Extending the Barnard’s test to non-inferiority

In 1945, George Alfred Barnard presented an unconditional exact test to compare two independent proportions. Critical regions for this test, by construction accomplish the very useful property of being Barnard convex sets. Besides, there are empirical findings suggesting that Barnard’s test is the most generally powerful. For Barnard’s test, calculation of critical regions is complicated due that they are constructed in an iterative form until is obtained a test size, as close as possible to the nominal significance level and less than or equal to it. In this article we present an extension to non-inferiority of this very leading test. This extension was contructed for any dissimilarity measure and tables were constructed for the difference between proportions. Also we calculate the critical regions for this extended test for sample sizes less or equal than 30, nominal significance level 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.10 and for non-inferiority margins 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20. Additionally, we computed test sizes for the mentioned configurations. To do this calculations, we have written a program in the R environment.     

RE-CANONIZING MARX

In this article, I underline the continuing intellectual force and rhetorical sophistication of The Communist Manifesto. Both in terms of its explanatory and normative strategy, and in terms of the way it handles the discursive balance between monologue and dialogue, there are, remarkably, still fresh things to say about the way Marx's thought works in this text. The favourable reception given to the Manifesto on its sesqui-centenary is also due to the increased awareness in today's audience of the apparently uncontrollable character of global capitalism, and the deep inequalities and uncertainties it continues to produce. Renewed appreciation of Marx's discursive quality, together with the new-found resonance of aspects of his substantive theories, raises again the question of Marx's status in cultural studies and sociological theory. This study discusses Marx in the light of the whole question of canonicity, and argues that Marx's re-canonization, if that is what is happening, is inevitably double-edged. On the one hand, it is indeed salutary to return to Marx after a prolonged phase of reflexivity, while at the same time the shift towards questions of discourse and affect in the human sciences has itself been responsible in part for sensitizing us to the distinctive effect of Marx's words. If the return of Marx properly radicalizes once more our sense of the point and practice of the human sciences, his legacy is nevertheless unlikely to regain exclusive authority among the plurality of sources for critique and action.     

Didn't we just see you? Time to recurrence among frequently encountered families in CPS

In child protection services, multiple maltreatment recurrences, or chronic maltreatment, has been a concern drawing increased attention because of its persistent harm to the children and the need to consider more effective intervention strategies to meet its unique needs. Timing has been an important issue in understanding the pattern of chronic maltreatment. No existing research has examined the influence of the interval between previous maltreatment incidents on future recurrences. The current study uses state administrative data to conduct longitudinal analyses to examine how the interval between previous maltreatment incidents is associated with the likelihood of future maltreatment occurrence among children who encountered multiple maltreatment recurrences. The findings suggest that short intervals are associated with increased likelihood of encountering a future recurrence, while controlling various covariates. The findings suggest the possibility of including the interval between previous maltreatment incidents as an indicator for child maltreatment risk assessment, and the need for developing responsive intervention strategies to stop the trend of chronic maltreatment.     

Prediction with Additive Models—Simulation and Application with Real Data

Abstract

In this paper we study the predictor behaviour of the additive model. The prediction equation is introduced as well as the computational considerations to select the smoothing parameters through cross-validation. The additive predictor is compared with a partially linear predictor in a broad simulation study and an application to a real case, prediction of the atmospheric concentration of SO₂ in sample stations.     

Developing a researcher-practitioner partnership for the effective evaluation of professional social work training

This paper reports on the development and operationalisation of a partnership between researchers at the Centre for Child Care Research at Queens University, Belfast and the Southern Health and Social Services Board Training Unit to undertake an evaluation of the Children (NI) Order Training Programme. The concept of partnership and its application to researcher-practitioner relationships is discussed. The stages of development of the partnership between the Training Unit and the researchers, and the outcomes achieved from this partnership, are described. The similarities and differences between the partnership approach developed by the CCCR and the SHSSB are highlighted. The potential benefit of this approach for other researchers and practitioners seeking to develop such links is presented.     

Social workers: a new precariat? Precarity conditions of mental health social workers working in the non-profit sector in Greece

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, in western countries, the social work profession primarily has come into contact with issues of precarity through the lives of service users. This paper introduces precarity in the social work scholarly literature as a feature of social workers’ professional and personal lives. It draws from the findings of a qualitative small study of mental health social workers working in the non-profit sector in Greece. The findings reflect a picture of social workers experiencing precarious conditions as they have become part of the growing phenomenon of the working poor, surviving by loans, experiencing housing insecurity, reproductive insecurity, fuel poverty and unable to pay for their commuting expenses to and from work. Furthermore, the paper maintains that the expansion of the conditions of precarity to university-educated professionals, such as social workers, needs to be understood within an International Political Economy (IPE) perspective in order neoliberal capitalism which brings rising levels of inequalities to become a focus of intervention.     

“Starting Points Matter”: Humanizing Economics Pedagogy through New Economic Paradigms

Abstract

This paper considers the implications of the neoclassical dominant narrative in economics education and conceptualizes specific responses that teachers and teacher educators can take to promote a humanizing economics pedagogy. I briefly describe alternative economic paradigms and contrast them with neoclassical fundamentals. Then, I include economic lesson ideas to showcase ways to teach traditional economic content in ways that attend to neoclassicism but expand the potential of the discipline into new paradigms. By interrogating the fundamentals of neoclassical economics, students and teachers of economics can use these new economic paradigms to foster a counternarrative that is more critical and humanizing and can help address the prevailing themes of an era marked by systemic oppression.     

Critical Literacy as a Lens for Students’ Evaluation of Sources in an AP World History Class

Abstract

Critical literacy is an appropriate learning outcome for social studies courses because it has the potential to teach students how to critically evaluate sources of information relevant to historical texts and current news media. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the process through which students learned to apply critical literacy strategies while completing an end-of-unit research project in tenth grade AP world history. This study looks as student and teacher interviews to examine how students use critical literacy approaches and perspectives to analyze texts. As a result of this study it was determined that: (1) students at the elite private school had limited experience with source evaluation and critical literacy prior to this research project, (2) critical literacy served as an effective evaluation tool for reliability and bias for some students, (3) certain students experienced challenges in using critical literacy as an evaluation tool, and (4) students believed that critical literacy would benefit them personally and academically. Results include implications for instructors who wish to teach critical literacy and source evaluation in this information age.     

城镇化背景下农村群体性事件的防范与治理

研究指出，当前我国正积极稳妥推进新型城镇化，着力提高城镇化质量。然而在城镇化过程中由于多元利益矛盾的交集没有得到及时有效的疏解，从而导致农村群体性事件爆发的规模和数量呈现出上升趋势，使新型城镇化的任务面临着严峻的挑战。因此剖析新时期农村群体性事件的现状与产生原因，建立有效的防范与治理机制，是顺利推进新型城镇化的有力保障与重要内容。     

社会转型期农村群体性事件的实然分析与对策

农村群体性事件具有多发性、对抗性和处置难度大等特点,处理不当就会影响农村的社会稳定和社会经济发展。为此,要深刻分析农村群体性事件产生的原因并积极探索应对农村群体性事件的对策。