A bayesian analysis of imperfect inspection models

An examination of sampling inspection models is provided for the case where inspection is not perfect and classification errors can be made. The conjugate family of distributions is obtained under t h e assumption that defective items are generated according to a Bernoulli process. To simplify analysis, the use of a single beta prior distribution is considered. Relevant predictive distributions are obtained.     

Examination of the relationship between social support and treatment outcomes in mothers referred by Child Protective Services utilizing the Significant Other Support Scale

ABSTRACT

Supportive social networks may play an important role in recovery for mothers within the umbrella of Child Protective Services (CPS). However, investigators have yet to develop methods of measuring how significant others contribute to the treatment and recovery process. In this study, the influence of significant others was examined in the family-based treatment of 38 mothers who were referred for Family Behavior Therapy by CPS. The Significant Other Support Scale (SOSS) was empirically developed and subsequently utilized to assess the extent to which participants’ significant others were perceived by treatment providers to support the participants’ goals during treatment sessions. Results indicated that SOSS scores (but not participant and significant other session attendance) were associated with lower participant child abuse potential and drug use frequency at the conclusion of treatment. There was no relationship found between SOSS scores and participant session attendance. However, there was a positive correlation between SOSS scores and significant other session attendance (r = .489, p < .01). The results of this study suggest the quality of significant other support during treatment sessions in this population of mothers may be more important to improving treatment outcomes than session attendance per se. Future directions are discussed in light of the results, including methods of using SOSS scores to assist family-based treatments.     

Trial and error: attending to language barriers in child welfare service provision from the perspective of frontline workers

This paper reports on a qualitative study that used focus groups to gather data from the perspective of child protection workers on their experiences in providing services to clients with limited English proficiency (LEP). The goals of the study were to understand processes of relationship building and service provision that could contribute to improved practice. Focus groups are ideal in obtaining data on how a group deals with particular situations and for understanding their decision‐making processes. Measures to ensure rigour and trustworthiness were taken throughout the study. Findings provide rich and multilayered insights into the complexity of providing services for families with LEP showing that agencies use bilingual workers as well as interpreters for services. Participants noted, however, that services continued to be inconsistent with unclear guidelines and training about how and when to access interpreters. Lack of training for bilingual workers was also identified. Confidentiality issues, barriers to engaging with clients, problems with the quality of interpretation and role confusion together with benefits including interpreters being cultural and language ‘conduits’ and links to culturally specific services; enhanced communication decreasing the possibility of inaccurate assessments and lessening power differentials; and help with workload were noted.     

Religion and intimate partner violence in Chile: Macro- and micro-level influences

The Catholic Church has had a strong influence on the Chilean legal and social landscape in ways that have adversely affected victims of intimate partner violence; e.g., it succeeded until just five years ago in blocking efforts to legalize divorce. At the same time, quantitative studies based on survey data from the United States and other countries show a generally favorable influence of religion on health and many other domains of life, including intimate partner violence. The present study explores the puzzle posed by these seemingly opposing macro- and micro-level forces. Results based on data from the 2005 Survey of Student Well-Being, a questionnaire on gender-based violence administered to students at a large public university in Chile, show that moderate or low levels of religiosity are associated with reduced vulnerability to violence, but high levels are not. This non-linearity sheds light on the puzzle, because at the macro level the religious views shaping Chile’s legal and social environment have been extreme.     

A bayesian predictive approach to the selection of variables in multiple regression

The squared error loss function applied to Bayesian predictive distributions is investigated as a variable selection criterion in linear regression equations. It is illustrated that “cost-free” variables may be eliminated if they are poor predictors. Regression models where the predictors are fixed and where they are stochastic are both considered. An empirical examination of the criterion and a comparison with other techniques are presented.     

Bayesian inference for truncated exponential distributions

Truncated normal distributions are considered as prior distributions for the truncation parameter in truncated exponential models. Posterior istributions re obtained, and inferenceforthe truncation parameter and for the reliability function is discussed. One and two parameter models are considered.     

Using Virtual Simulations to Assess Situational Awareness and Communication in Medical and Nursing Education: A Technical Feasibility Study

ABSTRACT

Communication and situational awareness, among other “human factors,” are critical skills needed within high-reliability organizations (HROs). HROs are challenged to develop an effective methodology for the systematic assessment of these skills. Virtual reality (VR) simulation technology offers a promising approach to meet this challenge. By utilizing a verbal coding procedure in tandem with eye-tracking metrics, we conducted a technical feasibility study to assess the impact of an interprofessional training (TeamSTEPPS®) on communication accuracy and observing responses among medical and nursing students in a virtual simulation. The results suggest that communication accuracy significantly improved as a result of TeamSTEPPS® training. These findings and changes in situational awareness among individuals are discussed.     

Money and Journal of Organizational Behavior Management Interventions: A Review

Practitioners and business leaders can use monetary data to quantify the financial outcomes of interventions in organizational behavior management (OBM). The primary purpose of this review was to investigate the occurrence and classification of monetary data in the OBM literature. Other purposes were to demonstrate ways in which such data contribute to the measurement of value and to provide recommendations for its reporting and publication. Accordingly, a review was conducted of publications in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management. Cumulative yearly results showed that cost data were reported more often than cost plus benefit data, and cost plus benefit data were reported more often than benefit data alone. More cost than benefit data were reported, most often with social validity, followed by institutionalization, then maintenance measures. However, more cost plus benefit data were reported than either cost or benefit data with a maintenance measure. It is concluded that reporting cost and benefit data would be beneficial to the field of OBM.     

Psychological Approaches to Values in Organizations and Organizational Behavior Management

Researchers studying individual and organizational value congruence are concerned with the degree to which the values of the employee and the organization for which he or she works agree and the affective outcomes that more or less agreement might predict. While a robust area of research, the applications following from it are somewhat limited. This paper reviews the concepts and research findings concerning value congruence, discusses various behavioral interpretations of the values construct, applies those interpretations to the organizational level, and offers recommendations for how these interpretations might point to more successful organizational change initiatives.