A multivariate von mises distribution with applications to bioinformatics

Motivated by problems of modelling torsional angles in molecules, Singh, Hnizdo & Demchuk (2002) proposed a bivariate circular model which is a natural torus analogue of the bivariate normal distribution and a natural extension of the univariate von Mises distribution to the bivariate case. The authors present here a multivariate extension of the bivariate model of Singh, Hnizdo & Demchuk (2002). They study the conditional distributions and investigate the shapes of marginal distributions for a special case. The methods of moments and pseudo‐likelihood are considered for the estimation of parameters of the new distribution. The authors investigate the efficiency of the pseudo‐likelihood approach in three dimensions. They illustrate their methods with protein data of conformational angles     

Effect of Trajectories of Friends' and Parents' School Involvement on Adolescents' Engagement and Achievement

In a sample of 527 academically at‐risk youth, we investigated trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement across ages 12–14 and the joint contributions of these trajectories to adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement. Girls reported higher levels of friends' and parents' school involvement than boys. Both parents' and friends' school involvement declined across ages 12–14. Combined latent growth models and structural equation models showed effects of the trajectories of friends' and parents' school involvement on adolescents' age 15 school engagement and academic achievement, over and above adolescents' prior performance. These effects were additive rather than interactive. Strategies for enhancing parent involvement in school and students' affiliation with peers who are positively engaged in school are discussed.     

Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic: Confronting forced labour through public procurement and crisis

This paper evaluates ways in which labour issues in global value chains for medical gloves have been affected by, and addressed through, the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on production in Malaysia and supply to the United Kingdom's National Health Service and draws on a large-scale survey with workers and interviews with UK government officials, suppliers and buyers. Adopting a Global Value Chain (GVC) framework, the paper shows how forced labour endemic in the sector was exacerbated during the pandemic in the context of increased demand for gloves. Attempts at remediation are shown to operate through both a reconfigured value chain in which power shifted dramatically to the manufacturers and a context where public procurement became higher in profile than ever before. It is argued that the purchasing power of governments must be leveraged in ways that more meaningfully address labour issues, and that this must be part of value chain resilience.     

Being disabled: towards a critical social ontology for disability studies

In Disability Studies the question of ontology is establishing itself as a live issue. Whilst there are many arguments and tendencies emerging from this literature, this paper identifies and critically examines an approach to the ontological question in disability studies that is based on an appeal to frailty as a universal characteristic of humanity. The argument builds on the relatively familiar claim that everyone is only temporarily able-bodied. This approach is exemplified in recent work by Bryan Turner and by Tom Shakespeare and Nick Watson. I argue that their universalistic approach is problematic. While it may constitute a theoretical means of ameliorating the existential negativity associated with being disabled it does so at the expense of disability identity. What is required is a critical social ontology that problematises non-disablement and exposes the forms of invalidation that lie at the heart of disabling culture.     

What do Care Managers do?--A Study of Working Practice in Older Peoples' Services

Correspondence to A. Weinberg, School of Community Health Sciences and Social Care, University of Salford, Allerton Building, Frederick Rd Campus, Salford, Greater Manchester M6 6PU, UK. Summary This paper explores the principal activities of local authoritystaff undertaking the role of care manager. It is based on asample of staff in a social services department specializingin older people's services. Data were obtained by asking staffto complete a diary schedule in which thirty-four job relatedactivities were grouped into five broad categories on the basisof previous research. A 57 per cent response rate was achieved.Analysis of the data revealed several findings of note. First,excluding travel, care managers spent 64 per cent of their workingweek in direct and indirect user and carer related activities.Second, administrative tasks occupied 32 per cent of their time.Third, care managers spent 27 per cent of their time in assessmentactivities compared with 7 per cent in monitoring and reviewingactivities and 5 per cent in counselling and support. Fourth,care managers spent 4 per cent of their time liaising with healthstaff. These findings are discussed in the light of previousresearch and a shift is noted in the nature of the direct contactwith the service user. The methodological limitations of thestudy are explored and the implications of these findings forusers and carers and the development of care management arrangementsare discussed.     

Leadership challenges for human service administrators

This study addresses the challenges that human service administrators face in maintaining and moving their organizations forward. Twelve leadership challenge dimensions are identified, variations in these challenges across agencies and administrators are explored, and the implications of these findings for leadership development programs targeted at human service administrators are discussed.