A robust prediction error criterion for pareto modelling of upper tails

Estimation of the Pareto tail index from extreme order statistics is an important problem in many settings. The upper tail of the distribution, where data are sparse, is typically fitted with a model, such as the Pareto model, from which quantities such as probabilities associated with extreme events are deduced. The success of this procedure relies heavily not only on the choice of the estimator for the Pareto tail index but also on the procedure used to determine the number k of extreme order statistics that are used for the estimation. The authors develop a robust prediction error criterion for choosing k and estimating the Pareto index. A Monte Carlo study shows the good performance of the new estimator and the analysis of real data sets illustrates that a robust procedure for selection, and not just for estimation, is needed.     

A robust test for asymptotic independence of bivariate extremes

We show that the existing tests for asymptotic independence are sensitive to outliers. A robust test is proposed. The new test is made stable under contamination through a shrinkage scheme. Simulations show that the new test performs well in the presence of contaminated data while maintaining good properties when there is no contamination. An application to real data shows the added value of our new robust approach.     

Children's participation in child protection—How do practitioners understand children's participation in practice?

Children's participation is essential to achieve good outcomes for children involved in child protection systems. Despite this, research has consistently found children report low levels of participation, are poorly consulted and feel inadequately involved in decisions about their lives. To explore how practitioners understand children's participation, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with statutory child protection practitioners in Australia. The interviews explored the ways child protection practitioners understand children's participation. Our findings show practitioners conceptualize children as rights holders and believe it is essential to hear directly from children about their needs and wishes to keep them safe. Practitioners identified the importance of transparent processes and decisions. Different understanding of participation emerged, with some participants talking about children as their central focus but not discussing meaningful participation of the child. It appeared that children's participation relied largely on the views and skills of individual workers, as well as their ability to incorporate meaningful participation in limited time and in complex practice environments where children's safety is a primary concern. Systemic changes to address time barriers, training practitioners to understand and implement participatory practice, and seeking children's input into service design, will support consistent and meaningful participation.     

Supporting Residents Moving Into Long-Term Care: Multiple Layers Shape Residents’ Experiences

This interpretive grounded theory study explores 10 residents’ retrospective accounts of the relocation process, including the decision to move into a long-term care home, the pre-move preparations, the moving day circumstances, and the initial adjustment period following the move. Analysis of the data revealed a complex intersection of conditions at multiple layers that shaped residents’ experiences of the transitional process. Recommendations to enhance circumstances at individual, interpersonal, and systemic layers, for each temporal stage of the relocation process are proposed. Implications for social work practice across the continuum of care are also discussed.     

Student views on campus sexual assault

Abstract

Objective: To report on college student opinions about the scope of college sexual misconduct (CSM), suggested university sanctions, and treatment of students found responsible of CSM.

Participants: In all, 23?US undergraduate students (14 females and 9 males) with a mean age of 20 years.

Methods: Students participated either in female, male, or mixed-sex focus groups that facilitated the discussion of factors related to CSM.

Results: Students provided in-depth feedback on the climate on US college campuses and factors related to CSM. They agreed upon CSM risk factors and context characteristics, but raised different male and female issues across sex groups. They further provided resolute suggestions for the solution of CSM, experienced treatment barriers, and limited victim reporting.

Conclusion: Student focus groups provide important information about the scope of CSM and offer valuable suggestions for the solution of the problem that may be crucial for the development of successful sexual assault interventions.     

Divorce and Mid- and Later Life Families: A Phenomenological Analysis with Implications for Family Life Educators

ABSTRACT

A growing number of mid- and later life individuals and families are experiencing divorce and remarriage. Mid- and later life families are those who have begun to or may have launched their adult children. As a result, these families may include in-laws and grandchildren. Limited research has addressed the potentially unique experiences of these families whose lives are made more complex and complicated by divorce, remarriage, or both. The purpose of this article is to examine, from a phenomenological perspective, the lived experiences of individuals and families experiencing divorce in mid- and later life. In so doing, four case studies are presented that represent four common pathways through divorce and remarriage in mid- and later life: career divorced, seasoned divorced, newly divorced, and interrupted career divorced. Using these case studies and our interpretation of them based on a phenomenological approach, we offer implications for family life educators for improving the delivery of educational services to families facing mid- and later life divorce and remarriage.     

“If Rainbows Were Everywhere”: Nonmetropolitan SGM Youth Identify Factors That Make Communities Supportive

ABSTRACT

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth in nonmetropolitan communities face marginalization due to their SGM identities. Community support may mitigate the negative outcomes associated with marginalization. Using the strengths perspective, this study investigated the factors SGM youth identify as making their communities supportive. Interviews were conducted with SGM youth to explore their perceptions of their community, community climate, and the factors that contribute to making communities supportive to SGM youth. Findings revealed four supportive community factors: supportive people, SGM visibility, SGM resources and education, and SGM-inclusive policies. Implications include creating SGM resources and providing professional training on SGM issues.     

Explicit Versus Implicit Family Decision-Making Strategies Among Mexican American Caregiving Adult Children

Changing U.S. demographics make it increasingly vital to investigate experiences of Latinos caring for aging parents, with specific emphasis on how these families, who often value family closeness, make decisions about caregiving. This study investigates relationships among use of implicit versus explicit decision-making strategies, generation since immigration, and orientation toward family. Findings suggest that those with more recent immigration to the United States were more likely than those who immigrated longer ago to describe family decision making about their parents' care as implicit. Those that were classified as using predominately implicit decision making were also found to be not significantly different from those classified as predominantly explicit with regard to their overall support of a collective orientation toward family. There were exceptions to this, however, regarding two specific aspects of orientation toward family: engagement in shared activities with family members and avoiding family conflict by making choices that are consistent with the family values. In both cases those categorized as implicit expressed stronger endorsement of these specific values. These findings suggest that the relationship between family decision-making strategies, generation since immigration, and orientation toward family is more complex than suggested previously in the literature. Implications for future research and practice are offered.     

“Grandma,Tell Me Another Story”: Family Narratives and Their Impact on Young Adult Development

The transmission of family stories provides insight into the personal and emotional lives of individuals, and sharing stories allows older generations to impart wisdom and family values to developing young adults. The current research explored how gender variation in content and perception of family stories differentially affected identity development in young adults. Young adults from a large northeastern private university shared a written family story about a grandparent and described how that story had impacted their values, behaviors, and identity. Three hundred twenty-five stories, from 238 women and 87 men, were qualitatively analyzed. The stories had much greater impact on young adults' values and attitudes than either their identity development or behaviors. Women shared more relationship stories, whereas men most frequently relayed humorous anecdotes. In addition, women indicated stories most often taught them to be appreciative, loving, or courageous, whereas more men shared stories that emphasized having a strong work ethic or being appreciative of and respectful to others. Although family narratives have been shown to help shape the younger generation's individual identity and character, it is important to differentiate between which stories might impact different genders as they seek to discover their own sense of self.     

A parallel analysis of individual and ecological data on residential radon and lung cancer in south-west England

Parallel individual and ecological analyses of data on residential radon have been performed using information on cases of lung cancer and population controls from a recent study in south-west England. For the individual analysis the overall results indicated that the relative risk of lung cancer at 100 Bq m⁻³ compared with at 0 Bq m⁻³ was 1.12 (95% confidence interval (0.99, 1.27)) after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, county of residence and social class. In the ecological analysis substantial bias in the estimated effect of radon was present for one of the two counties involved unless an additional variable, urban–rural status, was included in the model, although this variable was not an important confounder in the individual level analysis. Most of the methods that have been recommended for overcoming the limitations of ecological studies would not in practice have proved useful in identifying this variable as an appreciable source of bias.