Career Issues and Workplace Considerations for the Transsexual Community: Bridging a Gap of Knowledge for Career Counselors and Mental Heath Care Providers

The field of career counseling has addressed the needs of several minority groups; however, the transsexual community has consistently been overlooked. Transsexual individuals may face many personal and professional obstacles due to the complex psychological aspects and expensive medical procedures inherent in transitioning (the complex and multidimensional process of changing genders). Maintaining employment and a steady income are vital when engaging in this costly transition experience. In this article, the authors bridge a gap of knowledge for career counselors and mental health care providers by identifying possible workplace issues and propose 4 primary competency components. A critique of the current literature, recommendations for counselors, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Toward Rigor and Relevance in US Social Work Education

Abstract

After reviewing the major changes taking place in American higher education, the present paper discusses a select number of challenges confronting US social work education. These challenges are broadly characterized as those of rigor and relevance. The paper presents the author's reflections on the best ways to meet these challenges and stresses the promotion of research and social innovations as important foci for social work education.     

An asymptotic distribution-free selection procedure for a two-way layout problem

This paper deals with an asymptotic distribution-free subset selection procedure for a two-way layout problem. The treatment effect with the largest unknown value is of interest to us. The block effect is a nuisance parameter in this problem. The proposed procedure is based on the Hodges-Lehmann estimators of location parameters. The asymptotic relative efficiency of the proposed procedure with the normal means procedure is evaluated. It is shown that the proposed procedure has a high efficiency.     

Estimation of the location and scale parameters of the extreme value distmbution based on multiply type-II censored samples

In this paper, we consider the problem of estimating the location and scale parameters of an extreme value distribution based on multiply Type-II censored samples. We first describe the best linear unbiased estimators and the maximum likelihood estimators of these parameters. After observing that the best linear unbiased estimators need the construction of some tables for its coefficients and that the maximum likelihood estimators do not exist in an explicit algebraic form and hence need to be found by numerical methods, we develop approximate maximum likelihood estimators by appropriately approximating the likelihood equations. In addition to being simple explicit estimators, these estimators turn out to be nearly as efficient as the best linear unbiased estimators and the maximum likelihood estimators. Next, we derive the asymptotic variances and covariance of these estimators in terms of the first two single moments and the product moments of order statistics from the standard extreme value distribution. Finally, we present an example in order to illustrate all the methods of estimation of parameters discussed in this paper.     

Empathetic technologies: digital materiality and video ethnography

In this article, we advance recent theoretical and methodological discussions regarding the use of video techniques for generating empathetic encounters. We do so through a focus on how these techniques might be rendered in research conducted through sites of action and experience that are explicitly constituted through forms of digital materiality, whereby the digital and material are understood as relational and emergent. We argue for a processual view of digital materiality and in correspondence with this, of the research process, whereby empathetic imagining is itself understood as emergent from the research encounter. By way of example we draw on recent video ethnography research that has used GoPro and researcher-held video recording in collaboration with participants, in order to record and develop understandings of their experiences of self-tracking and cycle commuting.     

Drinking patterns and attitudes about alcohol among New Zealand adolescents

ABSTRACT

Questionnaires about alcohol use were administered to consenting Year 10 students at 10 secondary schools located in regions of Southland, Otago and Hawkes Bay (n?=?579) to examine drinking patterns and attitudes about alcohol of 14–15-year-olds. The average age of first drink was 12.6 years, two years younger than previously reported, with no difference in age of first drink for different socioeconomic statuses or ethnicities. Fifty-four per cent self-reported having consumed alcohol, and 23% had done so at least once within the last four weeks, with 13% reported regularly drinking more than five drinks in one session. While almost half of the 14–15-year-olds in this study reported never drinking alcohol, 75 individuals reported regular binge drinking. This was more common for students in lower socioeconomic schools; almost a third of students in the lowest socioeconomic group reported drinking five or more drinks every time they drink. There may be benefits of alcohol education resources for children as young as 12 years.