New directions in assessment for students with disabilities

Three influences in American education during the past decade -- increased parental involvement, an emphasis on accountability and student outcomes, and the refinement of assessment technologies -- are reflected in the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [31]. Relevant assessment provisions contained in IDEA 97 are reviewed, including requirements for (a) parental participation in the review and planning of student evaluations and eligibility decisions; (b) the participation of students with disabilities in statewide assessments; (c) the use of assessments that have treatment utility; and (d) data-based evaluation of student progress. Assessment characteristics and methods that are consistent with IDEA 97 requirements are described. Examples include problem-solving assessment; functional behavioral assessment; and direct assessment approaches such as naturalistic observation, analogue assessment, and self-monitoring.     

Differentiation of Self and the Process of Forgiveness: A Clinical Perspective for Couple and Family Therapy

In this article we explore the role of differentiation of self in facilitating forgiveness in the context of couple and family relationships. Differentiation is defined from the Bowen perspective as the ability to connect with others without being excessively emotionally reactive to the ebb and flow inherent in all significant relationships (being able to connect to others yet also being able to self‐regulate). Forgiveness is described as the releasing of an emotional injury via a complex psychological and relational process that is less an act of will than a discovery or possibility through understanding and empathy. Differentiation of self is related to emotional intelligence and empathy. The developmental and relational benefits of such are illustrated and discussed. A rationale for viewing differentiation and forgiveness in a contextual, historical, and relational attachment paradigm is suggested. Relevant clinical cases illustrate the dynamics of differentiation and forgiveness as discovery in the context of an understanding and empathic relational environment.     

Bayesian inference and model comparison for asymmetric smooth transition heteroskedastic models

Inference, quantile forecasting and model comparison for an asymmetric double smooth transition heteroskedastic model is investigated. A Bayesian framework in employed and an adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme is designed. A mixture prior is proposed that alleviates the usual identifiability problem as the speed of transition parameter tends to zero, and an informative prior for this parameter is suggested, that allows for reliable inference and a proper posterior, despite the non-integrability of the likelihood function. A formal Bayesian posterior model comparison procedure is employed to compare the proposed model with its two limiting cases: the double threshold GARCH and symmetric ARX GARCH models. The proposed methods are illustrated using both simulated and international stock market return series. Some illustrations of the advantages of an adaptive sampling scheme for these models are also provided. Finally, Bayesian forecasting methods are employed in a Value-at-Risk study of the international return series. The results generally favour the proposed smooth transition model and highlight explosive and smooth nonlinear behaviour in financial markets.     

Everytime we say Goodbye: Forced Termination Revisited,a Commentary

The topic of forced termination has received relatively little attention, particularly student interns’ experiences of termination. In this commentary, I will explore some theories that help illuminate the process of ending. Using a case vignette, the worker’s subjectivity and the way that it impacts termination responses is explored. Cathy Siebold, DSW is Training Analyst, Supervisor and Faculty at The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center and The New Jersey Training Institute for Psychoanalysis and Faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Psychoanalysis. She is an adjunct Faculty, New York University School of Social Work on the Editorial Board of CSWJ, and Education Chair of the National Membership Committee on Psychoanalysis. Author of a Book on the Hospice Movement and articles about termination, object relations theory and attachment theory     

Culture, Context, and Homicide of the Elderly

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the criminal victimization of elderly persons. Given that homicides of the elderly are thought to occur primarily in the context of robbery/burglary situations, this study seeks to identify situational as well as structural and cultural factors that influence the murder of older persons. In particular, it has been noted that Southern culture promotes a notion that one should 'respect their elders.' Using conservative Protestant affiliation as a proxy for Southern culture, this study also examines the relationship between Southern culture and homicide of the elderly. Findings show that Southern culture as reflected in conservative Protestant affiliation does not insulate the elderly from victimization.     

Mental Health and Domestic Violence: 'I Call it Symptoms of Abuse'

Correspondence to Dr Cathy Humphreys, School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick CV4 7AL, UK. E-mail: c.f.Humphreys{at}warwick.ac.uk Summary Research evidence now clearly shows a direct link between women'sexperiences of domestic violence and heightened rates of depression,trauma symptoms, and selfharm. A research project based in Women'sAid outreach services provides further evidence of women's experiencesof severe emotional distress. However, their experiences ofmental health services were often found to be negative. A numberof practices within the medical model of mental health wereunhelpful including: the lack of recognition of trauma or provisionof trauma services; making the abuser invisible through focusingon the woman's mental health reified from her experiences ofabuse; blaming the victim; offering medication rather than counsellingsupport; the negative, consequent effects on child contact andchild protection proceedings if the woman is labelled with mentalhealth problems. Alternatively, women found services, oftenin the voluntary sector, helpful when they provided the followinginterventions: helping women name domestic violence; activelyasking about the abuse; attending to safety planning; respondingto women's specialist needs; and actively working with womento recover from abuse experiences. Support for her childrenwas also seen as very helpful. Implications for practice includethe commissioning of further services in the voluntary sector,addressing the inadequate response within the medical model,and increasing the sensitivity of responses to women's emotionaldistress across all sectors.     

Domestic Violence and Substance Use: Tackling Complexity

Domestic violence and substance use are issues which pervadesocial work practice, yet are often on the margins of the knowledgebase for practitioners and their managers. This article providesan overview of the literature on substance use and domesticviolence, highlighting the problems with the separation of bothpractice and policy in these areas. Research on substance useand the needs of women survivors of domestic violence are explored,alongside the more substantial literature on perpetrators ofdomestic violence and patterns of substance use. The problemsof a simplistic analysis which suggest that there is a causallink between substance use and domestic violence are highlighted.Using data from an on-going research project, the sources ofthe continuing and dysfunctional separation of work in theseareas are explored.     

Theory in the Bedroom: A Report from the Macquarie University AIDS and Heterosexuality Project

The political and social questions raised by AIDS/HIV are particularly complex ones, concerned as they are with changing the sexual practices of both the heterosexual and the homosexual population. In many ways these questions have tested the limits of orthodox policy-making processes. The Macquarie University ‘AIDS and Heterosexuality’ project is one of a small number of research projects which have attempted both to analyse critically existing AIDS policy assumptions and to provide alternative conceptual methods for understanding the processes of changing sexual practices. The Macquarie University project is particularly concerned with the way that women have been represented within mainstream policy: this paper describes this representation and presents some alternative suggestions for understanding the place of women in preventing transmission within the heterosexual population.