Notes on Theory and Practice in Social Work: a Comparative View

Please address reprint requests to Robert van Krieken, Department of Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. Summary There are still a number of problems surrounding the relationshipbetween theories of social work practice and that practice itself.This paper examines the factors underlying those problems andemphasises their roots in the failure to examine the diversityof social work theories and practices. We refer to one attemptto resolve the problems—the distinction between ‘practicetheory’ and ‘theory of practice’—pointout some difficulties with it and suggest an alternative, three-folddistinction within theorising: between (a) materialist socialtheory, (b) strategic practice theory and (c) working concepts. As an example of how those distinctions can be used, we thenbriefly discuss the work of Oskar Negt and its introductioninto the Dutch welfare context, as it was the issues raisedby that which stimulated the ideas in this paper. We concludeby arguing that only this kind of perspective on theorisingcan produce ideas which are of real use to progressive socialwork practitioners.     

Mixture reduction via predictive scores

This paper explores the problem of reducing a mixture of conjugate priors to a smaller mixture, from the perspective of the application of a distance measure between priors. The analysis focuses on mixtures of Dirichlet priors, but it has wider applicability. In respect to the proposed scheme, it emerges that for mixtures of -distributions a simple moment-matching reduction procedure is optimal and very good for the more general case of Dirichlet mixtures.     

Degrees of Involvement: The Interaction of Focus and Commitment in Area Child Protection Committees

Correspondence to Robert Sanders, Lecturer in Applied Social Studies, The Department of Social Policy and Applied Social Studies, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP; e-mail: R.Sanders{at}swan.ac.uk Summary As part of a review of the role and effectiveness of Area ChildProtection Committees (ACPCs), the authors examined a numberof aspects of the involvement of member agencies in the processof joint development of child protection policies. Interviewswith agency representatives and analysis of documents were usedto explore ACPC composition, attendance at meetings, agenda-setting,effectiveness of representation, and perceived inter-agencyrelationships. Substantial differences were found in the extentto which agencies were involved in the ‘ownership’of the child protection system, with some agencies which couldmake important contributions very much on the periphery of theprocess. It is suggested that this helps to perpetuate the currentemphasis on investigation and registration despite researchfindings which strongly challenge the effectiveness of suchan approach. The article looks at two factors that may influenceagencies' involvement: decentralization of decision making,and the mismatch between the dominant ACPC agenda and policypriorities within agencies other than social services and police.They conclude that basic principles underpinning child protectionservices, for example the policy emphasis on investigation ofall allegations, the development of child protection as a serviceapart from mainstream child welfare, and the role of socialservices as the lead agency should be examined to achieve theeffective involvement of all ACPC member agencies.     

ESTIMATING THE LIQUIDITY OF M2 COMPONENTS IN THE POST-DIDMCA ERA

This paper estimates the liquidity of M2 components within an intertemporal model of a representative household. A modification of Pfann and Verspagen's asymmetric adjustment cost function measures liquidity cost. Generalized Method of Moments estimation of structural parameters using monthly data for December 1983–March 1993 reveals significant evidence of asymmetry toward decreasing asset holdings for all components except demand deposits. Estimated withdrawal costs for savings deposits, money market mutual funds, and small time deposits are small. Split sample estimations suggest greater liquidity in the more recent period. The results point to the effects of financial innovation in lowering withdrawal costs. (JEL E51, D91)     

Coaching variables for regression and classification

In a regression or classification setting where we wish to predict Y from x1,x2,..., xp, we suppose that an additional set of coaching variables z1,z2,..., zm are available in our training sample. These might be variables that are difficult to measure, and they will not be available when we predict Y from x1,x2,..., xp in the future. We consider two methods of making use of the coaching variables in order to improve the prediction of Y from x1,x2,..., xp. The relative merits of these approaches are discussed and compared in a number of examples.     

THE RISE OF PRESIDENTIAL POLLING THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

This article traces the institutional development of presidentialpolling of public opinion. We suggest that Kennedy, Johnson,and especially Nixon developed the institution of the presidencyto include a "public opinion apparatus"—an operation thatwas centralized in the White House and devoted to assemblingpublic opinion data and conducting extensive public relationsactivities. According to interviews with former officials andarchival records, this apparatus had its roots in Kennedy's1960 presidential campaign, but during the Johnson and Nixonpresidencies it developed into a regular and enduring institutionfor connecting presidential activity with public opinion.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BETTING AND LOTTERY PLAY

We apply a novel daily time series data set of daily turnover from one of Britain's leading bookmakers to analyze potential substitution between lottery play and bookmaker betting. We find some evidence that bettors do substitute away from horse race, soccer and numbers betting when the effective price of lottery tickets is unusually low, that is, when there is a rollover or other special draw. This substitution has a highly specific pattern of timing that varies by sector. Our results further suggest that bettors rationally engage in forward-looking substitution within their betting portfolios . ( JEL D12, L83)     

AIR QUALITY CONTROL MODEL COMBINING DATA ON MORBIDITY AND POLLUTION ABATEMENT*

A pollution damage function is developed, using data from a study on the sensitivity of morbidity to ambient air concentrations of individual pollutants. This function is used in a model which incorporates the costs and technology for pollution abatement in the St. Louis Airshed. A set of air quality standards is determined which minimizes morbidity subject to a given control budget constraint. The results indicate that there should be a greater reduction of the pollutants associated with stationary sources than of those characteristic of the automobile.     

蒙古尔部族的组织(续三)

本文对蒙古尔部族的组成、形成和发展作了介绍,其中对族长、土司的特点和承继作了详尽的描述。