Alcohol consumption among undergraduate social work students at a South African university

ABSTRACT

Alcohol consumption among tertiary level students is a public health problem that can adversely affect students’ performance at university. This study therefore investigated the drinking patterns; reasons for drinking; and the perceived impact of drinking on academic performance of undergraduate social work students at a South African university. Of the 145 students who completed a group administered survey questionnaire, 88% reported using alcohol mainly for social purposes and enjoyment, with two-fifths admitting to participating in binge drinking. Despite these findings, a high proportion (78%) reported not performing poorly on a test or exam due to alcohol consumption in the preceding 12 months. Recommendations are provided for the education and support of social work students as future healthcare professionals.     

新建地方本科院校办学特色建设的理性思考——以泉州师范学院为例

办学特色是我国高等教育大众化背景下新建地方本科院校求生存、谋发展的必然选择。本文首先分析了高校 办学特色的科学内涵，并以泉州师范学院为例，对新建地方本科院校的办学特色进行了优劣势分析，并从办学定位、学科专业 建设、人才培养、服务社会、师资队伍、校园文化等六个方面，提出了培育高校办学特色的具体建议。     

Undergraduate students’ perception of their own strengths and weaknesses as potential social workers

This article offers some insight into how undergraduate social work students perceive their own strengths and weaknesses. This qualitative research study explored responses from 51 s-year students. Participant responses revealed five main themes in strengths and weaknesses categories: characteristic features, client work related, communication skills, expert-centred approach and problem-focused approach. In order to teach students social work core values and perspectives, it is crucial for the educators themselves to explore their own approaches related to the strengths perspective vs deficit-based approach and their willingness to change their own views and teaching methods to prepare future professionals.     

Improving medicolegal death investigative gaps of fatal elder abuse

The purpose of this brief is to present several case vignettes that illustrate omissions in the investigation of elder deaths. These vignettes demonstrate the need for a standardized approach in the conduct of medicolegal investigations of fatal elder abuse. For each of the described oversights, a recommendation is offered to address the gap in investigation processes, which in turn could improve the determination of cause and manner of elder death. Inherent limitations of resources and practical realities of death investigation are discussed and recommendations are made for future research. Viewed broadly, deficiencies in elder death investigations can lead to the underreporting of elder abuse and the reduction of legal options for victims, which may reflect a systemic pattern of social injustice.     

“三全育人”视域下本科生导师制的实践探索

推行本科生导师制符合高等教育的基本规律，是真正体现教书育人本质，引导学生成长成才、创新人才培养方式、创新学生教育与管理模式的重要举措。M校紧扣立德树人根本任务，聚焦全员、全过程、全方位育人的体制机制建设，通过推行“以宿舍为单元的本科生导师制”来构建新型师生关系，充分发挥教师在“思想教导、专业辅导、生活指导、心理疏导、学术引导”等多方面的作用，强化实践教学环节中的实践能力培养，不断满足学生个性化培养的需要；通过严把本科生导师选聘入口关，明确本科生导师的工作职责，规范本科生导师工作方式，建立健全本科生导师考核评价和激励约束机制来规范和保障本科生导师制的良性运行，促学生健康成长成才。     

应用性高等教育课程模式研究

在研究借鉴德国、澳大利亚等发达国家以及我国台湾地区发展本科以上层次应用性高等教育和高等技职教育的经验,以及北京联合大学专业教学改革试点实践的基础上,提出了我国本科应用性高等教育的一个新的课程模式(NCM),涉及应用性高等教育的培养对象、培养目标、课程体系,在已经试点的专业基础上,按照NCM的理念,经过改进给出了两个NCM专业课程方案案例。     

小学教育专业本科生专业认同与学习投入的关系研究

研究探讨小学教育专业本科学生专业认同现状和学习投入现状,并探究专业认同与学习投入之间的关系。采用专业认同量表和学习投入量表以344名1-4年级的学生为研究对象进行调查,研究发现,小学教育专业本科生学习投入和专业认同水平均处于中等偏上,根据回归分析结果显示,小学教育专业本科生专业认同中认知性、情感性、行为性和适切性能够正向预测学习投入。建议通过优化学习环境,加强专业教育;创造学术氛围,落实专业行为;重视群际差异,因材施教等方面来促进学习投入。     

专业认证视域下应用型本科学前教育专业实践教学模式构建

实践能力是应用型人才培养的重要指标。从专业认证的视角探索应用型本科学前教育专业实践教学,创建“四层次 （目标）—五模块（内容）—全学程（时长）—三保障（制度·团队·平台）”的立体多维实践教学模式,以保障实践教学达到预期效 果,培养现代社会需要的高质量应用型的学前教育专业人才。     

Medicare and Medicaid Reimbursement Rates for Nursing Homes Motivate Select Culture Change Practices But Not Comprehensive Culture Change

Components of nursing home (NH) culture change include resident-centeredness, empowerment, and home likeness, but practices reflective of these components may be found in both traditional and “culture change” NHs. We use mixed methods to examine the presence of culture change practices in the context of an NH’s payer sources. Qualitative data show how higher pay from Medicare versus Medicaid influences implementation of select culture change practices, and quantitative data show NHs with higher proportions of Medicare residents have significantly higher (measured) environmental culture change implementation. Findings indicate that heightened coordination of Medicare and Medicaid could influence NH implementation of reform practices.     

Does Nursing Home Ownership Change Affect Family Ratings on Experience with Care?

Person-centeredness may suffer in nursing homes (NHs) with recent ownership changes. This study identifies associations between ownership change and reported care experiences, important measures of person-centered care for long-term residents in Maryland NHs. Care experience measures and ownership change data were collected from Maryland Health Care Commission reports, which reported data on 220 Maryland NHs from 2011 and 2012. Facility and market covariates were obtained from 2011 NH Compare and Area Health Resource Files. Linear regression was used to examine whether ownership change in 2011 was associated with lower care experience ratings reported during April to June 2012. Dependent variables were overall care rating (scale 1–10), percentage of respondents answering that they would recommend the NH, and assessments of five care and resident life domains (scale 1–4). Care experiences reported in 2012 were high; however, after controlling for covariates, ownership change was associated with significant decreases in 6 out of 7 measures, including a 0.39-point decrease in overall care rating (p = .001). NH managers and policy makers should consider strategies to improve patient-centeredness after ownership change.