Prenatal Development of Interlimb Motor Learning in the Rat Fetus

The role of sensory feedback in the early ontogeny of motor coordination remains a topic of speculation and debate. On E20 of gestation (the 20th day after conception, 2 days before birth), rat fetuses can alter interlimb coordination after a period of training with an interlimb yoke, which constrains limb movement and promotes synchronized, conjugate movement of the yoked limbs. The aim of this study was to determine how the ability to express this form of motor learning may change during prenatal development. Fetal rats were prepared for in vivo study at 4 ages (E18–21) and tested in a 65‐min training‐and‐testing session examining hind limb motor learning. A significant increase in conjugate hind limb activity was expressed by El9, but not El 8 fetuses, with further increases in conjugate hind limb activity on E20 and E21. These findings suggest substantial development of the ability of fetal rats to modify patterns of interlimb coordination in response to kinesthetic feedback during motor training before birth.     

Racial identity attitudes and interracial communication: Implications for social work practice in Britain

This paper is written from a psychological perspective and explores the relationship between black people's stages of racial identity development and interracial communication. It describes Cross's model of psychological nigrescence for black people and Helms's model of white identity development–in which she describes how whites go through the process of defining themselves as racial beings. Since the majority of social workers in Britain are white, it is argued that white identity development and its implication for interracial communication are important aspects to consider. It is argued that one's stage of racial identity may have a stronger impact on the communication process between white social workers and black clients than 'race' per se.     

Saddlepoint Approximations for the Difference of Order Statistics and Studentized Sample Quantiles

For a sample from a given distribution the difference of two order statistics and the Studentized quantile are statistics whose distribution is needed to obtain tests and confidence intervals for quantiles and quantile differences. This paper gives saddlepoint approximations for densities and saddlepoint approximations of the Lugannani–Rice form for tail probabilities of these statistics. The relative errors of the approximations are n ⁻¹ uniformly in a neighbourhood of the parameters and this uniformity is global if the densities are log-concave.     

ENCOUNTERS WITH STATISTICAL INFERENCE – AN INTERVIEW WITH EVAN WILLIAMS

Emeritus Professor Evan J. Williams was interviewed at the CSIRO Division of Mathematics and Statistics in Melbourne on 13 February 1991. Three major phases of his working life were discussed: time at CSIRO; time in the United States of America; time at The University of Melbourne. This article is based on an edited recording of the interview.     

Generalized discriminant analysis based on distances

This paper describes a method of generalized discriminant analysis based on a dissimilarity matrix to test for differences in a priori groups of multivariate observations. Use of classical multidimensional scaling produces a low‐dimensional representation of the data for which Euclidean distances approximate the original dissimilarities. The resulting scores are then analysed using discriminant analysis, giving tests based on the canonical correlations. The asymptotic distributions of these statistics under permutations of the observations are shown to be invariant to changes in the distributions of the original variables, unlike the distributions of the multi‐response permutation test statistics which have been considered by other workers for testing differences among groups. This canonical method is applied to multivariate fish assemblage data, with Monte Carlo simulations to make power comparisons and to compare theoretical results and empirical distributions. The paper proposes classification based on distances. Error rates are estimated using cross‐validation.     

Empiricism, Symbolic Realism, and the Mystique of the Extreme*

The empiricist/symbolic realist debate in the sociology of religion, as well as the broader objectivist/subjectivist controversy in social science, suffers from the mystique of the extreme. Emphasis has been placed on the two approaches as opposing alternatives, an either-or choice. This paper suggests that the mystique of the extreme prohibits perception of the necessary, dialectical complementarity of the two approaches. Neither alone can succeed in understanding religion scientifically. Research efforts must bring together the two perspectives by using what social anthropologists refer to as the emic and etic levels of analysis.     

Nonmarital Fertility and the Effects of Divorce Rates on Youth Suicide Rates

Using pooled, time‐series data for a sample of 15 developed nations, we assess the effect of divorce rates on gender‐specific suicide rates for youths aged 15 – 19 with models of relative cohort size, lagged nonmarital fertility, and an interaction term for divorce rates and nonmarital fertility. The results reveal that, for young men, relative cohort size is positively related to suicide rates, and divorce rates interact with lagged nonmarital fertility. The interaction effect indicates that increases in divorces are especially consequential for suicide cohorts of male youths who were born in periods of high nonmarital fertility. For female youths, only divorce rates exert a significant effect on suicide rates, and it is a positive, main effect.     

In their Own Right: Translating the Policy of Carer Assessment into Practice

Successive legislation has underscored the importance of assessmentsthat are sensitive to the needs of carers and take into accounttheir ability and willingness to continue caring. This papersynthesizes qualitative and quantitative findings from a continuingprogramme of carer-related research that began in 1993 and hascontinued in parallel with legislative changes. It considersthe process and characteristics of carer assessment from theperspectives of carers for individuals with a range of healthand social care needs, and practitioners. This paper exploresthe assessment of carer need over time and highlights the considerableand enduring gap between policy and practice. It considers practitioners’reluctance to offer separate carer assessments, identifies confusionrelating to the interpretation of eligibility criteria and documentsthe limited contribution of health service staff. The need foran evidence-based framework for good practice, that distinguishesbetween carer needs, service provision and carer outcomes, ishighlighted. The paper concludes by identifying key changesthat are necessary to promote future good practice, such asstaff training and information strategies and the need for practitionersto engage with carers as partners in the care process.     

Teaching Note—An Exploration of Team-Based Learning and Social Work Education: A Natural Fit

The literature on team-based learning (TBL) as a pedagogical methodology in social work education is limited; however, TBL, which was developed as a model for business, has been successfully used as a teaching methodology in nursing, business, engineering, medical school, and many other disciplines in academia. This project examines the use of TBL in a Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE) class and how a convenience sample (n?=?44) of undergraduate students responds to this method of learning. The project addresses the implications for this pedagogical style as an innovative way for teaching the social work curriculum and preparing a future generation of social workers to be productive members of work-related and professional groups.