Child protection practitioners: Including children in decision making

This article presents findings from a study with 467 child protection practitioners in Australia to determine their practice responses and views on children's participation. The practitioners, recruited from 5 state jurisdictions, completed an online survey responding to case studies designed to determine the extent to which they would seek and include children's perspectives in decision making, and their confidence in talking to children. We report on practitioners' responses to a case study of a 5‐year‐old girl with suspicious bruising where the mother reports domestic violence. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that the child's young age would lead to low levels of confidence in consulting with the child and giving weight to her perspective. In contrast to the findings of other research, our results show that almost all workers report that they would speak with the child, would be confident doing so, and would give weight to the child's perspective. Our discussion explores the potential reasons for the difference in these findings compared with other research, including the experience of practitioners, increased child‐centred policy in Australia, multiple understandings of participation, and variation in children and practitioner views of participation.     

Job Concessions,Role Conflict and Work Satisfaction in Gender-Typical and -Atypical Occupation: The Case of Israel

Studies in the last decades show that perception of role conflict has changed in advanced societies so that (1) multiple roles may be beneficial rather than conflictual and (2) men, too, are subject to incompatible role demands. This study examines whether the same shift may be observed in a less developed society (Israel), and how perceptions of role combination and work satisfaction influence the work concessions made by women and men who work in occupations that are typical or atypical for their gender. The main assumption is that multiple roles lead to role conflict only if individuals fail to make concessions that allow them to regulate time and energy in both spheres. The findings show that women still make more concessions than men; work satisfactions strengthens the perception that combining family and work is possible; and only for women, the perception that combining family and work is possible reduces the number of concessions they make.

Batch sequential designs for computer experiments

Computer models simulating a physical process are used in many areas of science. Due to the complex nature of these codes it is often necessary to approximate the code, which is typically done using a Gaussian process. In many situations the number of code runs available to build the Gaussian process approximation is limited. When the initial design is small or the underlying response surface is complicated this can lead to poor approximations of the code output. In order to improve the fit of the model, sequential design strategies must be employed. In this paper we introduce two simple distance based metrics that can be used to augment an initial design in a batch sequential manner. In addition we propose a sequential updating strategy to an orthogonal array based Latin hypercube sample. We show via various real and simulated examples that the distance metrics and the extension of the orthogonal array based Latin hypercubes work well in practice.     

The 1981 socioeconomic index for occupations in Canada

Nous présentons ici un nouvel index socio-économique des occupations, basé sur le recensement de 1981. Il est généralement admis que l'occupation est le meilleur indicateur de statut socio-économique, mais l'importance accordée au prestige, au revenu et à léducation dans la hiérarchisation des occupations demeure matière à débats. Pour cet index, nous avons décidé d'accorder un poids égal aux niveaux d'éducation et de revenu, en rant que composantes additives du statut socio-économique. Aussi, pour fins de continuité, nous avons calibré l 'index sur la base de l échelle Pineo-Porter de prestige.
This article presents a socioeconomic index for the total Canadian labour force, based on 1981 Census data. It also reviews the problems and criticisms of indexes of this kind, and attempts to specify the meaning of socioeconomic scales and the uses to which they may be legitimately put. The present index is most applicable in situations where access to data is limited to occupational titles and where one desires a unidimensional contextual indicator which locates individuals in the Canadian occupational structure at a given point in time. Sociological analysis of structured inequality, however, may be advanced most effectively if, where feasible, a full range of methodological options is considered, including the assessment of conditions on the level of the individual, the use of other contextual levels such as the workplace, and the investigation of occupation, gender and class as interdependent historical products.     

A new nursing medium: computer networks for group intervention.

The PLWAs and the caregivers of persons with AD were similar in their adaptation to this new technology as a communication medium with nurses. Both groups availed themselves of the resources, both technological and personal, on the computer network. Although different in demographics, they also were similar in their ability to form and work in a traditional group structure. Nurses have historically intervened with groups, and this article demonstrates that nurses can intervene on a computer network with groups. Yalom's therapeutic factors exist in both non-face-to-face groups and traditional groups. The benefits of this technology to nurses are numerous: they can access clients in an efficient yet supportive manner; they can respond to multiple levels of need in multiple clients; and they can attend to emotional as well as more concrete needs of clients. The benefits to clients are also numerous: they can use the system at a time, frequency, and duration of their choice; they have the opportunity to be supported in self-care efforts versus being in a more dependent role; and they can engage in a normalization of their experiences. Computer networks can enhance nursing's ability to intervene with clients experiencing clinical problems.     

Government wage differentials revisited

This paper updates studies done in the mid-1970s concerning the measurement of government wage differentials in the United States. Based on an analysis of two large micro data sets, we reached the following conclusions. First, as a group, government employees earned a small wage premium of approximately 2 to 3 percent during the 1970s and early 1980s. Second, the government wage premium was substantially higher for federal employees and for women employees. These findings are consistent with earlier studies. We thank Eanswythe Leicester and Ken Emery for their research assistance and Diane Kurtz for her clerical assistance.     

Introduction: assessment and treatment of youth who sexually offend: an overview

This introductory article provides an overview of the significant issues involved when dealing with youth who sexually offend, sometimes referred to as juvenile sex offenders or sexually reactive children or adolescents. There is not an accepted term or definition that is widely used to describe or refer to this population, and the precise prevalence or incidence rates are not known. Statistics are presented from various national studies, but methodological problems in the research are also noted. The authors briefly discuss the current research concerning youth who sexually offend, present some of the important issues in this area of research and practice, and list various types of sexual victimization that have been included when dealing with youth who sexually offend. The article then introduces the current volume, describing the articles and content. Identifying and treating youth who sexually offend is in its infancy in many ways. It is hoped that this volume will provide important information to help those in research and practice better understand the issues and dynamics of this population.     

Drinking locations prior to impaired driving among college students: implications for prevention

Drinking and driving is perhaps the most serious problem associated with heavy drinking among college students in the United States. In this study, the authors examined drinking locations prior to impaired driving in a college student sample. They administered the Impaired Driving Assessment to 91 college students identified as high risk for drinking and driving. Participants reported an average of 7.98 (SD = 7.67) impaired driving episodes during the past 5 weeks. Using a random effects model, the authors found that location was a significant predictor of blood alcohol content (BAC), F(6,89.6) = 3.62, p = 0.0029. After drinking alcohol at a party, students' average estimated BAC prior to driving (geometric M = 0.089) was significantly greater than all other drinking locations (geometric M = 0.033). The findings of this study provide insight into drinking locations prior to impaired driving and can be used by college health practitioners to develop appropriate interventions to reduce the magnitude of this problem.