Triage and Ethics: Social Workers on the Front Line

ABSTRACT

This article highlights the results of an international qualitative study examining the impact of terrorism and other disasters—both human-made and natural—on social work agencies and their labor force. The study was conducted with focus groups of social workers in health care and social service settings. The major research question concerned the impact of disaster—both natural and human-made—on agencies and social work practitioners. Focus was placed on the ethical dissonance experienced by social workers under pressure to prioritize how services and resources are distributed to those in need.     

Dropping observations without affecting posterior and predictive distributions

Suppose in a distribution problem, the sample information W is split into two pieces W ₁ and W ₂, and the parameters involved are split into two sets, π containing the parameters of interest, and θ containing nuisance parameters. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the posterior distribution of π does not depend on the data W ₂, which can thus be ignored. This also has consequences for the predictive distribution of future (or missing) observations. In fact, under similar conditions, the predictive distributions using W or just W ₁ are identical.     

Slope rotatability over all directions designs for k = 4

Slope rotatability over all directions (SROAD) is a useful concept when the slope of a second-order response is to be studied. SROAD designs ensure that knowledge jof the slope is acquired symmetrically, whatever direction later becomes of more interest as the data are analyzed. In a prior paper, we explored designs for k=2 and 3 dimensions, which do not have the full symmetries of second-order designs but which still possess the SROAD property.Here, we discuss designs in higher dimensions.The introductory sections 1 and 2 are essentially identical to those of the prior paper.     

An overview of the national EEOC ADA research project

The authors outline the development and scope of the National EEOC ADA Research Project which resulted from a cooperative agreement between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Virginia Commonwealth University. Research questions, the EEOC database, extraction of study data, limitations of the data, the organization of research teams, and the contents of this special issue of WORK are described.     

Relationship standards and marital satisfaction in Chinese and American couples

Samples of urban community couples in Shanghai, China, and suburban U.S. couples were administered measures of relationship adjustment and personal standards regarding characteristics of couple relationships. There were few gender differences in adherence to relationship standards but many differences between Chinese and U.S. couples. Fewer cultural differences existed in degree of couple consensus on relationship standards, but both adherence to standards and couple consensus on standards were associated with partners' levels of marital adjustment. Implications of the findings for clinical assessment and intervention with distressed couples, in particular for Western therapists working with Chinese couples whose standards may conflict with goals and methods of couple therapy, are discussed.