Reassessing a Theory of Professional Expertise: A Cross-National Investigation of Expert Mental Health Social Workers

This paper presents the findings from a cross-national studyof expert mental health social workers in Melbourne, Australiaand San Jose, California, USA. In this study, expert socialworkers were selected based on a peer-nomination process andthey were invited to participate in two-hour focus group interviewsin which they described memorable practice situations. Detailedaccounts of these practice situations were gathered from nineteenAustralian and American expert practitioners employed in community-basedmental health settings. The study findings corroborate manyof the dimensions that are explicated in a theory of professionalexpertise developed by Fook et al. (2000). Further, the findingsdescribe the skilful and ethical comportment of these socialworkers in the context of often complex and challenging practicesituations. Narrative accounts are used to demonstrate the distinguishingdimensions and features of expert practice described by Fookand her colleagues, especially when providing services to peoplewith chronic mental illness. In-depth articulation of practiceexpertise using cross-national data enhances social work researchand pedagogy by providing important exemplars that inform morefully the development of empirically based practice theories.     

Practitioners as Rule Using Analysts: A Further Development of Process Knowledge in Social Work

Correspondence to Professor Michael Sheppard, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. E-mail M.Sheppard{at}plymouth.ac.uk Summary A new paradigm of ‘process knowledge’ has emergedin recent years, distinct from the dominant ‘product knowledge’paradigm in social work. While the latter refers to existentknowledge, which may be applied, the former refers to the developmentof knowledge about the ‘methodology of practice decisionmaking’, focusing on the processes by which judgementsare made. At its heart is the emerging idea of a reflexivityfor practice, but studies have been, until recently, theoretical.A very small number of empirical studies have begun to identifysome key elements of process knowledge. These have developeda range of concepts relating to critical appraisal, hypothesisdevelopment and hypothesis testing which characterize socialwork process knowledge. These include, for example, focusedattention, querying information, causal inferences, partialcase, procedural, and speculative hypotheses. A process of quasitriangulation is characteristic of social work practice methodology,together with a combination of inductive and deductive thinking.This paper seeks to develop our understanding by focusing onhow social workers develop and appraise hypotheses, and in particularhow the substantive content of hypotheses emerges (these enablesocial workers to make sense of, define, and respond to, situations).To understand this, the notion of rules is used, and socialworkers emerge as analysts employing three types of rules: substantive,application, and practice rules. A significant link betweenprocess knowledge and the content of product knowledge is identifiedin the form of technical language. The concept of ‘probabilisticcausation’ is identified as a key epistemological dimensionin the conduct of rigorous practice.     

Religion and attitudes toward same-sex marriage among U.S. Latinos

Objectives. This study examines links between multiple aspects of religious involvement and attitudes toward same-sex marriage among U.S. Latinos. The primary focus is on variations by affiliation and participation, but the possible mediating roles of biblical beliefs, clergy cues, and the role of religion in shaping political views are also considered.Methods. We use binary logistic regression models to analyze data from a large nationwide sample of U.S. Latinos conducted by the Pew Hispanic Forum in late 2006.Results. Findings highlight the strong opposition to same-sex marriage among Latino evangelical (or conservative) Protestants and members of sectarian groups (e.g., LDS), even compared with devout Catholics. Although each of the hypothesized mediators is significantly linked with attitudes toward same-sex marriage, for the most part controlling for them does not alter the massive affiliation/attendance differences in attitudes toward same-sex marriage.Conclusions. This study illustrates the importance of religious cleavages in public opinion on social issues within the diverse U.S. Latino population. The significance of religious variations in Hispanic civic life is likely to increase with the growth of the Latino population and the rising numbers of Protestants and sectarians among Latinos.     

Bias-corrected maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters of the generalized Pareto distribution

ABSTRACT

We derive analytic expressions for the biases, to O(n^?1), of the maximum likelihood estimators of the parameters of the generalized Pareto distribution. Using these expressions to bias-correct the estimators in a selective manner is found to be extremely effective in terms of bias reduction, and can also result in a small reduction in relative mean squared error (MSE). In terms of remaining relative bias, the analytic bias-corrected estimators are somewhat less effective than their counterparts obtained by using a parametric bootstrap bias correction. However, the analytic correction out-performs the bootstrap correction in terms of remaining %MSE. It also performs credibly relative to other recently proposed estimators for this distribution. Taking into account the relative computational costs, this leads us to recommend the selective use of the analytic bias adjustment for most practical situations.     

Some statistical issues in weather experimentation

A number of topics of statistical methodology in weather modification are discussed. The time sequence of unit definition, classification and randomization is shown to affect the types of units that can be used validly, and this casts doubt on the value of blocking. Re-randomization (permutation) tests are recommended as the only reliable method of confirmatory inference for weather experiments. Some aspects of such tests are examined, including a procedure for multiple comparisons. The plague of multiplicity of tests is discussed and warned against. Doubts about cumulative evaluations of "all" experiment's are expressed. A case is argued for examination of some non-randomized seeding operations. Consid¬ering the dearth of randomized data, it is argued that careful evaluation of seeding operations should be undertaken.     

Using Theraplay in shelter settings with mothers & children who have experienced violence in the home

This article describes a group program for women and children exposed to violence in the home. The program is primarily based on Theraplay, an attachment-based intervention approach for working with both adults and children who have a variety of emotional and behavioral difficulties. The theoretical and research bases, as well as the guiding principles of Theraplay, will be outlined and discussed, and the rationale for its application to a shelter setting will be highlighted. Finally, the benefits of and challenges to implementing such a program and the implications for practice and further evaluation will be explored.     

The effect of proxy voice intervention on couple softening in the context of enactments

In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of proxy voice (therapist acting as client's "voice") intervention, embedded within couple enactments, on client-perceived softening. The primary research question was whether use of proxy voice would be more likely to bring about softening, or if its use was counterintuitive to enactment conceptualization and would elicit struggle behavior (e.g., withdrawal or negativity). Results indicate that proxy voice has a significant, positive association with softening and is inversely related to withdrawal or negativity. Preliminary findings suggest that proxy voice intervention embedded within a fluid, carefully delineated, and discriminating model of enactments effectively facilitates essential elements of couple interaction (expression of primary affect and articulation of self-concept and attachment threats) while promoting self-reliant couple interaction and increased softening.     

Identification and Estimation of a Discrete Game of Complete Information

We discuss the identification and estimation of discrete games of complete information. Following Bresnahan and Reiss (1990, 1991), a discrete game is a generalization of a standard discrete choice model where utility depends on the actions of other players. Using recent algorithms to compute all of the Nash equilibria to a game, we propose simulation‐based estimators for static, discrete games. We demonstrate that the model is identified under weak functional form assumptions using exclusion restrictions and an identification at infinity approach. Monte Carlo evidence demonstrates that the estimator can perform well in moderately sized samples. As an application, we study entry decisions by construction contractors to bid on highway projects in California. We find that an equilibrium is more likely to be observed if it maximizes joint profits, has a higher Nash product, uses mixed strategies, and is not Pareto dominated by another equilibrium.     

DO PRICES TRANSMIT RATIONALLY EXPECTED INFORMATION?

A simple model with asymmetric information, in which inventory holders or traders submit demand curves to an auctioneer, has a unique partially revealing equilibrium. We wonder whether the agents can plausibly coordinate on this equilibrium through “eductive” reasoning relying on common knowledge. The analysis stresses the role of two effects, sensitivity and amplification, whose product should be small enough. The property is obtained whenever the equilibrium excess demand is steep enough, i.e., when the search for information does not distort demand too much. Neither the influence of the number of informed agents nor that of noise trading are monotonic. Real‐time learning has strikingly different features. (JEL: D82, D84)