Obtaining least absolute value estimates for a two-way classification model

The importance of the two-way classification model is well known, but the standard method of analysis is least squares. Often, the data of the model calls for a more robust estimation technique. This paper demonstrates the equivalence between the problem of obtaining least absolute value estimates for the two-way classification model and a capacitated transportation problem. A special purpose primal algorithm is developed to provide the least absolute value estimates. A computational comparison is made between an implementation of this specialized algorithm and a standard capacitated transportation code.     

Smoking and Intention to Quit Among a Large Sample of Black Sexual and Gender Minorities

The purpose of this study is to more completely quantify smoking and intention to quit from a sample of sexual and gender minority (SGM) Black individuals (N = 639) through analysis of data collected at Pride festivals and online. Frequencies described demographic characteristics; chi-square analyses were used to compare tobacco-related variables. Black SGM smokers were more likely to be trying to quit smoking than White SGM smokers. However, Black SGM individuals were less likely than White SGM individuals to become former smokers. The results of this study indicate that smoking behaviors may be heavily influenced by race after accounting for SGM status.     

Psychoanalytic theory,child sexual abuse and clinical social work

This paper is dedicated to the memory of my friend and colleague, Andrew Schauer.     

Shaping ethics: youth workers matter

The authors propose that youth workers and educators committed to informing and shaping the ethical understandings of young people first need to explore and become aware of their own ethics. This requires front-line staff and caregivers to critically reflect on the impact their day-to-day choices and decisions have on youth. Once they become clearer about their own ethics and the consequences of their decisions, youth workers are then in a position to promote opportunities for youth to make ethical choices. The authors use observations and ideas from their experiences with the Minnesota Youth Work Institute. Their overarching aim is to promote ethical congruence between what is taught, how it is taught, and how it is practiced in daily work with youth.     

Characteristics of homeless jail inmates: Implications for social work

This study set out to validate the hypothesis (belief) that homeless people were likely to commit minor offenses as solutions to their conditions. Jails, and maybe prisons, would provide three meals a day, a place to sleep, and minimal health care-especially during the winter months. Instead, the data did not support the hypothesis. Contrary to the reported practices of some homeless people in Colorado who are described as committing non-serious but timed offenses to go to jail, it found a homeless population in jail who give a literal interpretation to the political phrase the invisible people. They were not in jail because they were homeless, but instead they were in jail for serious crimes (murder, rape, drugs, robbery) and their homelessness was a side fact. Since it was not likely that this group would seek to address or resolve their homelessness, it was recommended that jail social workers identify their needs to them, track them into social welfare networks, with a designated contact person, prior to their release.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Adoptive Parents and International Adoptees: From the Perspectives of Cross-Cultural Communication and Adaptation

Existing studies demonstrate that the identity formation of internationally adopted children and the adjustments of adoptive families reside in the processes of cross-cultural and intercultural communication. However, there have been few studies on international adoption from the perspectives of intercultural and cross-cultural communication. Following a previous qualitative study on the experiences of adult international adoptees, this project employs a quantitative method to examine the ongoing (before, during, and after adoption) cross-cultural adaptation and identity formation of international adoptees from the perspectives of adoptive parents. The findings of the study have identified the key issues involved in the cross-cultural adaptation process and discussed experiences of adoptive families for dealing with those issues.     

CHANGE, DISENGAGEMENT, AND RENEWAL: RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS BETWEEN YOUNG ADULTS AND THEIR FATHERS AFTER DIVORCE

Little is known about children's perceptions of their parents' divorce or how children construct meaning around the divorce and their subsequent relationships with their parent. The focus of this was to learn about the experiences and the meanings young adults had constructed about the divorce process and their relationships with their fathers in the years after the divorce. The findings revealed a broad spectrum of experiences and several key issues that gave meaning to both the disengagement and the reengagement with their fathers. Loss, acceptance, availability, and support are a few of the vital issues addressed. Implications for family therapists are discussed.     

Reviews

This paper presents the findings of a study of Aboriginal children whom the South Australian Department of Aboriginal Affairs placed in foster homes between 1954 and 1966. It is an attempt to follow up one of the many problems expressed by social workers in Adelaide during a study of Aborigines and their use of social agencies.