A continuous latent spatial model for crack initiation in bone cement

Summary.  Hip replacements rovide a means of achieving a higher quality of life for individuals who have, through aging or injury, accumulated damage to their natural joints. This is a very common operation, with over a million people a year benefiting from the procedure. The replacements themselves fail mainly as a result of the mechanical loosening of the components of the artificial joint due to damage accumulation. This damage accumulation consists of the initiation and growth of cracks in the bone cement which is used to fixate the replacement in the human body. The data come from laboratory experiments that are designed to assess the effectiveness of the bone cement in resisting damage. We examine the properties of the bone cement, with the aim being to estimate the effect that both observable and unobservable spatially varying factors have on causing crack initiation. To do this, an explicit model for the damage process is constructed taking into account the tension and compression at different locations in the specimens. A gamma random field is used to model any latent spatial factors that may be influential in crack initiation. Bayesian inference is carried out for the parameters of this field and related covariates by using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques.     

Attachment and Coping Strategies in Middle Childhood Children whose Mothers Have a Mental Health Problem: Implications for Social Work Practice

Mental health has implications for the quality of relationshipswithin a family, particularly between parents and children,but also between other family and non-family members. Previousresearch has investigated parental reports of attachment infamilies with mental health problems, but relationship representationsas experienced by these children, especially in middle childhood,have not been so frequently investigated. An understanding ofchildren’s representations of attachment relationshipsand the different coping strategies that may result is importantfor social work practice when offering support, not only tothe children, but also other family members. Methods of investigatingattachment, such as the Separation Anxiety Test, have been usedto understand the relationship issues, fears and coping strategiesof other vulnerable children, and this study was designed specificallyto investigate relationship issues in middle childhood childrenwhose mothers had previously been hospitalized with mental healthproblems. We found that these children tended to be less emotionallyopen and secure, and generated fewer adaptive coping strategiesthan children whose mothers had never had mental health problems.Other themes also emerged from the interviews, such as a senseof trust in the parent–child relationship and the ‘containment’of fears. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

Intertextuality at Work: Prince Andrei Kurbskii in Contemporary Russian Literature

This paper notes how each character in Olesha’s novel Envy is tied to certain colours and how these associations mirror the oppositions between colours laid out in Vasilii Kandinskii’s theory of colour. First the paper outlines the genesis of Kandinskii’s ideas on colour and describes his theory as spelled out in On the Spiritual in Art and Point and Line to Plane. This is followed by a discussion of how Olesha could have come into contact with Kandinskii’s works. Finally, I turn to the use of colour in Envy.     

University‐industry relationships in genetic research: Potential opportunities and pitfalls

Changes in the environment in which university research is conducted, in conjunction with the development of new research technologies such as biotechnology, are contributing to the proliferation and diversification of university‐industry relationships. This paper describes and documents university‐industry relationships in five categories: research contracts, technology transfer activities, consultancies, employment, and gifts. Special emphasis is given to biotechnology research relations. Conflicts that may arise from these relations are discussed and studies evaluating the potential impacts of university‐industry relationships are summarized. While wide‐spread abuse has not been reported, subtle changes in university research may be occurring. Using the University of Tennessee as a case study, the paper ends with a discussion of the difficulties of establishing guidelines and procedures to prevent and settle conflicts of interest that might result from university‐industry relationships.     

Structured process recording: A comprehensive model that incorporates the strengths perspective

Process recordings continue to be a reliable teaching tool for social work education. The structure of process recordings has undergone refinements over time in response to changes in practice. With the development of the strengths perspective within the profession, it is suggested that the structured format for process recording be further refined to include an ongoing assessment of clients' strengths. An ART (Assessment, Relationship, Treatment) Checklist is provided to enable students to systematically analyze their interventions along a number of dimensions, including strengths.     

Elder Abuse and Oppression: Voices of Marginalized Elders

The voices of elderly people from marginalized groups are rarely solicited, and the relationship between elder maltreatment and belonging to an oppressed group has not been adequately investigated. This article reviews the literature on oppression and elder abuse and describes findings from the secondary analysis of data from focus group discussions on elder abuse held with marginalized older adults and (quasi)professionals caring for them in two Canadian cities. Participants identified that increased vulnerability to elder abuse was related to oppression experienced as a consequence of ageism, sexism, ableism/ disability, racism, heterosexism/homophobia, classism, and various intersecting types of oppression.     

Teachers' Attitudes toward Reporting Child Sexual Abuse: Problems with Existing Research Leading to New Scale Development

This paper details a systematic literature review identifying problems in extant research relating to teachers' attitudes toward reporting child sexual abuse and offers a model for new attitude scale development and testing. Scale development comprised a five-phase process grounded in contemporary attitude theories, including (a) developing the initial item pool, (b) conducting a panel review, (c) refining the scale via an expert focus group, (d) building content validity through cognitive interviews, and (e) assessing internal consistency via field testing. The resulting 21-item scale displayed construct validity in preliminary testing. The scale may prove useful as a research tool, given the theoretical supposition that attitudes may be changed with time, context, experience, and education. Further investigation with a larger sample is warranted.     

Crisis,trauma, and challenge: A relational resilience approach for healing,transformation, and growth∗

The concept of resilience — strengths forged through adversity — offers a valuable framework for working with a broad diversity of clients and life challenges. Grounded in a developmental systemic perspective on vulnerability, risk, and resilience, the author has drawn together clinical and research advances to develop a useful practice framework to identify and facilitate key processes for individual and relational resilience. This paper will describe and illustrate this strengths‐oriented approach for healing, transformation, and growth out of crisis, trauma, and loss, with a focus on belief systems that foster resilience through meaning‐making, a positive outlook, and transcendence/spirituality.