Infants distinguish and represent pattern as an object feature from externally generated patterns superimposed on real, 3-dimensional objects' surfaces

As infants form object representations, the patterns viewed on objects' surfaces may be challenging to decipher because these patterns may be created from the surface reflectance of an object (an object property) or from an external source, such as a cast shadow. We tested 7 ½-month-old infants' use of cues that specify the source of patterns seen on the surfaces of real, 3-dimensional objects to individuate those objects. Results suggest that when forming object representations based on patterns, 7½-month-olds rely heavily on temporal and depth cues to distinguish patterns inherent to the object from other types of patterns.     

What do midwives fear?

BackgroundThere is evidence that a significant number of women are fearful about birth but less is known about the fears of maternity health providers and how their fear may impact on the women they care for.AimThe aim of this study was to determine the top fears midwives in Australia and New Zealand hold when it comes to caring for childbearing women.MethodFrom 2009 to 2011, 17 workshops were held in Australia and New Zealand supporting over 700 midwives develop skills to keep birth normal. During the workshop midwives were asked to write their top fear on a piece of paper and return it to the presenters. Similar concepts were grouped together to form 8 major categories.FindingsIn total 739 fears were reported and these were death of a baby (n = 177), missing something that causes harm (n = 176), obstetric emergencies (n = 114), maternal death (n = 83), being watched (n = 68), being the cause of a negative birth experience (n = 52), dealing with the unknown (n = 36) and losing passion and confidence around normal birth (n = 32). Student midwives were more concerned about knowing what to do, while homebirth midwives were mostly concerned with being blamed if something went wrong.ConclusionThere was consistency between the 17 groups of midwives regarding top fears held. Supporting midwives with workshops such as dealing with grief and loss and managing fear could help reduce their anxiety. Obstetric emergency skills workshops may help midwives feel more confident, especially those dealing with shoulder dystocia and PPH as they were most commonly recorded.     

‘Do you really want me to tell ya!’ critical learning in engaging young people in contact with the justice system as peer educators with social work students

ABSTRACT

This paper outlines and evaluates an active and experiential learning project, which gave young people involved with the justice system, a voice as peer educators engaging with social work students outside of the traditional educational institution. The project had two key interconnecting elements. Firstly, by engaging a hidden population of young people in a realistic and meaningful way, it enabled them to share their experiences, and allowed students to understand the complexity of what it means to be socially excluded. Secondly, through this active participation process the young people began to see education as a desirable goal.

The project took place over three months and included 10 social work students and 13 young people involved with the justice system. Creative use of multimedia facilitated production of a learning resource to capture the young people’s lived experiences with statutory social work and justice systems. Young people were fundamentally challenged in their beliefs about themselves being involved in education to achieve a qualification. Students were challenged in their creativity and versatility responding to the task, when collaborating with ‘hard to reach’ young people. They were furthermore challenged in terms of their attitudes and assumptions in relation to offending and social justice.     

Bat ecology and public health surveillance for rabies in an urbanizing region of Colorado

We describe use of Fort Collins, Colorado, and nearby areas by bats in 2001–2005, and link patterns in bat ecology with concurrent public health surveillance for rabies. Our analyses are based on evaluation of summary statistics, and information-theoretic support for results of simple logistic regression. Based on captures in mist nets, the city bat fauna differed from that of the adjacent mountains, and was dominated by big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Species, age, and sex composition of bats submitted for rabies testing locally and along the urbanizing Front Range Corridor were similar to those of the mist-net captures and reflected the annual cycle of reproduction and activity of big brown bats. Few submissions occurred November- March, when these bats hibernated elsewhere. In summer females roosted in buildings in colonies and dominated health samples; fledging of young corresponded to a summer peak in health submissions with no increase in rabies prevalence. Roosting ecology of big brown bats in buildings was similar to that reported for natural sites, including colony size, roost-switching behavior, fidelity to roosts in a small area, and attributes important for roost selection. Attrition in roosts occurred from structural modifications of buildings to exclude colonies by citizens, but without major effects on long-term bat reproduction or survival. Bats foraged in areas set aside for nature conservation. A pattern of lower diversity in urban bat communities with dominance by big brown bats may occur widely in the USA, and is consistent with national public health records for rabies surveillance.     

Interactions and outcomes using the Social Relations Model in a healthcare group

Health care today necessitates a group effort, in part, due to the availability of complex interventions. Often measures of central tendency are used to examine groups which can result in misleading interpretations. Interactions within groups can influence outcomes so a multi-level approach to examining individual and dyad contributions is helpful to determine where interventions may be needed. The Social Relations Model (SRM) (Cook & Kenny, 2004) is a mathematical technique used for estimating the variances due to interaction effects from individuals and dyads within the group. This exploratory research used the SRM to examine 43 triads, composed of a patient, telehealth nurse and home helper, from three western U.S. Veterans Health Administration systems. The purpose of this research is to utilize the SRM to examine communication and information integration among individuals and dyads within groups that may influence outcomes in a health care example. Three triads with identical communication and information integration group scores were compared for Perceiver, Target and Relational Effect scores. Results identified individual and relational variances within the groups that may influence satisfaction and self-care outcomes. SRM techniques are beneficial not only to examine existing group interactions but to prevent potential group combinations that may inhibit desirable outcomes in a complex health care environment.     

Who Determines How Nonprofits Confront Uncertainty?

This study examines the impact of managers, board members, beneficiaries, donors, and government entities on nonprofit strategic decisions. Using data collected from GuideStar, the National Center for Charitable Statistics, and surveys, we provide evidence that strategic decisions of nonprofits are shaped by the ability of the aforementioned stakeholders to diversify their interests. Our findings offer nonprofits another means by which they can understand and therefore manage their strategic decisions. In addition, our framework suggests future applications of stakeholder theory conceive of stakeholder salience as a bidirectional phenomenon.     

Improving gender outcomes in social security retirement systems

Assessing whether retirement systems meet their varying objectives requires analysing outcomes across different categories of beneficiaries with different working, financial, demographic, and family situations. Policymakers should therefore assess systems on the distribution of outcomes rather than average outcomes. Much has been written about the gender inequalities inherent in labour markets and how these are reflected and reproduced in pension systems, and there is growing evidence that recent reforms have exacerbated these trends. Recent research has turned to the policy measures available to policymakers to forestall or reverse these trends, but this literature tends to overlook important administrative measures that have the potential to reduce inequalities in access that could improve pension outcomes for women within the current policy framework. This paper examines the main issues surrounding gender inequality in retirement outcomes; explores the implications of recent reform trends in light of the differential outcomes for women, including policy options to mitigate the negative impacts; and concludes with a review of key administrative measures, including streamlining affiliation procedures, improving information, and simplifying payment of contributions and receipt of benefits and better compliance of employers.