Conflicts, Conciliation and Social Work

Correspondence to Adrian L. James, Lecturer in Applied Social Studies, Department of Social Policy and Professional Studies, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX. Summary This article seeks to draw together some issues and themes whichare identifiable in recent social work literature and practice,and in the criminal and civil law. It explores the nature ofconciliation as a method for dealing with conflict. It alsoconsiders some aspects of the nature of social work and theprocess by which problems become the object of social work treatment.It is argued that this process can effectively limit the scopefor client involvement in seeking solutions to their problems,and that conciliation might offer some potential for increasingthis, whilst also revitalizing the ethical base of social workpractice.     

The Trouble with Access: a Study of Divorcing Families

Summary This paper explores issues concerning access between non-custodialparents and children following marital breakdown. The literatureconcerning access is reviewed, with reference particularly tothe problem of evaluating the possible benefits of a clean breakbetween non-custodial parent and the children at the time ofseparation. The findings of a research study, in which probationofficers reported on issues concerning custody and access in65 cases on which they were preparing welfare reports, are reported.The study highlights the generally problematic nature of access,discusses the behaviour problems exhibited by the children atthe time of the breakdown, and points to the importance of outsidehelp at an early stage in the divorce process.     

Children's rights: developments and prospects

The decade since International Year of the Child has witnessed a variety of suggestions and initiatives to promote the rights of children. Proposals for ombudswork with children, a Minister for Children, a Children's Congress, a Children's Rights Officer, a Youth Charter and Youth Councils are each critically assessed. It is argued that the forthcoming Convention on the Rights of the Child may prove less effective in winning rights for children than its advocates imagine. The author concludes that rights for children are less likely to be achieved by adopting any specific group of reforms, than by acknowledging and supporting the principle that, wherever possible, children should be encouraged to make decisions for themselves and act on their own behalf     

Rating the Raters: Conflicts of Interest in the Credit Rating Firms

The major credit rating agencies contributed substantially to the sub‐prime mortgage crisis by giving their highest rating (AAA) to most of the collateralized debt obligations (CDO) securities that were backed by these sub‐prime mortgages. Because the rating agencies are compensated by the issuers whose CDO bonds they rate, this relationship creates a prima facie conflict of interest, one that is compounded when the rating agency also consults for the issuers on designing the CDOs. While Congress and the Securities Exchange Commission investigate possible wrongdoing, various reforms have been proposed. This article analyzes these conflicts of interest and the cognate corporate governance issues. It then categorizes and critiques several of the reform proposals—which range in severity from requiring more disclosure to the suspension of the rating agency's license.     

Leverage and Influence Diagnostics for Spatial Point Processes

Abstract. For a spatial point process model fitted to spatial point pattern data, we develop diagnostics for model validation, analogous to the classical measures of leverage and influence in a generalized linear model. The diagnostics can be characterized as derivatives of basic functionals of the model. They can also be derived heuristically (and computed in practice) as the limits of classical diagnostics under increasingly fine discretizations of the spatial domain. We apply the diagnostics to two example datasets where there are concerns about model validity.     

Geometrically Corrected Second Order Analysis of Events on a Linear Network,with Applications to Ecology and Criminology

Abstract. We study point patterns of events that occur on a network of lines, such as road accidents recorded on a road network. Okabe and Yamada developed a ‘network K function’, analogous to Ripley's K function, for analysis of such data. However, values of the network K‐function depend on the network geometry, making interpretation difficult. In this study we propose a correction of the network K‐function that intrinsically compensates for the network geometry. This geometrical correction restores many natural and desirable properties of K, including its direct relationship to the pair correlation function. For a completely random point pattern, on any network, the corrected network K‐function is the identity. The corrected estimator is intrinsically corrected for edge effects and has approximately constant variance. We obtain exact and asymptotic expressions for the bias and variance of under complete randomness. We extend these results to an ‘inhomogeneous’ network K‐function which compensates for a spatially varying intensity of points. We demonstrate applications to ecology (webs of the urban wall spider Oecobius navus) and criminology (street crime in Chicago).