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American Research Fellowship Award Dr G. N. Lance, B.Sc, Ph.D., has been selected by the Royal Society for the award of one of the first Research Fellowships set up by the American Government to enable outstanding young scientists from Europe to study in U.S. Research Institutions.

A monthly feature giving news of recent Government and professional appointments, industrial developments and business changes, etc.

LIGHT rarely comes to people as swiftly as it did to Paul on the Damascus road. More often it is the slow accretion of knowledge through education and persuasion, the steady pressure of convinced advocates and the relentless force of events that opens their minds to new ideas.

This article surveys recent developments in the evaluation of point and density forecasts in the context of forecasts made by vector autoregressions. Specific emphasis is placed on highlighting those parts of the existing literature that are applicable to direct multistep forecasts and those parts that are applicable to iterated multistep forecasts. This literature includes advancements in the evaluation of forecasts in population (based on true, unknown model coefficients) and the evaluation of forecasts in the finite sample (based on estimated model coefficients). The article then examines in Monte Carlo experiments the finite-sample properties of some tests of equal forecast accuracy, focusing on the comparison of VAR forecasts to AR forecasts. These experiments show the tests to behave as should be expected given the theory. For example, using critical values obtained by bootstrap methods, tests of equal accuracy in population have empirical size about equal to nominal size.

This chapter looks at the Bakhtinian account of language that Michael Brown presents in his The Concept of the Social in Uniting the Humanities and Social Sciences and suggests that it is in tension with his Rousseauean description of human sociality. Like Rousseau, Brown claims that human sociality derives from a recognition of mutual dependence that cements the disparate wills of individuals into a general will which enforces social equality and protects the rights of all. Brown argues that this fundamental human sociality is instantiated in language itself which he describes not as communication but as “an anti-telic moment of collective enunciation,” and he identifies this collective enunciation with Bakhtin's notion of heteroglossia. In doing so, however, he downplays the drama of individual and social struggle that is at the center of Bakhtin's work and thus underestimates its power as a force for social change.

English governance has repeatedly had a tendency to veer between national, regional and local centres of power and influence. This has often led to profound disagreements, sometimes even open conflict. National policy guidance is usually helpful, if developed through consultation, to steer a clear, coherent direction for the system. But a narrow, excessively top‐down, mechanistic target‐driven approach can lead to a prevailing culture of ticking boxes at the expense of real patient priorities. Government ministers and civil servants, however, are often caught in a tension between being too dogmatic, or alternatively too flexible and giving responsibility to local agencies, whereupon people may complain about a ‘postcode lottery’ in services. Balancing perspectives and narratives in a coherent way for policy development and implementation and service improvement is a major challenge of leadership. The creation of the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) was designed to bring together the local, regional and the national in a form that would see policy and practice mutually developed and nurtured at all levels of governance.

The article aims to discuss the process of assessment within the developing model of care clusters for mental health being implemented in England as a potential basis for a payment by results (PbR) system. Assessment, leading to allocation to care cluster, determines the care package individuals receive from services. Hence, assessment needs to be thorough and holistic and, it is argued, grounded in the philosophy upon which all care processes should be based.

The process of assessment is critically reviewed in the context of allocation to care clusters. An innovative approach of recovery focused conversations (RFCs) is outlined, along with its theoretical grounding in Buber's philosophy of “dialogue”, to help ensure assessment processes in PbR are fit for purpose.

Care clusters present opportunities to deliver high quality care, actively engaging people in their care and supporting their recovery. These are not a given, though. Further means are required to operationalise all the desirable ingredients of what care is delivered and how it is done. RFCs are outlined as an addition to the care cluster to ensure that care planning starts from a co‐produced understanding between professionals and service users.

RFCs are a technology for delivering assessment and cluster allocation with mutually respectful dialogue between professionals and people with mental health problems, and that promotes a recovery oriented approach throughout the subsequent care pathway.

This is the first critical review of assessment processes in care cluster allocation and first description of RFCs as an inclusive, integrative approach.

The important initiative from the Department of Health (Working Group on Copying Letters to Patients, 2002) to require that letters between clinicians should be copied to the patient has not been implemented as widely as was intended. There have been concerns about logistics and fears that patients might be confused or frightened by communications they are not equipped to understand. Yet, modifications of the system to allow patients the choice to receive or not receive such letters and suitable training for clinicians offer safeguards. There is no doubt that copying letters provides an inexpensive mechanism for involving patients in their own care and treatment, offering transparency and confirming respect for equality in the relationship between patient and clinician. This paper reports experience with copying letters to patients and families with dementia. The process was warmly received by patients and carers, including families in a black and minority ethnic (BME) community, and few adverse comments were made. The routine application of this initiative will have benefits for the quality of service experience for older people, including those with dementia.

Dementia is found in all races. Within the UK, elders in black and minority ethnic (BME) communities are often unable or unwilling to access services that might help them when they develop dementia. A series of research‐based studies in Wolverhampton have demonstrated that working with community leaders and family carers can identify strengths as well as areas for development in service arrangements. Some areas for development are those shared by all individuals and families with dementia, while others are specific to the cultural group. Areas for action include: the lack of understanding of the normal and pathological features of ageing; fear and stigma associated with mental disorders within BME communities; lack of knowledge of dementia; and insensitivity and inflexibility within some components of services. Knowledge gained from a collaborative review of the situation can be used to plan and deliver iterative improvements. The most effective single initiative is the appointment of a link nurse competent in language, culture and clinical skills. Despite progress over a 10 year period, difficulties remain and there is more to be learned.The research reported here has been conducted over a period of nine years within the city of Wolverhampton. The research has been co‐ordinated from for dementia plus (previously Dementia Plus), which has functioned as the Dementia Development Centre for the West Midlands since 2000.

The challenge of connectivity in Texas, between libraries and between citizens, is complicated by the state's size—both geographic and demographic—and its diversity—ethnic, economic, and technological.