Social structure and personal choice

A review of representative literature in the newly developing area of alternative lifestyle research suggests an antisocial structural bias. The origin of this trend and its implications for a theoretically based social science of alternative lifestyles are explored. The aged, women, and Black families are viewed as examples where social structural conditions affect the diversity of intimacy, marriage, and family alternative lifestyles chosen. Current definitions of alternative lifestyles, individual freedom, and choice are seen as reflecting and supporting the social, political, and economic status quo in American society. It is concluded that a social science of alternative lifestyles is only possible when we more fully understand the individual, institutional, and historical dynamics determining the availability and feasibility of alternatives in intimacy, marriage, and family life.     

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.     

The Determinants of Non-Executive Representation on the Boards of Large UK Companies

An important aspect of current governance practice is theutilisation of non-executive directors to monitor the behaviourof senior management. The purpose of this paper is to provide aninitial insight on the determinants of non-executiverepresentation on the boards of large UK companies. The studyadopts an agency theory perspective, focusing specifically on theimpact of company size and ownership on non-executiverepresentation. I find that larger companies, where monitoringvia ownership is expected to be less efficient, utilise higherlevels of non-executive representation. I also find thatnon-executive representation is positively associated with theownership of external blockholders. The presence of CEO/chairmanduality has a negative impact on non-executive representation. Overall, the findings suggest that companies utilise boards withstronger monitoring potential when size and ownershipcharacteristics suggest that alternative governance mechanismsmay be unable to ensure managers pursue shareholders' interests.     

Bayesian hierarchical statistical SIRS models

Statistical Methods & Applications - The classic susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) model, has been used extensively to study the dynamical evolution of an infectious disease in a large...