Supervisory Procedures Research Articles

Supervising Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy: Pressing Needs, Impressing Possibilities

While accounts of the practice of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) supervision have been available over the past 15 years and have demonstrated consistency in terms of an overall model specifying the structure, process and content of supervision sessions, a number of gaps can be identified in the literature on the clinical supervision of CBT. Comprehensive consensus statements of the competencies underlying clinical supervision have been developed both in the United States (Falender et al., J Clin Psychol, 60, 771–785, 2004) and in the United Kingdom (Roth and Pilling, IAPT supervision competencies framework, University College London, 1992), but there has been a lack of attention to relevant theory and to procedural detail. As a consequence, the literature on CBT supervision has only recently begun to assimilate concepts from the wider supervision field (e.g. developmental models), and there is as yet no manual that would allow supervisors to make explicit determinations of competency. Furthermore, supervision in general continues to suffer both from the absence of compelling empirical support demonstrating its effectiveness in improving clinical outcomes, and there is a lack of explicitly-defined supervisory procedures that can be reliably observed and measured. Unfortunately, this combination of factors hampers the development of CBT supervision (e.g. it complicates efforts to provide a standardized framework for training in supervision). As an important starting point in ‘treating’ the underdeveloped state of CBT supervision, we outline a formulation of its current condition, then suggest some promising interventions.

SEC approves rule banning “naked access” to trading centers

PurposeThis paper sets out to explain the new Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 15c3‐5, which will require broker‐dealers to adopt and implement risk controls to govern their provision of “direct market access” (DMA).Design/methodology/approachThe paper explains how the development and use of automated electronic trading processes and systems motivated broker‐dealers to offer DMA, “sponsored access,” and “naked access.” It explains the systems of risk management controls and supervisory procedures a broker‐dealer is required to maintain to manage the financial, regulatory, and other risks of sponsored access, including financial and regulatory controls and procedures.FindingsThe SEC proposed the Rule to more effectively manage the financial, regulatory, and other risks, such as legal and operational risks, associated with market access.Originality/valueThe paper offers practical guidance from expert broker‐dealer lawyers.

State of the art of controlling loss-of-coolant accidents with release of insulation material

The German Nuclear Society (KTG) is a non-profit scientific technical association with more than 2500 members. KTG strives for the development and dissemination of the stateof-the-art in nuclear science and technology to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and related disciplines. In 2009 the KTG has celebrated its 40 anniversary. The technical work of the KTG members is performed in the framework of currently 9 topical sections, which for instance jointly organize the KTG Annual Meetings, topical meetings devoted to selected subjects and several other activities. In recent years, the topical sections Reactor Safety, Thermal and Fluid Dynamics, as well as Reactor Physics and Computational Methods, have successfully established a series of meetings on “Topical Issues of Reactor Safety Research in Germany”. These meetings represent a forum for authorities, operators, technical support organizations, and vendors. A Technical Programm Committee (TPC) consisting from members of the participating topical sections, is responsible for selecting the issues to be addressed at the meeting. The acceptance and success of this series of meetings is mainly due to the current subjects dealt with. Also this forum offers the chance for a free exchange of opinions outside licensing and supervisory procedures. A balance is presented between survey papers on the background and the state of the art in the related field, specific technical presentations, and outlook papers. The participants are provided with a general overview on the area addressed and with new ideas and impetus for their future work. In order to further promote these kind of meetings the TPC has initiated co-operation with the Independent Journal for Nuclear Engineering, Energy Systems, Radiation and Radiological Protection KERNTECHNIK. For enhanced dissemination of the state-of-the-art, the key papers of the meetings are published in special issues of the journal. The 2010 meeting on “Topical Issues of Reactor Safety Research in Germany” was held at the Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (FZD) on October 7–8 2010. It was hosted by the Institute of Safety Research (IfS) of FZD. The second day of the 2010 meeting was devoted to the ensurance of emergency core cooling (ECC) at PWRs and BWRs during loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) involving the release of thermal insulation material, which may lead to the clogging of the sump or the wet well strainers. The presentations were assigned to three sessions: “Overview and International Situation”, “Experiments and Model Development” and “Ensuring the Emergency Core Cooling for PWRs and BWRs”. A selection of these presentations is published in this special issue of KERNTECHNIK. In 1977, the first precursor of such a strainer clogging event occurred in BWR Gundremmingen (KRB-A), Germany. During an overfeeding transient a safety valve was damaged leading to a LOCA and almost complete release of the thermal insulation material around the break area. Some portions of the released material were collected in front of the strainers. Since KRB-A had an emergency condenser the ECC system was not started. Therefore, no coolant loaded with mineral fibers was sucked in and the fibrous material did neither clog the strainers nor enter the core. Nevertheless, the analysis of the event identified the potential of fiber entry and deposit into the core and its influence on core cooling. Because of the decommissioning of KRB-A the safety case of this event was inadequately assessed and the conclusions drawn were insufficiently distributed nationally, as well as internationally. Further events with release of insulation material and/or the clogging of strainers by mineral wool or other types of material later on occurred, for instance the Swedish NPP Bareback-2 (1992), and the US NPPs Susquehanna-2 (1988), Perry (1993), and Limerick-1 (1995). In German PWRs and BWRs several strainer modifications and backfittings were implemented over the last 10 years. These measures take into account the recommendations of the German Reactor-Safety Commission (RSK) on the robust demonstration of the effectiveness of the ECC during loss-of-coolant accidents involving the release of insulation material or other substances and on the removal of deposits from the PWR strainers by back flushing as required for PWRs in the RSK statements of July 2004 and March 2008. The RSK requirements are based on the following fundamental acceptance criteria:

Knowledge, skills, and productivity in primary eye care among health workers in Tanzania: need for reassessment of expectations?

The aim of this study was to assess the primary eye care knowledge, skills, and productivity of primary health workers at dispensaries in a district in Tanzania. Factors likely to contribute to knowledge, skills, and productivity were also assessed. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. All health workers employed at government dispensaries in Mwanga District, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania were included. A skills score of respondents, comprising knowledge and ability to test visual acuity and diagnosis and management of common eye conditions, was measured through interview and direct observation. Factors associated with the skills score were assessed. Forty nine health workers were assessed. There was poor understanding of basic ocular conditions and how to assess visual acuity; the mean skills score of all respondents was 6.2 out of 12. There was little association between having received training and the skills score. The mean number of eye patients managed per health worker was three per month. Findings suggest that a reassessment of the roles and responsibilities in primary eye care of dispensary health workers, review of training curriculum and teaching, and supervisory procedures may be necessary.

Religious Garb

Madeline Smith, a new elementary principal in northeastern Pennsylvania, wrestles with how to handle a dilemma involving one of her special education teachers who is wearing a head wrap while working. Wearing the head wrap is a violation of district policy, and if the head wrap is a religious symbol, then the employee is also violating the state religious garb statute. She must follow the district’s supervisory procedures when an employee is violating school policy, but she is unsure how her decision will affect staff morale and how much harm is actually occurring.

The Potential Effect of the New Basel Operational Risk Capital Requirements

The three pillars of Basel II introduce new capital ratios, new supervisory procedures, and demand better disclosure to ensure effective market discipline in both the equity and debt markets. Included in these requirements, for the first time, is the necessity for financial institutions to provide for operational risk, as distinct from credit and market risk. This is considered to be most problematic of Basel II requirements, posing difficulties of definition, implementation, and strategic planning. It will affect product development, investment and asset mix, as well as requiring the rapid development of new risk rating models and techniques together with vastly expanded internal and external audit compliance routines. The issues of cost, necessity and difficulties of measuring operational risk are examined in this paper. Apart from micro effects on bank pricing, macro questions of restriction of credit and distortions in systems efficiency need to be addressed. Such issues are considered in the context of reasons for bank efficiency need to be addressed. Such issues are considered in the context of reasons for bank failure and the effect on systemic goals of stability and safety.

The selling away case: Rethinking the firm’s defenses

Few things are more perplexing for a brokerage firm than being sued by someone who is not its customer, for a security it did not sell. The prohibited sales practice formally known as private securities transactions, or more colloquially as “selling away,” often results in just that. And, even worse, the statistical odds are against the firm in the resulting arbitration. The vast majority of such cases in recent years have resulted in a loss to the firm. That is a sobering statistic, for it is difficult, if not impossible, for a firm to prevent a determined broker from selling away. As we show in this article, a firm should be able to protect itself against the acts of an errant broker, but success in doing so requires the firm (a) to establish and diligently execute strong supervisory procedures, and (b) to shoulder the burden of proving to arbitration panels that the broker’s evasion of those procedures could not reasonably have been avoided. Both are essential tasks. The need to be proactive in proving the firm’s defense is perhaps counterintuitive to many defense attorneys. In theory the customer bears the burden of proof on all elements of his claim, and the firm should succeed by merely rebutting the customer’s case. But the recent cases suggest that arbitrators are viscerally sympathetic to customers duped by brokers who sell away from their firms, and in some cases appear to impose liability on the firm not so much in response to the technical weight of evidence, but simply as a “fair” allocation of risk. The cost of the errant broker’s acts probably are visited upon the firm because arbitrators instinctively assume that the firm is better able than the customer both to bear those costs and to police the broker. In evidentiary terms, one could say that, in selling away cases, a presumption has evolved that the firm could have done something to detect and prevent the broker’s acts.

Preliminary steps to establishing research analyst independence

On December 20, 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”), the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), the New York Attorney General, and the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) announced their Global Settlement resolving investigations at 10 large integrated securities firms into business practices involving equity research analysts. The 10 firms agreed to pay over $1.4 billion in fines and to overhaul the way in which they prepare, review, and issue equity research. These firms also agreed to change significantly the way that equity research analysts interact with other business groups, in particular investment banking. These efforts are intended to eliminate practices that were alleged to have undermined the integrity and independence of equity research produced at those firms. Most securities firms that were not parties to the settlement, and that both issue equity research and provide investment banking services, are likely to establish supervisory procedures designed to honor the spirit of the Global Settlement. Regulators, however, have not yet provided clarity as to what they will require of firms not party to the Global Settlement. Furthermore, the NYSE and NASD have proposed amendments to their existing rules addressing research‐analyst independence that will, if adopted, expand the universe of firms that need to address potential conflicts of interest of the research function to include all firms that issue research, not only those that both issue research and provide investment banking services. The proposed amendments also will expand the definition of research, which could further extend the reach of the NYSE and NASD rules. This article will attempt to provide general guidance in two of the areas addressed in the Global Settlement and in the NYSE and NASD rules and proposed amendments to those rules: (1) the separation of the equity research department from other firm functions, and (2) the compensation of equity research analysts. Please note, however, that in this time of regulatory change, even this summary guidance quickly could become obsolete once the regulators finalize their rulemaking efforts in this area.

A review of violence and personal injury legal cases in psychiatric and mental health nursing to identify a practical framework for risk assessment.

Legal cases were analyzed that involved violence resulting in staff injury, patient assaults on staff, accidents involving the elderly, and patient self harm or injury where there was also an alleged breech in the duty of care. The study resulted in recommendations for: improved systems of work, including a practical framework to anticipate and recognize risk, with a case management approach to individual care, and supervisory procedures for vulnerable staff, explicit consent from patients and carers, and integrated recording of interdisciplinary methods for care.

Written Supervisory Procedures: Friend or Foe?

This article offers a practical approach to demonstrating the pitfalls of broker‐dealers not preparing written supervisory procedures. By showing examples of legal complications that can arise, as well as outlining the current regulatory directives in favor of written procedures, the author emphasizes that written supervisory procedures cannot be treated lightly or as a back‐burner issue.

Polarization and diversification in the Bulgarian press

In the past six years, mass media, society and politics in Bulgaria have interacted in a complex fashion that defies separation of cause from effect. New publications were initially associated with political parties, but soon private publications appeared in a publishing boom that embraced a wide variety of genres. Former journalists of the official and institutional press played a key entrepreneurial role in the development. Shortages of newsprint and rampant inflation seriously affected the fortunes of the press, however, and this was compounded by restrictions on distribution. Furthermore, the delay in producing a law on media hindered the establishment of a well‐ordered media sector. Private broadcasting has proved difficult to establish, particularly television, and supervisory procedures have been slow in being agreed.

THE BROKER‐DEALER EXAMINATION PROGRAMME OF THE SEC

The examination of broker‐dealers is an integral part of the United States Securities and Exchange commission's overall responsibility to enforce securities laws, protect investors, and ensure the maintenance of fair and orderly markets. This programme continues to evolve to keep pace with dynamic market developments. This paper provides an overview of the broker‐dealer examination process, and discusses several new developments in the examination programme. Particular focus is directed to the oversight of internal controls and risk management, and review of sales practices and supervisory procedures. Finally, there is a discussion of efforts undertaken to coordinate examinations by various state, federal and self‐regulatory authorities.

The International Labor Organization: The International Standards System and Basic Human Rights

Part 1 History and functioning of the Standards system: introduction to the ILO the system of International Labour Standards the adoption of conventions and recommendations submission of conventions and recommendations to the competent authorities ratification of conventions denunciation of conventions the debate on the future of Standards. Part 2 Supervision of International Labour Standards: communication of reports and information the committee of experts on the application of conventions and recommendations the Conference Committee on Standards assistance provided by the Office representations complaints complaints of the Violation of Freedom of Association special studies on discrimination special procedures and investigations characteristics and complementary nature of the procedures the debates on the supervisory procedures. Part 3 Fundamental human rights: Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No 29) Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No 105) the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No 87) the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention (No 98) other standards on freedom of association. Part 4 Equality of opportunity and treatment: the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No 100) the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No 111).

Supervision and cost efficiency in banking

This paper suggests a link between bank operating efficiency and federal supervisor. Since supervisory priorities can vary by the context in which the supervisor was conceived, resulting differences in supervisory policies and procedures may underlay differences in the operating efficiency of their supervised banks. The effect on bank operating expenses is estimated at the individual bank level for each of four size strata using a translog cost function, controlling for bank characteristics and the impact of scale and scope economies. Results generally support a conclusion that bank operating cost differences exist by supervisor, except in the largest size stratum.

Improving Program Targeting Through Simulation

Statistical identification of employees with unusual sick leave usage patterns can result in false positive identifications. Such misidentifications weaken confidence in detection methods and may increase reluctance of supervisors to pursue reported unusual sick leave use. A computer simulation model was used to evaluate alternate methods and parameters of unusual sick leave detection. Results of the simulation were used to refine identification parameters and to modify supervisory follow-up procedures.

Increasing the Assessment Probe Performance of Teacher Aides through Written Prompts

Two supervisory procedures for promoting the conduct of in vivo probes by six special education teacher aides were examined. The first procedure served as baseline and consisted of inservice training, self-regulated probing and data recording, and incidental modeling by the primary investigator. This procedure produced poor probing performance, reflecting inconsistency, low frequency, and differential sensitivity toward the three participating students. The second procedure consisted of the addition of delivering data cards to aides, thus prompting them to conduct daily probes. This additional component resulted in a 53% increase in the level of probing and was accompanied by less variability, higher sustained rates of probing, and more equitable probing of the students. Two types of reversal probes produced evidence that (a) the investigator's absence and (b) his presence without delivering cards occasioned low performance levels. Both conceptual (stimulus-control analysis) and applied (aides' preference for students) implications are discussed.

An application of automated operating procedure synthesis in the nuclear industry

The synthesis of operating procedures for the transient operation of chemical processes is a formidable and expensive task during the design of a plant. It is time-consuming and error-prone both for the process engineering department to specify the procedures and for the automation department to generate sequence control code from the specifications. A further source of error arises at the interface between the two departments since the boundary is typically ill-defined and engineers of different backgrounds often make assumptions without adequate understanding of the other discipline. In this paper, we describe the application of the CAPS (computer-aided procedure synthesis) system (Crooks et al., 1992a,b,c) to a case study in the nuclear industry — British Nuclear Fuels' (BNFL) Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP), which will be the largest facility in the world for reprocessing spent reactor fuel pins. The case study considers the “head end” plant of THORP which involves reagent preparation and fuel pin dissolution and is a single product batch and semi-continuous process. The CAPS system successfully generated realistic supervisory procedures and control sequence specifications which were in close agreement with the actual control sequences developed by BNFL engineers. Furthermore, the modelling effort required as input to CAPS was reasonable and all of the information was readily available early in the design life cycle.

Banking lessons from the past: The 1938 regulatory Agreement interpreted

We show that the interagency 1938 Uniform Agreement on Bank Supervisory Procedures set the precedent for dynamically varying supervisory standards to conform to national macroeconomic policies and political agendas. Our evidence indicates that the conferences leading to the Agreement were motivated and dominated by the Federal Reserve. Contrary to the goals of the other banking agencies, the Fed sought greater leniency in bank examination in order to stimulate bank credit creation. This precedent for softening examination standards was paralleled in 1991–1992 when the administration and regulatory agencies attempted to offset a proclaimed “credit crunch” by subordinating bank examinations to the perceived need for more bank credit. The implied risk of trading off bank safety for short-lived economic policies merits more open national debate.

Specification and Verification for Integration of a CIM System

Abstract Specification and verification of system integration are the central issues in the design, implementation, and operation of Computer-Integrated Manufacturing systems. This paper shows that both specification and verification can be addressed conveniently and effectively by using Petri nets. The primary goals here are to develop a Petri net model for the integration specification of a CIM system for part processing, to conduct process analysis for the system based on its Petri net model for the purpose of verification, and finally, to determine some supervisory control procedures, such as deadlock prevention and avoidance, for the system according to the result of analysis and the other specified requirements.

Facilitating Changes in Supervisees' Clinical Behaviors

This research was conducted to determine whether supervisees altered their clinical behaviors as a consequence of a joint data-analysis method of clinical supervision. Four beginning graduate student clinicians assigned to articulation clients were supervised in accordance with tenets of Cogan's Clinical Supervision Model and Anderson's Continuum of Supervision. Supervision focused on the targeted dependent variables of clinician "explanations," "informative feedback," and "directive responses to off-task utterances." Visual inspection of multiple baseline data indicated that target behaviors improved after they became the focus of supervision. The supervisory procedures implemented in this study effected positive changes in the supervisees' clinical behaviors. Qualitative discoveries that relate to the practicalities of daily supervision are discussed.