Periodic review of foster care: a brief national assessment.

A survey of statewide public agencies shows that a majority of states have some form of judicial or administrative periodic review, although few have both. The organizational level of authority and degree of foster care specialization of agencies are positively correlated with administrative review and negatively correlated with judicial review.     

The modified slash Lindley–Weibull distribution with applications to nutrition data

This work presents an extension of the slash Lindley–Weibull distribution, of which it can be considered a modification. The new family is obtained by using the quotient of two independent random variables: a two-parameter Lindley–Weibull distribution divided by a power of the exponential distribution with parameter equal to 2. We present the pdf and cdf of the new distribution, analyzing their risk functions. Some statistical properties are studied and the moments and coefficients of asymmetry and kurtosis are shown. The parameter estimation problem is carried out by the maximum likelihood method. The method is assessed by a Monte Carlo simulation study. We use nutrition data, which are characterized by high kurtosis, to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed model.     

Conceptual frameworks and the philosophical foundations of general living systems theory

The continued expansion and fragmentation of biological disciplines impede education, communication, and efficient advance of biological research. Reversing these trends may require a unification of theories and concepts from all levels of biological organization. One form of this unification is the statement of generalizations that apply to all living systems. We explore the philosophical foundations of general theories of living systems by analyzing conceptual frameworks as they apply to biology. This analysis examines the relation of empirical observation, theories, and conceptual frameworks within the context of an individual scientist's conceptual continuum. Also presented are a small set of translevel generalizations that articulate our conceptual framework of living systems in terms of organismic system organization, the environmental system-organismic system dyad, system capacity, and system incorporation. A set of procedural rules are stated which suggest minimum criteria for the evaluation of the explanatory adequacy of biological theories. The relation of this work to other similar analyses and syntheses of biological knowledge is discussed.     

The Powers of Australian Teachers in the Political System of School Government

The views of a sample of Australian teachers were obtained regarding the powers exercised by teachers and administrators in decisions relevant to internal school government. The teachers perceived themselves as playing a delegated-leadership role within the classroom and a subordinate role in decision areas external to classroom management. On the other hand, they expressed a desire to extend their delegated-leadership role to important matters concerning the instructional organization and administration of the school. The evidence suggested that teachers wished to change the perceived balance of power in schools in the direction of a more ‘democratic’ style of school government.     

Critical decision areas in corporate financial policy

The argument in this paper rests on the assumption that the prime objective of any corporate activity must in some way be related to a profitability goal, however this may be measured, however this may be defined, and however this may be constrained by the relevance of a times-cale.

The paper makes some comments on the selection of a corporate objective or goal but mainly it considers the direct contribution that financial management can make to achievement of this goal. It distinguishes this from the accounting rôle which is more appropriately concerned with measuring and monitoring progress towards the goal.