The Impact of Managed Care on Field Instruction

Managed care is changing the provision of services to clients and the availability of field placements for students. This exploratory study, reporting on an October 1996 survey of social work field directors nationwide, confirms that placements have been lost because of managed care. Yet, it also notes that schools and agencies are reassessing their relationship and can collaborate to create different learning opportunities in the new environment. The findings have implications for deans, program directors, field directors, and regional and national organizations (such as the Council on Social Work Education) in the areas of revising the curriculum, confronting student expectations, and establishing new relationships with agencies.     

Aging Policy in the Clinton Administration

No abstract available for this article.     

The Impact of Aging on Human Sexual Activity and Sexual Desire

This article empirically studies how much aging modifies human sexual activity and sexual desire, and what the most important determinants in this change are. The analyses are based on 2 representative national sex surveys conducted in Finland in the 1990s. As a result of female widowhood, aging men had a higher incidence of sexual intercourse compared with aging women; and in relationships, women were more likely than men to report lack of sexual desire. In regression analysis, age was a predictor of sexual activity but not of sexual desire, when controlling for the impact of other factors. Relationship duration did not play an important role in sexual activity or sexual desire when controlling for a number of other variables. Sexual desire, valuing sexuality, and a healthy partner were important to female sexual activity; and high sexual self-esteem, good health, and active sexual history were important to male sexual activity. To keep up their sexual desire, both men and women needed good health, good sexual functioning, positive sexual self-esteem, and a sexually skilful partner.     

Interfacing Gerontology and Human Service Management: Preparing Future Administrators for the Field of Aging and Old Age

There is an increasing need for social workers with technical skills in management to enter the field of aging and old age. An educational program that interfaces management skill development and applied gerontology is described and includes five components: core courses, management courses, electives, gerontology courses, and fieldwork. A survey of graduates illustrates that job opportunities exist and that training has proven to be successful.     

The Role of Philanthropic Funding in Building Research Evidence to Support an Aging Population: A Case Study from Ireland

This case study examines the role of philanthropic funding in building capacity for aging research in Ireland, and how this investment has addressed the lack of evidence to support planning for an aging population. The funding has supported a range of initiatives including the national longitudinal study on aging (TILDA), the creation of three professorships/chairs, and the establishment of four new research centers. Important potential outcomes are emerging across other domains including research-informed policy development and the generation of health benefits. The efforts of academic researchers to ensure that their findings are readily accessible to end users and to forge robust working relationships with all stakeholders have helped to enhance the use of research findings. Overall, philanthropy has played a pivotal role in building capacity, infrastructure, and expertise in academic settings in Ireland. Moreover, this work provides an excellent example of how such efforts can begin to inform effective planning and service provision.     

The Impact of Ethnicity and Phase in Training on Israeli Social Work Students' Satisfaction with the Field Instruction

Students' evaluations of their satisfaction with their field instruction including their field instructors, agency, and learning opportunities have been the focus of earlier and more recent studies. However much less is known about students' satisfaction in non‐English speaking countries. Even rarer are studies on how satisfaction differs among diverse ethnic groups and phase of training. This study focuses on the impact of ethnicity (Jewish and Israeli Arabs), and phase of training (second or third years) on the satisfaction of Israeli social work students with their field instruction. Some 742 second and third year students reported their satisfaction on a self‐administered questionnaire. Third year students who had already completed two academic years of training were more satisfied with their field instruction than second year students. Arab students were significantly less satisfied with their field placement agencies. Second year Arab students were also less satisfied with their field instructors and their field instruction in general than second year Jewish students. The lower satisfaction might be true for other minority groups in Western countries and should be further investigated. We recommend increasing cultural sensitivity in the curriculum of social work education as well as preparatory workshops before the beginning of field practice.     

The Political Economy of Social Science Funding

This article examines recent economic and political trends constraining the production of social science knowledge. Particular attention is given to the Reagan Administration's attempt to contract public sector programs and curtail financial support for social science research. Trends in the private economy, especially within the publishing industry, that affect the production of social science knowledge are also discussed. Over the past few years, the market for social science knowledge has seriously eroded. The erosion of this market is examined within the larger framework of a shift in public policy from legitimation to capital accumulation, a shift that has accompanied right-wing ascendancy in American politics. This shift has created political and economic incentives encouraging the social science community to align more closely with conservatives.     

The White House Conferences on Aging

White House Conferences on Aging are anachronistic, expensive, and inefficient methods of developing debate and consensus on complex issues. To be effective, they need to derive their force from well-articulated expressed needs delivered by the President. Furthermore, to be effective in today's society, any such effort must combine state-of-the-art telecommunications technology combined with well-known techniques of community organization. Neither of those preconditions exist at the present time. It is suggested that the effort be better conducted by a nongovernmental coalition adequately funded and committed to a limited number of goals and to combined modern telecommunications technology and community organization.     

The Politics of Aging

Committed "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphans," the federal government through its veterans' programs has long been a pacesetter in meeting some of the income-security and health-care needs of older Americans. But the Department of Veterans Affairs is short of funds. Key policymakers are genuinely divided over how much more they want to invest in the care of aging veterans. This paper assesses four options and concludes that it makes sense to strengthen DVA's internal capacity to meet its geriatric imperative.     

The Process of Field Instruction

This article reports on the results of two surveys that asked BSW and MSW students to evaluate the supervision provided by their field instructors at two points during their practicum. Students responded to a variety of questions pertaining to the supervisory assignments and activities of their field instructor. The author discusses the relationship between supervisory skills and students’ perceptions of enhanced learning. Early in the practicum, activities reported as most helpful to students were those that introduced them to the agency and clarified expectations of their performance. At the end of their experience, students perceived as most helpful those activities which helped them to be self-critical and to link classroom and field learning.     

The 1995 White House Conference on Aging

No abstract available for this article.     

Meeting report--National Institute on Aging Workshop on the Comparative Biology of Aging

This Perspective is a summary of the Comparative Biology of Aging Workshop that was held in February 2002 by the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, MD. Participants discussed ways to exploit similarities and differences in aging among diverse species to learn more about critical factors that affect aging and regulate life expectancy in animals. The aim of the workshop was to stimulate new approaches to understanding the molecular bases for differences in aging rates and life expectancy among species.     

The Philippine Male Aging Survey

The aging male is fast becoming a global concern. The problem is predicted to become a major health issue that should be addressed immediately in order to prevent disability, morbidity, and, more importantly, mortality. As part of its commitment to increase awareness and create interest in the care of Filipino aging males, The Philippine Society for the Study of the Aging Male Foundation, Inc. (PhiSSAM), a multi-specialty society established in 2000, embarked on a survey among Filipino physicians to determine their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding male aging. Results showed that the majority of doctors (about 87%) thought that men may experience andropause. Most would diagnose patients based on symptoms alone, while only 20–30% used testosterone levels to make a diagnosis of andropause. Decreased libido and less strong erections were the symptoms very closely associated with low testosterone. Of those doctors responding, 89% agreed that andropause can affect the quality of a man's life as much as menopause can affect a female; only 38% had already prescribed/instituted treatment for andropause. Of the 62% non-prescribers, 58% said they were either very likely or fairly likely to institute treatment in the future if there were more clinical trials, more medical information, and more information on drugs. Major concerns on testosterone replacement therapy included prostate cancer, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and heart disease. The findings in this pilot survey indicate a need among the doctors in the Philippines for education about andropause and the available treatments.     

Older Lesbian Sexuality: Identity,Sexual Behavior,and the Impact of Aging

In response to the very limited and mostly outdated literature on older lesbian sexuality, this exploratory study examined older lesbian sexual identity, romantic relationships, the impact of aging, and experiences of discrimination within these contexts. Utilizing an online survey that recruited via numerous online lesbian communities and snowball sampling, 456 lesbians over the age of 50 responded to closed, Likert scale, and open-ended questions that provided a preliminary understanding of older lesbian sexuality. The results indicated that older lesbians have experienced fluidity in past romantic and sexual relationships, as well as in erotic fantasies, despite strong identification with being lesbian. The findings also indicate a decreased focus on sexuality in the context of relationships, with more focus on stability and continuity. Future research is needed that provides greater specificity and detail about older lesbian conceptions of sexual behavior and sexual identity labels, as well as specific sexual behaviors.     

The Organization and Funding of Social Science in the NSF*

The legitimation of federal funding of social, economic, and behavioral science research faced a major challenge with the budget reductions of the Reagan Administration in 1981–1982. This article reviews the history of support and opposition to the social sciences in NSF and the collective response of the social science research community to the budget cutbacks. The consequences for research directions as a result of retrenchment and for the future of social science support in NSF are elaborated.