Dial 'M' for Metonym: Universal Exports,M's Office Space and Empire

For James Bond, Britishness is most often realised outside the British Isles, within the old Empire. Whenever physically located in Britain proper, he is most likely to be found in the offices of Universal Exports otherwise known as the British Secret Service. M's office is a metonym for England, a stable point of departure for Bond's adventures, and a site from which to theorise the relationship between M (England) and Bond (Britain); ideology, iconography and office fittings; changes and challenges to that 'office space'; cognitive mapping and the resonance of a British signifier on the margins of empire.     

Bayesian Interval Estimation for the Difference in TPRs and FPRs of Two Diagnostic Tests with Unverified Negatives

We derive Bayesian interval estimators for the differences in the true positive rates and false positive rates of two dichotomous diagnostic tests applied to the members of two distinct populations. The populations have varying disease prevalences with unverified negatives. We compare the performance of the Bayesian credible interval to the Wald interval using Monte Carlo simulation for a spectrum of different TPRs, FPRs, and sample sizes. For the case of a low TPR and low FPR, we found that a Bayesian credible interval with relatively noninformative priors performed well. We obtain similar interval comparison results for the cases of a high TPR and high FPR, a high TPR and low FPR, and of a high TPR and mixed FPR after incorporating mildly informative priors.     

Optimal Two‐Sided Invariant Similar Tests for Instrumental Variables Regression

This paper considers tests of the parameter on an endogenous variable in an instrumental variables regression model. The focus is on determining tests that have some optimal power properties. We start by considering a model with normally distributed errors and known error covariance matrix. We consider tests that are similar and satisfy a natural rotational invariance condition. We determine a two‐sided power envelope for invariant similar tests. This allows us to assess and compare the power properties of tests such as the conditional likelihood ratio (CLR), the Lagrange multiplier, and the Anderson–Rubin tests. We find that the CLR test is quite close to being uniformly most powerful invariant among a class of two‐sided tests. The finite‐sample results of the paper are extended to the case of unknown error covariance matrix and possibly nonnormal errors via weak instrument asymptotics. Strong instrument asymptotic results also are provided because we seek tests that perform well under both weak and strong instruments.     

Green grey hairs: A life course perspective on environmental engagement

ABSTRACT

Older adults provide a long view of understanding environmental engagement from their early beginnings to their current community activities. This study draws on interviews with self-described environmentalists and follows a life course analysis that employs social work values and practice skills as they work towards environmental justice in their Midwestern communities. We conclude that the older adults of this second generation of environmentalists offer valuable lessons for social workers with regard to environmental justice, while at the same time contributing insights into older adult volunteering and addressing the challenge of a generational gap in participation in their community organizations.     

A Comparison of Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing,Standard Echoic Training,and Control Procedures on the Vocal Behavior of Children With Autism

An alternating treatments design was employed to compare the effect of stimulus-stimulus pairing, standard echoic training, and a control condition on the vocal behavior of 3 preschoolers with autism. Data were recorded during pre- and postsession observations. During the stimulus-stimulus pairing condition, the experimenter''s vocal model was paired with the delivery of a preferred item. During the standard echoic training condition, the experimenter presented a vocal model and delivered a preferred item contingent on an echoic response. During the control condition, the experimenter presented a vocal model and, after a 10-s delay, presented a preferred edible item. Results from the post-session observations during the stimulus-stimulus pairing condition showed an immediate but temporary increase in the target sound for 1 participant only. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

An experiment in helping social work practitioners to design and conduct research

A twelve-week short course, “Understanding Social Work Practice through Research” was conducted for experienced social work practitioners during the Spring of 1982. The course, experimental in character, began with the practice interests of individual course members and used the resources of the class members and the course tutors to help each person to devise a research design suitable to his or her personally declared practice interests. The work was supported by handouts (e.g., “Turning an interest in a practice issue into one or more researchable questions”; “Decisions required when constructing a research design”; etc.) and by worksheets.

Eight persons attended all or most sessions (one dropped out early in the sequence) and all of these completed a research design and indicated an interest in implementing it. Optional follow-up sessions were provided in the form of group support meetings held at four-month intervals and individual consultation as required. In addition to producing a viable research design, members gained increased confidence in themselves as researchers as well as practitioners, clarified their understanding of the relationship between research and practice, and in some cases emerged with a renewed enthusiasm for social work practice.