Testing the ‘standard’ model of stochastic choice under risk

Models of stochastic choice are intended to capture the substantial amount of noise observed in decisions under risk. We present an experimental test of one model, which many regard as the default—the Basic Fechner model. We consider one of the model’s key assumptions—that the noise around the subjective value of a risky option is independent of other features of the decision problem. We find that this assumption is systematically violated. However the main patterns in our data can be accommodated by a more recent variant of the Fechner model, or within the random preference framework.     

Conflicting violations of transitivity and where they may lead us

The literature contains evidence from some studies of asymmetric patterns of choice cycles in the direction consistent with regret theory, and evidence from other studies of asymmetries in the opposite direction. This article reports an experiment showing that both patterns occur within the same sample of respondents operating in the same experimental environment. We discuss the implications for modelling behaviour in such environments.     

Why do they leave? Factors associated with job termination among personal assistant workers in home care

Recruiting and retaining an adequate number of personal support workers in home care is both challenging and essential to allowing elders to age in place. A mixed-method, longitudinal study examined turnover in a sample of 261 personal support workers in Maine; 70 workers (26.8%) left their employment in the first year of the study. Logistic regression analysis indicated that younger age and lack of health insurance were significant predictors of turnover. Analysis of telephone interviews revealed three overarching themes related to termination: job not worthwhile, personal reasons, and burnout. Implications of study findings for gerontological social workers are outlined.     

Health Staff Responses to Domestic and Family Violence: The Case for Training to Build Confidence and Skills

ABSTRACT

Domestic and family violence (DFV) is a serious, worldwide public health concern and the literature suggests that women who have experienced violence identify health care providers as the professionals they would most trust with disclosure of abuse. Social work is well positioned to respond to women presenting in hospitals after experiencing DFV and in advocating for systems and policy initiatives to support health staff in becoming adequately trained and supported to detect and respond appropriately. This paper reports on research that surveyed health staff in two hospitals in Queensland, Australia, to identify what DFV training they had received, whether this training increased their knowledge, skills and confidence to address DFV and what services they would access to support women presenting with DFV. The results showed that the respondents were an experienced staff group who had worked in the health sector for 10–20 years but despite having access to State-based training, the majority of them had not completed any in-house training and only 12% had received face-to-face training, and when they did undertake training, it was usually only a two-hour session. Seventy-five per cent of respondents would refer to their hospital-based social worker and 40% would make referrals to other support services, primarily social work.

IMPLICATIONS

• Hospitals need to prioritise, commit to, and resource appropriate and regular training to better equip health staff to identify and respond to DFV.

• Training needs to build the knowledge and skills of staff members to address their confidence to intervene and offer support.

• Social work can provide an important role in advocating and developing training and procedures to sustain health staff members’ capacity to respond appropriately to DFV.

     

ADDRESSING SOCIAL DILEMMAS WITH MASCOTS,INFORMATION, AND GRAPHICS

Reducing nonpoint source pollution is a complex social dilemma involving externalities, information asymmetries, and coordination problems. Using a laboratory experiment, this research investigates how mascots, public information, and data visualization can improve collective group behavior to address a social dilemma. Results show that groups reduce pollution in the experiment when a community mascot expresses negative emotions in response to poor water quality outcomes. Additionally, groups pollute less when they are provided public information about water quality, and abatement is greater when feedback is negatively framed. This study demonstrates how novel nonmonetary incentives can be used to achieve a collective environmental goal. (JEL D79, Q25, Q52, Q53, D83)     

Maine’s Bold Initiative: Homecare for All

A 2018 ballot initiative in Maine proposed universal home care and improved work conditions for home care workers.Although ultimately defeated, the innovative proposal received considerable support and laid the groundwork for an upcoming legislative campaign.It offers a framework for increasing access to home care and creating quality jobs for home care aides. This commentary reviews the problems addressed by the Homecare for All initiative, what was proposed, the campaign process and anticipated next steps, and implications for gerontological social workers.     

The $74,973 Question: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Informed Users of Private Medical Care Contracts?

Health-care providers are allowed to opt-out of Medicare, privately contract with beneficiaries, and require that beneficiaries pay the full cost of services. Responses from a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries reveal that they lack the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions regarding such contracts. For example, only 4.6% of participants knew the correct answer to a real-life $74,973 question, leaving a full 95.4% vulnerable to paying a large bill, even a $74,973 bill, they should not pay. In addition to advocating that Medicare effectively monitor private medical care contracts, social workers should educate beneficiaries and/or their caregivers on the implications of entering into such contracts or refer them to their State Health Insurance Assistance Program or Senior Medicare Patrol program for expert guidance.     

THE CONTEXT FOR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN HEALTH ACTION IN AUSTRALIA

Community participation is one of the underlying principles of democratic societies and the potential benefits of the participation process are well documented. Although a number of participatory mechanisms have been established by government departments and community agencies to facilitate community participation in health, few Australians regularly or actively participate. This paper examines the context for participation in health action in Australia including a political culture which serves to discourage participation in health, and many other areas, and barriers to participation associated with the complex structure and financing of the health care system.     

Improving coordination in an engineer-to-order supply chain using a soft systems approach

An empirical study in the ship-building sector has been undertaken to understand the problems associated with the coordination of engineer-to-order (ETO) supply chains and to reveal insights into opportunities for improvements based on the application of soft systems methodology. A number of alternatives to improve coordination of supply chain have been proposed based on the comparison between a soft systems model and actual practice. These alternatives were summarised into seven general principles that help define the role of individual companies in coordinating ETO supply chains, highlighting the company’s structures and interdependencies that lead to project tardiness. Due to the specific nature of a project which changes according to the context, it is difficult to generalise the soft systems model. Nevertheless, future research can further explore some of the principles proposed to deal with coordination problems experienced in other types of ETO project operations, such as construction and oil and gas.