'In the real world we're all put on the spot at some time or other,so you need to be prepared for it': An exploratory study of an oral method of assessing knowledge of mental health law

The education and training of Approved Social Workers (ASWs) involves at least 60 days of college and practice-based learning. A major component of the college-based curriculum is the teaching and assessment of knowledge of mental health law. One programme in England assesses student knowledge of law by an oral examination that includes a case discussion and questions about the Mental Health Act 1983. Oral assessment of knowledge of law is commonplace for those entering legal professions. Oral assessment of clinical knowledge in professions such as medicine and psychiatry is similarly frequent. However, examination by oral assessment is not usual in social work education. An exploratory study by postal questionnaire of all past students of the programme and their line managers was undertaken to establish their views of this means of assessing knowledge of law. This paper considers the results of the research and outlines student perceptions of the law oral assessment as preparation for practice as an ASW. The paper focuses on three distinct but interlinked areas--education, assessment and practice--and suggests some implications for educators and practitioners, which are especially relevant in the light of the current review of mental health legislation.     

A Phenomenological Study of Postdivorce Adjustment in Midlife

Today, 50% of all U.S. marriages are expected to end in divorce, with the majority of the divorces being granted to individuals between the ages of 45 and 54. Gaining an understanding of the lived experience of postdivorce adjustment as seen in midlife was the aim of this study. A phenomenological research design was used. The themes that emerged from the data included time, emotional pain, changes in postdivorce parenting, and a sense of starting over. The clinical implications of this study suggest that obtaining an understanding of the postdivorce adjustment experience might help mental health practitioners enhance care for divorced individuals, divorcing couples, and their family members.     

A Simulation Study of Work-in-Process Inventory Drive Systems and their Effect on Operational Measurements

This simulation study compares three operational measures of performance through the exploration of three work-in-process (WIP) inventory drive systems and their associated inventory buffer characteristics. The three drive systems under study are a push, a pull and a hybrid push-pull system. While these systems have many aspects in common, their buffer management systems do not. The data analysis was based on information gathered from three computer-simulated flow shop assembly lines all operating in the same environment. Hypotheses concerning the operational performance measurements were established, independent variables were controlled and manipulated and a conclusion was drawn as to which system would afford the operation optimum results. While inventory has traditionally been considered and is currently being shown as an asset from an accounting point of view, it is obvious from the findings of this study, that excess WIP inventory, above the minimal requirements for production, may have a negative effect on the operational measurements evaluated.     

Profile upper Confidence Limits from Discrete Data

When the data are discrete, standard approximate confidence limits often have coverage well below nominal for some parameter values. While ad hoc adjustments may largely solve this problem for particular cases, Kabaila & Lloyd (1997) gave a more systematic method of adjustment which leads to tight upper limits, which have coverage which is never below nominal and are as small as possible within a particular class. However, their computation for all but the simplest models is infeasible. This paper suggests modifying tight upper limits by an initial replacement of the unknown nuisance parameter vector by its profile maximum likelihood estimator. While the resulting limits no longer possess the optimal properties of tight limits exactly, the paper presents both numerical and theoretical evidence that the resulting coverage function is close to optimal. Moreover these profile upper limits are much (possibly many orders of magnitude) easier to compute than tight upper limits.     

Book Review: The Really Hard Questions

Book reviewed in this article:
E. E. Maccoby (1998), The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming Together     

Service workers' responses to abuse of the elderly

The social service providers and physicians who encounter elder abuse have several potential avenues of intervention open to them in helping the elderly. Practice and training issues are discussed that are relevant for improving interventions and referrals in cases of family abuse of the elderly.     

Depression,anxiety, and tobacco use: Overlapping impediments to sleep in a national sample of college students

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To examine how tobacco use and depression/anxiety disorders are related to disturbed sleep in college students. Participants: 85,138 undergraduate respondents (66.3% female, 74.5% white, non-Hispanic, ages 18–25) from the Spring 2011 American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment II database. Methods: Multivariate analyses of tobacco use (none, intermediate, daily) and mental health (diagnosed and/or symptomatic depression or anxiety) were used to predict sleep disturbance. Results: Daily tobacco use was associated with more sleep problems than binge drinking, illegal drug use, obesity, gender, and working >20 hours/week. Students with depression or anxiety reported more sleep disturbances than individuals without either disorder, and tobacco use in this population was associated with the most sleep problems. Conclusions: Tobacco use and depression/anxiety disorders are both independently associated with more sleep problems in college students. Students with depression and/or anxiety are more likely to be daily tobacco users, which likely exacerbates their sleep problems.     

你与全球气候变化——全球二十余位顶尖级专家学者谈人类活动与全球气候变化的关系

性别与气候变化政策妇女是最容易受到气候变化影响的人群之一,这一点已为人们普遍接受。但多年来,人们却一直在忽视性别问题,一直在讨论制度问题而不是人的问题。现在,性别问题又逐渐提上日程。造成性别不平等的一个主要因素是劳动的性别分工。不管在发展中国家或