The relationship between training availability and social workers' ability to treat problem drinkers

An explanatory cross sectional investigation was employed to assess how well master's level social work (MSW) programs in the State of New York prepare students for practice with problem drinkers. Five hundred and fifty questionnaires were mailed to members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). A non-probability sample, consisting of 41 male and 48 female respondents (n = 89), was obtained. Fewer than 3% of the sample reported the completion of an alcohol related course as a degree requirement. Field placement completion was totally overlooked as a degree requirement. Findings imply that clients with alcohol problems are at risk of going untreated due to the lack of training social workers receive while completing their MSW programs and their subsequent inability to diagnose problem drinkers.     

THE ELUSIVE QUEST FOR ‘THOSE MOST IN NEED’

It seems plausible to argue that scarce resources such as social security payments should be targeted to those most in need, and that income should play a large role in defining need. Even though some aspects of targeting, such as whether to have tapered means tests or not, are obviously political in nature, it may appear that at least the identification of ‘those most in need’ in terms of income is largely a technical exercise. The argument of this article is that even the measurement of income is only partly a technical exercise.¹ It is also a highly problematic and political one that will always lead to understandable resentment on the part of the ‘nearly poor’, that is, those who are excluded by policy decisions regarding components of the scale by which income is assessed. We illustrate this with an example of a hypothetical family payment where those who are classified as ‘poor’ and ‘nearly poor’ on one income-scale are classified otherwise on a plausible alternative scale. It does not follow that targeting of payments on the basis of income should be abandoned. But it does suggest that all targeting should be recognised for the blunt political instrument that it is, and that its status as a precise technical tool for achieving greater efficiency be regarded with less confidence than is currently fashionable.     

Public duty and private prejudice: sexualities equalities and local government

Rather than critiquing social institutions and practices that have historically excluded lesbians and gay men, as did earlier social movements in the 1960s and 1970s, since the 1990s the politics of sexuality has increasingly been about demanding equal rights of citizenship. These citizenship demands have, at least to a degree, been answered via a raft of recent legislation in the UK including the Adoption and Children Act 2002, Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, and by associated changes in policy making and practice that emphasize ‘Equality and Diversity’. In this article we consider how the implementation of sexualities equalities policies is related to processes of privatization and individualization. This is illustrated by using sexualities equalities work in local government as a case study to indicate how processes of change and resistance are aided by these processes. The article draws on findings from a study of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equalities initiatives in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which examined the views of those who now have a public duty to implement recent legislative and policy shifts and are obliged to develop equalities initiatives concerning ‘sexual orientation' and ‘gender reassignment’.     

A comparison of efficient approximations for a weighted sum of chi-squared random variables

In many applications, the cumulative distribution function (cdf) \(F_{Q_N}\) of a positively weighted sum of N i.i.d. chi-squared random variables \(Q_N\) is required. Although there is no known closed-form solution for \(F_{Q_N}\), there are many good approximations. When computational efficiency is not an issue, Imhof’s method provides a good solution. However, when both the accuracy of the approximation and the speed of its computation are a concern, there is no clear preferred choice. Previous comparisons between approximate methods could be considered insufficient. Furthermore, in streaming data applications where the computation needs to be both sequential and efficient, only a few of the available methods may be suitable. Streaming data problems are becoming ubiquitous and provide the motivation for this paper. We develop a framework to enable a much more extensive comparison between approximate methods for computing the cdf of weighted sums of an arbitrary random variable. Utilising this framework, a new and comprehensive analysis of four efficient approximate methods for computing \(F_{Q_N}\) is performed. This analysis procedure is much more thorough and statistically valid than previous approaches described in the literature. A surprising result of this analysis is that the accuracy of these approximate methods increases with N.     

Acting Surprised: Comparing Perceptions of Different Dynamic Deliberate Expressions

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior - People are accurate at classifying emotions from facial expressions but much poorer at determining if such expressions are spontaneously felt or deliberately posed....     

Geographic Flexibility in Academia: A Cautionary Note

Having the flexibility to pursue an international career is increasingly common in many professions. Based on two qualitative studies of international academics, this paper focuses on academia. Commencing with a discussion about the different dimensions of flexibility in academia it focuses specifically on geographic flexibility, understood as the ability to pursue a career across international boundaries. Drawing on conceptions of an international community of scholars operating in a science context and specific national and institutional contexts the paper explores the experiences of international academics. It also considers the 'modes of engagement' they use to navigate the demands of those contexts. The findings suggest that while academia as a profession may be characterized by geographic flexibility a certain tension exists between academia and the national and institutional contexts within which academics must operate. It is noted that it is internationally mobile academics who are currently paying the price of those tensions and offers a cautionary note to those who are contemplating such a career move. It also suggests that academics can adopt certain 'modes of engagement' in order to maintain, transform or subvert those institutional challenges.     

Mixture models in measurement error problems, with reference to epidemiological studies

Summary. The paper focuses on a Bayesian treatment of measurement error problems and on the question of the specification of the prior distribution of the unknown covariates. It presents a flexible semiparametric model for this distribution based on a mixture of normal distributions with an unknown number of components. Implementation of this prior model as part of a full Bayesian analysis of measurement error problems is described in classical set-ups that are encountered in epidemiological studies: logistic regression between unknown covariates and outcome, with a normal or log-normal error model and a validation group. The feasibility of this combined model is tested and its performance is demonstrated in a simulation study that includes an assessment of the influence of misspecification of the prior distribution of the unknown covariates and a comparison with the semiparametric maximum likelihood method of Roeder, Carroll and Lindsay. Finally, the methodology is illustrated on a data set on coronary heart disease and cholesterol levels in blood.     

Gender relations and the family farm in Western Europe

The paper focuses upon the impact of changing relations between farmers and spouses in the context of the restructuring of the rural economy and increasing female participation in labour markets. It is based upon a study of the connections between the succession process in agriculture and family relationships [Blanc, M. and Perrier-Cornet, P. (1989) Renouvellement des forces de travail et formes de production familiales en agriculture (les installations d'agriculteurs au cours de la decennie soixante-dix). Montpellier, INRA, Departement d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales, Montpellier]. It argues that for farmer's wives, off-farm work, participation in other farm-based enterprises and occupational status result from a negotiation of power relations within the farm operating couple. Such changes are bringing about a distinct form of pluriactivity among farm families, with an emerging trend towards husbands being occupied full-time on-farm and wives off-farm.The paper deals with the future of family farming in connection with these changes. The role played by the ideology of family farming in sustaining these emerging forms of production is examined. The individuation of aspirations, especially for women, is considered an important factor in terms of labour market involvement. However, it is argued that the resolution of the impact of such changes on the domestic sphere and the farm is dependent upon a process of negotiation between the farmer and spouse.     

The “other woman”

Based on interviews with 26 single women who have had long-term intimate relationships with married men, a power continuum of management styles is derived. At one end are women who are hyper-submissive; at the other end, women who are hyper-dominant. Reasons for ending the relationship and the role of the other woman in that decision are discussed. The kind of ending is classified into three types: the shock-out, the drag-out, and the peter-out. Author's Note: I wish to thank the women I interviewed. Without their words, there could be no study. To protect the identity of these women I have altered names, places, and occupations in this article.