A new family of multivariate skew slash distribution

In this article, the new family of multivariate skew slash distribution is defined. According to the definition, a stochastic representation of the multivariate skew slash distribution is derived. The first four moments and measures of skewness and kurtosis of a random vector with the multivariate skew slash distribution are obtained. The distribution of quadratic forms for the multivariate skew slash distribution and the non central skew slash χ² distribution are studied. Maximum likelihood inference and real data illustration are discussed. In the end, the potential extension of multivariate skew slash distribution is discussed.     

Re B‐S: a glass half full? An exploration of the implications of the Re B‐S judgment on practice in the family courts

The family courts in England and Wales are being significantly reformed in line with the coalition government's aim to speed up the process and increase the numbers of children being adopted from care. In September 2013, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment, Re B‐S (Children) [2013] EWCA Civ 1146, that has wide‐ranging implications for professional practice and decision making in care proceedings. The judgment challenges the policy direction and provides guidance about what is required before courts can make orders separating children from their birth families, particularly in cases of non‐consensual adoption. In this paper, we outline the changes occurring in the family justice system, some key elements of Re B‐S, and examine the challenges for implementing practice consistent with the requirements of Re B‐S. It is argued that the standards set by Re B‐S are unlikely to be fully implemented without much further attention to the complexities posed by the policy and practice context of social work with children and their families involved in care proceedings.     

Addition of runs to an s-level supersaturated design

The purpose of the present work is to extend the work of Gupta et al. (2010) to s  -level column balanced supersaturated designs. Addition of runs to an existing E(χ²)-optimal$E({\chi }^2)\mathrm{-}\mathrm{optimal}$ supersaturated design and to study the optimality of the resulting design is an important issue. This paper considers the study of the optimality of the resulting design. A lower bound to E(χ²)$E({\chi }^2)$ has been obtained for the extended supersaturated designs. Some examples and a small catalogue of E(χ²)-optimal$E({\chi }^2)\mathrm{-}\mathrm{optimal}$ supersaturated designs are also presented.     

Pathways to Pathological Gambling: Component Analysis of Variables Related to Pathological Gambling

Research examining cognitive perceptions among children has suggested the importance of perceived skill and luck in initiating and maintaining gambling behavior. Using an experimentally manipulated gambling paradigm modifying rates of reinforcement the results suggest, in general, that one can modify these cognitions. More importantly, the results from the gambling task were found to generalize to multiple forms of gambling and were maintained over a relatively short period of time. The modifications of these perceptions appear to be easier for younger children (age 10 vs 12), with differential effects being found for boys and girls. The results are discussed in light of our current prevention initiatives and programs.     

Involving Services Users in Social Work Training on the Reality of Family Poverty: A Case Study of a Collaborative Project

In the last five years there has been an increased drive to include the perspectives and contributions of service users in social work education in the United Kingdom. In this paper we discuss the experience of one project that attempted to bring together service users, academics and practitioners to jointly develop and deliver a module that sought to examine the perspectives of families living in poverty who were in receipt of children and families social work services. Through doing this it was hoped that it would be possible to raise practitioners’ awareness of how poverty impacts on parenting and how they could develop an approach that was non‐punitive and genuinely supportive. The paper starts by exploring the context of service user involvement in social work education and then describes the development and process of this collaborative project. The paper concludes with recommendations for both projects seeking to engage service users in empowering and meaningful ways, as well as social work practice within an anti‐oppressive framework.     

The long-run impact of inflation in South Africa

This paper evaluates the hypothesis of long-run super-neutrality of money (LRSN) within the context of the South African economy. The long-run impact of inflation on the interest rate and subsequently, output is estimated by employing a trivariate structural vector autoregression model, using quarterly data for the period of 1960:1 to 2010:1. The estimation results suggest that the hypothesis of LRSN cannot be rejected, thereby suggesting that monetary policy in South Africa cannot be used to solve the large and persistent unemployment problem in South Africa, which is understandable, since unemployment is inherently structural and is due to skills-shortage. This is further supported by our one of our other results which shows that significant long-run impact on output is obtained from technological improvements.     

Methods of decomposing the difference between two rates with applications to race-sex inequality in earnings

"Four general methods of decomposing the difference between two rates into several components are provided. For data cross-classified by several factors, all four methods can be used treating the factors either hierarchically or symmetrically, and within each treatment, the methods are expected to give very similar results. Since the results may differ significantly depending on whether the factors are hierarchical or symmetrical and since there is no objective way of arranging the factors hierarchically, symmetrical treatment of the factors is recommended. The latter approach is used to study race-sex inequalities in mean annual earnings for year-round full-time workers in the United States based on the 1980 census data cross-classified by education, age, and occupation." (SUMMARY IN FRE)     

A general method of decomposing a difference between two rates into several components

In her work on the components of a difference between two rates, Kitagawa (1955) was successful in dividing the difference into the rate effect and the effect of the factor, for data classified by one factor. Her formulation for data classified by two factors, however, involves an interaction term which is difficult to interpret. Retherford and Cho (1973) devised a method that does not include any interaction terms. However, their method has other limitations, such as the dependence of the results on the order in which the effects of the factors are computed. In this paper, we provide a general method capable of handling any number of factors, which is developed along the lines suggested by Kitagawa and by Retherford and Cho but without the limitations of their methods.