Goal-Directed Supervision of Social Work Students in Field Placement

Abstract

Permanency Planning for Children , by Anthony N. Maluccio, Edith Fein, and Kathleen A. Olmstead. London: Tavistock Publications, 1986. Reviewed by Donald Brieland

Feminist Visions for Social Work , edited by Nancy Van Den Bergh and Lynn B. Cooper. Silver Spring, MD: National Association of Social Workers, 1986. Reviewed by Cleo S. Berkum, DSW

People and Contexts: Social Development from Birth to Old Age , by Henry S. Maas. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1984. Reviewed by Harris Chaiklin

Case Management in Human Service Practice by Marie Weil, James M. Karls, and Associates. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1985. Reviewed by Doman Lum

Law and the Mental Health System: Civil and Criminal Aspects , by Ralph Reisner. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1985. Reviewed by Wynne Sandra Korr

Testing the Social Safety Net , by Martha R. Burt and Karen J. Pittman. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 1985. Reviewed by Julia M. Watkins     

A Convolution Estimator for the Density of Nonlinear Regression Observations

Abstract. The problem of estimating an unknown density function has been widely studied. In this article, we present a convolution estimator for the density of the responses in a nonlinear heterogenous regression model. The rate of convergence for the mean square error of the convolution estimator is of order n ^?1 under certain regularity conditions. This is faster than the rate for the kernel density method. We derive explicit expressions for the asymptotic variance and the bias of the new estimator, and further a data‐driven bandwidth selector is proposed. We conduct simulation experiments to check the finite sample properties, and the convolution estimator performs substantially better than the kernel density estimator for well‐behaved noise densities.     

An Examination of Fieldwork Models at Adelphi University School of Social Work

Practitioners' orientation toward research was compared with that of social work students. Practitioners' views on the importance and usefulness of research were significantly less favorable than those of graduate students in social work and more similar to students at the BSW level; but no differences were found with regard to belief in the unbiased nature of social work research. The differences between the practitioners and graduate students might be a manifestation of the failure of the curriculum to articulate research concepts and methodology in a manner responsive to the realities of practice.     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF PATTERNS OF PRIORITIES AND TRADE-OFFS AMONG OPERATIONS MANAGERS

A survey of 15 firms showed that agreement among operations managers on competitive priorities is related to agreement on long-run strategic trade-off decisions and not to agreement on shortrun trade-offs. Furthermore, intended short-run actions were often in conflict with stated competitive priorities. Use of management-by-objectives linked to performance appraisal was related to agreement on competitive priorities.     

Dual citizenship or dual identity? Does ‘transnationalism’ supplant ‘nationalism’ among returning Trinidadians?

In this article we focus on the dual identities of relatively young Trinidadians who have decided to return to the island of their birth, or of their parents, while still in their thirties and forties. Highly‐educated professional transnational migrants mostly make up our sample of 36; 26 possess dual citizenship. We focus on our informants’ narratives about their transnational experiences, self‐appraisals of their dual identities and how they value dual citizenship. More generally, we ask, does transnationalism supplant nationalism among our returning informants? Unsurprisingly, the diverse responses we document do not support the commonly held explanatory relationship between return adaptations, ‘national belonging’ and the expected dominance of ‘transnational belonging’. Family relations intervene significantly, both to encourage transnationalism and to strengthen nationalism. Feelings of national belonging often accompany transnationalism. Notably, we view dual citizenship strategically and pragmatically as advantageous to the continuation of transnational practices.     

Yoga for stress reduction and injury prevention at work

At work employees face numerous psychological stressors that can undermine their work performance. These stressors, stemming from a variety of possible causes, have enormous health and financial impacts on employees as well as employers. Stress has been shown to be one of the factors leading to musculo-skeletal disorders (MSDs) such as: include back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder or neck tension, eye strain, or headaches. Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that can reduce stress and relieve muscular tension or pain. Practicing yoga at the workplace teaches employees to use relaxation techniques to reduce stress and risks of injury on the job. Yoga at the workplace is a convenient and practical outlet that improves work performance by relieving tension and job stress.