Robust weighted likelihood estimators with an application to bivariate extreme value problems

The authors achieve robust estimation of parametric models through the use of weighted maximum likelihood techniques. A new estimator is proposed and its good properties illustrated through examples. Ease of implementation is an attractive property of the new estimator. The new estimator downweights with respect to the model and can be used for complicated likelihoods such as those involved in bivariate extreme value problems. New weight functions, tailored for these problems, are constructed. The increased insight provided by our robust fits to these bivariate extreme value models is exhibited through the analysis of sea levels at two East Coast sites in the United Kingdom.     

Living Together and Eating Together: Changes in Food Choice and Eating Habits during the Transition from Single to Married/Cohabiting

In 1995 we recruited twenty-two heterosexual couples from Edinburgh and Glasgow to examine the changes which took place in their eating habits and food related activities when they began to live together. Semi-structured interviews were carried out three months before and after moving-in dates and on each occasion both men and women were interviewed separately. Both felt that eating together had a symbolic importance when they set up home together and most couples made efforts to eat a main meal together most evenings, while shopping and eating patterns tended to become more regular and formalised than they were at the pre-marriage/cohabitation stage. In a small majority of cases the women were mainly responsible for buying and preparing food. A significant difference between these women and those of other, earlier studies is that they tended to be less deferential to their husbands' food choices. However, associations between women, food and nurturing were evident in the efforts women made to improve their husbands' diets. Where food purchase and preparation were shared, so was choice of food. The goal of enjoying food together was achieved by learning, influence and compromise but no significant gendering of power in food choice was identified.     

THE ASSOCIATION OF POVERTY WITH CHILD WELFARE SERVICE AND CHILD AND FAMILY CLINICAL OUTCOMES

The influences of poverty, family status and violence in the lives of children and families seen at a large urban children's aid society are investigated. Rates of social assistance dependency of child welfare families in 1995 and 2001 are compared. While the rate of poverty of child welfare families is stable across the two time periods, the ability of families to cope with poverty has dramatically changed, with the percentage of children from impoverished families being admitted into care nearly doubling across the six-year period. Violence as a mitigating factor in the relationship between poverty, the extent of child welfare service and child and family outcomes is also reported. Suggestions for enabling women who are caught in the complexity of choosing between physical safety and poverty are reported.

Les influences de la pauvreté, de la position sociale de la famille et de la violence sur la vie des enfants et des familles vues à une grande société urbaine d'aide à l'enfance sont examinées. Les taux de dépendance des familles vis-à-vis des programmes de protection de l'enfance en 1995 et 2001 sont comparés. Tandis que le taux de pauvreté des familles qui se servent du système de protection de l'enfance est stable à travers les deux périodes de temps, la capacité des familles de faire face à la pauvreté a radicalement changé, le pourcentage d'enfants de familles appauvries qui sont placés dans des familles d'accueil ayant presque doublé à travers la période de six ans. On fait aussi compte-rendu de la violence comme facteur atténuant dans le rapport entre la pauvreté, l’étendue du service de protection des enfants et les résultats pour les enfants et les familles. On résume aussi des suggestions favorisant l'habilitation des femmes qui se trouvent coincées dans la complexité de choisir entre la sûreté physique et la pauvreté.     

The Evolution (or Devolution) of Privacy

This paper explores changes in the meaning of privacy. Because individuals understandings and experiences of privacy vary by sociohistorical contexts, privacy is difficult to define and even more challenging to measure. Avoiding common obstacles to privacy research, I examine privacy from the standpoint of its invasion. I develop a typology of privacy invasions and use it to analyze discussions of invasions of privacy in U.S. newspapers. I show that the nature of invasions discussed in the news is increasingly covert and continuous and find empirical support for the often-made claim that the concept of privacy is evolving in meaningful ways.     

Language Policy and Provision in Social Service Organizations

This paper reports the findings of a survey into minority languagepolicy and provision in social service departments and largevoluntary social service agencies in England and Wales. It foundthat many organizations lacked specific policies on the provisionof services to minority language communities and that most werepoorly prepared to meet their needs.     

Volunteers, families and children in need: an evaluation of Family Friends

This paper explores the findings from a small‐scale research project that analysed the impact of Family Friends – a voluntary agency that provides support to families under stress who have children aged between 5 and 11 years. The study, funded by Family Friends, evaluated service users’ perceptions of the support they received, specifically in relation to the significance and impact of the volunteer befrienders. The research identified that there are a proportion of families in need who fail to attract services from mainstream statutory agencies. It also identified that the Family Friends voluntary agency makes a particular contribution to service provision by offering a friendly, non‐stigmatizing, caring and responsive service.     

The relationship between maternal depression and child outcomes in a child welfare sample: implications for treatment and policy

Maternal depression is an extremely important parenting variable in relation to child general health. This investigation addressed the issue of maternal depression as it relates to the lives of children seen by child welfare authorities. Maternal depression was investigated in the context of the increasing rate of children coming to the attention of the London and Middlesex Children's Aid Society. A variety of child outcomes including those of particular relevance to child welfare, specifically disorders of attachment and neglect and physical abuse, school‐related variables, conduct disorder and psychological distress, were investigated. The relative contribution of maternal depression along with measures of socioeconomic status and social isolation to childhood risk was examined. Results indicated that the rate of maternal depression doubled during the years 1995–2001. Maternal depression was related to children entering care through wardship. Additional poor child outcomes such as attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder and emotional adjustment were also related to maternal depression. The findings are discussed in terms of treatment and policies that can lower the risk to children through effective intervention with depressed mothers.     

Using participatory and creative methods to facilitate emancipatory research with people facing multiple disadvantage: a role for health and care professionals

Participatory and creative research methods are a powerful tool for enabling active engagement in the research process of marginalised people. It can be particularly hard for people living with multiple disadvantage, such as disabled people from ethnic minority backgrounds, to access research projects that are relevant to their lived experience. This article argues that creative and participatory methods facilitate the co-researchers’ engagement in the research process, which thus becomes more empowering. Exploring the congruence of these methods with their professional ethos, health and care professionals can use their skills to develop them further. Both theory and practice examples are presented.