Dealing with Ties in Failure Time Data

In dealing with ties in failure time data the mechanism by which the data are observed should be considered. If the data are discrete, the process is relatively simple and is determined by what is actually observed. With continuous data, ties are not supposed to occur, but they do because the data are grouped into intervals (even if only rounding intervals). In this case there is actually a non–identifiability problem which can only be resolved by modelling the process. Various reasonable modelling assumptions are investigated in this paper. They lead to better ways of dealing with ties between observed failure times and censoring times of different individuals. The current practice is to assume that the censoring times occur after all the failures with which they are tied.     

Empowerment revisited—social work,resistance and agency in black communities

The struggles of black communities in Britain are well established in modes of empowerment that shape and direct their social welfare activities. This legacy of empowerment continues to be expressed in social action orientated strategies found in many black community based groups and organisations. The introduction of anti-racist and multicultural approaches in the empowerment process has been useful in highlighting the ways in which black communities have been disempowered through social work policies and practice. However, the experiences, values and interpretations instituted by black communities themselves are often marginalised in the public realm. These considerations draw attention to the ways in which empowerment is largely defined by professionals and policy makers who have considerable influence in shaping and directing the life chances of black families and communities. These insights provide important ways to address marginalisation through publicly affirming and recognising the specific experiences, cultures, social realities and contributions of black com­munities. This paper examines concepts of empowerment in social work and maintains that the profession has ignored black communities’ interpretations, cultural antecedents, experiences and values as a source of new perspectives and ideas for practice. These new approaches can assist social workers and policymakers in responding to the changing needs of black communities.     

Sustaining People Right Through Their Lives: Interview With Graham Martin

In this interview Graham Martin reflects on his long career in child and adolescent mental health. He shares his formative experiences with some of the pioneers in the field of attachment theory and the many varied ways that this information has influenced his work in the provision of care to children in hospital, health promotion, understanding the distress of suicidal youth, and his ongoing therapeutic work with families.     

Calculation of life tables from survey data: A technical note

Life table calculations from survey data are frequently based on events for which exact dates are not available. When these dates are coded in monthly form (e.g., century months), estimates should take into account the fact that the first duration interval—the interval which captures events occurring in the first month of exposure—is half the length of all remaining intervals. Although failure to do so has a trivial effect on many demographic calculations, estimates which are based on events which occur with high frequency in the first few months of exposure can be substantially biased. Estimates offecundability for four countries in the World Fertility Survey are used to illustrate this bias.     

Human Motivation and Professional Practice: of Knights, Knaves and Social Workers

Efforts to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of public services by harnessing the self‐interest of professionals in state agencies have been widely debated in the recent literature on welfare state reform. In the context of social services, one way in which British policy‐makers have sought to effect such changes has been through the “new community care” of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act. Key to this is the concept of care management, in which the identification of needs and the provision of services are separated, purportedly with a view to improving advocacy, choice and quality for service users. This paper uses data from a wide‐ranging qualitative study of access to social care for older people to examine the success of the policy in these terms, with specific reference to its attempts to harness the rational self‐interest of professionals. While care management removes one potential conflict of interests by separating commissioning and provision, the responsibility of social care professionals to comply with organizational priorities conflicts with their role of advocacy for their clients, a tension rendered all the more problematic by the perceived inadequacy of funding. Moreover, the bureaucracy of the care management process itself further negates the approach's supposedly client‐centred ethos.