Spontaneous motor activity in fetal and infant rats is organized into discrete multilimb bouts.

Spontaneous motor activity (SMA) is a ubiquitous feature of fetal and infant behavior. Although SMA appears random, successive limb movements often occur in bouts. Bout organization was evident at all ages in fetal (embryonic day [E] 17-21) and infant (postnatal day [P] 1-9) rats, with nearly all bouts comprising 1-4 movements of different limbs. A computational model of SMA, including spontaneous activity of spinal motor neurons, intrasegmental and intersegmental interactions, recurrent inhibition, and descending influences, produced bouts with the same structure as that observed in perinatal rats. Consistent with the model, bouts were not eliminated on E20 after cervical spinal transection, suggesting that the brain is not necessary to produce bout organization. These investigations provide a foundation for understanding the contributions of SMA to neuromuscular and motor development.

Future directions for AUPHA (Association of University Programs in Health Administration)? Results of a survey of faculty members.

As part of its strategic planning process, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) conducted a survey of individual faculty members in health administration programs. The objective of the survey was to assess the faculty development needs of individual faculty members in terms of their professional association affiliations, and to identify what, if any, additional roles might be filled by AUPHA. The findings supported a role for AUPHA beyond its historical role of serving the needs of health administration programs primarily through program directors. Of particular importance to faculty members were exchanges with faculty in other health administration programs around research and teaching issues. While these views were held by those of all academic ranks and educational levels, the importance of these activities was judged higher by those respondents with doctorates and those of assistant professor rank. A specific role indicated for AUPHA is one of creating opportunities for exchange among individual faculty members in health administration programs. Furthermore, the data suggest that those faculty members of assistant professor rank should be a major focus for AUPHA faculty development activities. Roles for AUPHA in the areas of revising curricula and exploring new methods of instruction, developing closer linkages with management practitioners and discussions of ways to facilitate multidisciplinary exchange and research were outlined in this study.

Health leaders of tomorrow: a descriptive analysis.

The dramatically changing environment of the health care executive prompted the current survey of graduate students in health administration. The survey examined the types of attitudes and values that may influence students' future leadership style and ethical decision making. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to provide descriptive information as well as to allow comparisons with recent surveys of practitioners and peers and with other research. Respondents to the survey, conducted in the fall of 1986, included nearly half of the full-time students in 56 participating AUPHA graduate programs and one-quarter of the part-time students (N = 1,764). Students' characteristics such as age, sex, religious preference, work experience, and career aspirations were assessed in relation to their social philosophy on health issues, instrumental and terminal values, attitudes toward achievement, and degree of idealism versus relativism in moral reasoning. The typical student was a twenty-seven-year-old white female with a stated religious preference who expected in ten years to be associated with a multi-institutional system or consulting firm. Her social philosophy showed concern for the rising cost of health care on the consumer and an emphasis on self-help. Self-respect and honesty are her highest values; her ethical ideology had components of high idealism and relativism, which is indicative of a situational decision-making style. Work orientation and mastery were both above average sources of achievement motivation for her, whereas competitiveness was about average. When group differences in attitudes and values were evaluated, however, sex was the highest predictor, followed by age, expectation of becoming a CEO, and self-assessed potential for success. Although there was substantial agreement between students' and practitioners' attitudes and values, some differences were found. Implications for future research are discussed, as well as issues relating to education for health administrators.