.1 +/- 6.1 cm (p < .01; functional reach); and functional mobility increased 12%, from 7.46 +/- 1.32 to 6.54 +/- 1.41 s (p < .05; timed walk). CN showed no significant change. In conclusion, a community-based exercise program led to large improvements in leg-extensor power, dynamic balance, and functional mobility.     

Robust methods in econometrics

This survey of recent developments in robust estimation and inference is directed primarily toward econometricians. It is argued that many of the techniques in common use in econometrics are highly sensitive to unverified hypotheses. Recent progress in designing alternative robust procedures is described and some prospects for future developments are discussed.     

Titin--springing back to youth?

Mutations in the muscle protein titin have been linked to dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart chambers are enlarged and blood is ineffectively pumped, in humans and in animal models. This protein, which is a component of sarcomeres, provides essential scaffolding for other muscle proteins and acts as a spring to confer passive elasticity on the cardiomyocyte. Several titin isoforms exist, and they display varying size and degrees of elasticity. We review two interesting reports that show how variations in titin isoforms might be implicated in cardiac failure.