Estimating the minimum and maximum location parameters for two ig-exponential scale mixtures

Suppose that we have two components, each having a two-parameter exponential distribution. Suppose further that these components are conditionally independent, sharing a common random hazard rate and possessing unequal, fixed, unknown location parameters. We develop estimators for the minimum and maximum of these location parameters when the random hazard rate has an inverse Gaussian distribution. Performance comparisons are made among the proposed estimators. Maximum likelihood estimators are shown to be inadmissible.     

Men's Self-Perceived Adequacy as the Family Breadwinner: Implications for Their Psychological, Marital, and Work-Family Weil-Being

Researchers note a link between men's changing role as the family breadwinner and declines in their personal and marital well-being. To explore this link more fully, two aspects of the breadwinner role, earner status (single- [n = 50], main-[n = 46], dual-earner [n = 43]) and self-perceived adequacy as the family breadwinner, were examined. Using analysis of variance, 139 family men are compared in terms of measures of psychological, marital, and work-family well-being. Self-perceived inadequate breadwinners (n = 51) report more depression and marital conflict than adequate breadwinners (n = 88). Men in single-earner families report less work-family stress than either main- or dual-earner men. If they perceive themselves as inadequate breadwinners, time conflicts between work and family responsibilities are a concern for men in main-earner families. If they view themselves as adequate breadwinners, dual-earner men report a greater sense of work-family role overload than if they view themselves as inadequate breadwinners.     

Interprofessional education for community mental health: Attitudes to community care and professional stereotypes

Social workers are considered key members of community mental health teams, yet difficulties in interprofessional collaboration between social workers and health care professionals, particularly psychiatrists and nurses, have been reported. This paper examines some sources of these difficulties in terms of perceived differences in models of mental illness, attitudes and values, including stereotyping, professional identification and role clarity. Interprofessional education (IPE) may diminish negative stereotypes and promote multidisciplinary teamwork. A theoretical framework is described and findings from the evaluation of a 1-year programme of interprofessional education for community mental health are presented. These findings suggest that attitudes and values concerning community care for people with mental health problems are largely shared by different professions, but they do confirm the existence of interprofessional stereotypes and of perceived status differences. In contrast to previous research, there was no evidence of changes in stereotypes. These findings are discussed in terms of the theoretical framework and the design of the programme.     

Raising the Titanic: Rescuing Social Work Documentation from the Sea of Ethical Risk

Abstract

One of the most contentious issues in social work practice concerns what should be written about people who access social work services, how comprehensively, and in what format social work assessments, interventions, and outcomes should be documented. The present paper describes a structured approach linked to an action research project that was undertaken by hospital-based social workers to identify and minimise problems associated with documentation in the medical record. The Social Work Ethics Audit provided social work staff with a risk-management tool that highlighted documentation as a key area of ethical risk. Through a process of evaluating existing recording practices, social workers were able to meet the challenge of improving social work recording in medical records, returning it to its proper place as a vital component of clinical and ethical practice rather than an administrative task submerged beneath competing priorities. It was anticipated that the social work documentation proforma that resulted from the ethics audit process would have applicability in other health care settings.     

Editor's Introduction: Ethics in Sociological Practice

Sociological Practice -     

Critical Reflections on a Social Inclusion Approach for an Ageing Australia

Abstract

The use of call centre operations in public and private sectors is a notable development in the changing structure and nature of employment worldwide. This trend is clearly evident in the South Pacific with the establishment of a call centre as the official point of entry for the statutory child protection systems in both New Zealand and New South Wales. As sites of professional practice however call centres are a controversial development. This paper discusses the practice findings of a qualitative research project which explored the particularity of intake social work (ISW) with 14 social workers employed at the Child Youth and Families' (CYF) National Contact Centre (NCC) in New Zealand. Findings were established through semi structured interviews and thematic analysis. They reveal a unique practice combining attributes of social work and emergency communication services in a workplace environment subject to similar output requirements as those found in commercial call centres.