Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B Nurcombe.
A case of alleged ritual sexual abuse is presented. Clinical recognition and diagnostic reasoning are discussed. After a brief account of modern satanism, it is concluded that, although the evidence for the occurrence of ritual abuse is sketchy, a high index of suspicion is appropriate.
We compared 24 low-birthweight subjects of an experimental intervention (LBWE), 32 no-treatment controls (LBWC), and 37 normal birthweight (NBW) subjects. The intervention involved 7 hospital sessions and 4 home sessions in which a nurse helped mothers adapt to their LBW babies. At age 7, LBWE scored significantly higher than LBWC on the Kaufman Mental Processing Composite (p less than .001), Sequential (p = .02), and Simultaneous (p = .001) Scales, after statistical adjustments for socioeconomic status. LBWE did not differ from NBW (F less than 1). These results bear out a divergence between the LBWE and LBWC that first became statistically significant at age 3. The findings suggest that the intervention prevented cognitive lags among LBW children, and that long-term follow-ups are needed to evaluate the developmental effects of efforts to overcome major biological and environmental risks.
Critical incidents adapted to presentation in picture form were used to investigate responses of Aboriginal adolescents from Elcho Island mission in the Northern Territory of Australia in conflict situations arising from culture contact. These Aboriginal youths are part of a complex environment where choice behaviour is mediated by specific and broader situational characteristics of the social environment. Results showed a relationship between conflict responses and orientation to traditional values and skills, but no apparent relationship between conflict responses and modern value orientation or psychopathology variables. Adolescents who attended high school in Darwin were seen as more mission and academically oriented than locally educated youth. Contary to expected patterns, males appeared to be less involved in both mission and traditional activities and more restricted by traditional social expectations than were females.
Nineteen families were interviewed after their loss of an infant by sudden infant death syndrome. Their bereavement responses are described. The outcome after 13 months is studied in terms of resumption of normal living, and health changes. The parents' perceptions of intervention are discussed, and recommendations are made about how best to help such families.
A.R. Jensen's hypothesis concerning genetically-determined differences in intelligence between North American blacks and whites is summarised. Problems involved in the application of heritability statistics to IQ data are discussed. The concept of "intelligence" is reviewed from a cross-cultural perspective, and an alternative model of potential, competence and performance is proposed. Finally, the questions of scientific freedom and social responsibility are touched upon, and the implications of the great debate for scientists and educators discussed.