Uncovering issues of ableism in social work education: a disability needs assessment

ABSTRACT

Social work education’s commitment to teaching inclusive social work practice must not only be evidenced in the explicit curriculum and teaching methods, it must also be present in the implicit curriculum including administrative policies, student support, and resources. Yet, accessibility and climate efforts often fall short of addressing disability and ableism as barriers to education, despite the clear call for disability to be included as part of the field of social work’s commitment to social justice. A social work graduate program in the USA developed a mixed-methods disability needs assessment, completed by 586 respondents in 2016. The assessment highlighted the frequency with which students experience ableist microaggressions and lack of support they feel they have, as well as the need for a disability-focused community within the school. Results illuminated the need for education on the depth and breadth of disabilities, advocacy, principles of Universal Design for Learning, and ableist microaggressions. These findings can assist social work educators in developing tangible strategies for more inclusive social work education.     

Preference for Information and Dynamic Consistency

We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for a dynamically consistent agent always to prefer more informative signals (in single-agent problems). These conditions do not imply recursivity, reduction or independence. We provide a simple definition of dynamically consistent behavior, and we discuss whether an intrinsic information lover (say, an anxious person) is likely to be dynamically consistent.     

Hepatitis B virus seroconversion rates among health sciences students in the southeastern United States

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the hepatitis B virus (HBV) seroconversion rate among health sciences students. Participants: The study included pharmacy, doctor of nursing, and medical students over 18 years of age enrolled at the University of South Carolina between 2007 and 2011. Methods: The primary end point was HBV seroconversion rates among students at the initial reporting period. Seroconversion was defined as hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) level greater than or equal to 10 mIU/mL. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine predictive factors of seroconversion. Results: Of 777 records, data were available for 709 students. An 83.9% seroconversion rate was observed after a mean of 10 years between vaccine receipt and anti-HBs evaluation. Students with incomplete HBV vaccine series and longer time between initial series and evaluation were less likely to exhibit antibody response. Conclusions: These data highlight the importance of assessment and documentation of HBV vaccination series among health sciences students prior to direct patient care activities.     

Prevention of preK-12 School Employee Sexual Misconduct and Abuse

ABSTRACT

The abuse of preK-12 students by school personnel is a pervasive, understudied topic that has behavioral, psychological and monetary consequences for victims, their families, and their communities. This special issue is the second of a two-part series and focuses on studies of school employee sexual misconduct prevention training programs and prevention issues and frameworks. This compilation of articles presents evidence that effective training can lead to improved awareness and behavior changes, concerns about policy implementation that may contribute to continued prevalence, and presents strategies and guidelines for prevention. These articles provide considerations for prevention including training, loopholes, and frameworks.     

Problem Gambling and its Impact on Families: A Literature Review

This paper offers an overview of the existing literature concerning problem gambling and families and identifies gaps in current research knowledge on this topic. Relevant theoretical perspectives are outlined and the role of familial factors in the development of problem gambling is discussed. This is followed by a focused review of the effects of problem gambling on family members, specifically the spouse, children and parents. Available treatments and therapies for family members are also reviewed. The paper concludes by identifying the limitations of existing knowledge and some directions for future research on this topic.     

Attitudes of Community Leaders in New Casino Jurisdictions Regarding Casino Gambling's Effects on Crime and Quality of Life

Interviews were conducted with 128 key individuals in seven communities that are new casino jurisdictions. The individuals interviewed are community leaders (mayors, members of the city council, leading members of the business community) or work in areas (banking, law enforcement, social services) which would provide insight into the positive and negative effects that casinos have on communities. A series of core questions were asked of all 128 respondents followed by additional questions designed to elicit specific information based on the individual's position. A content analysis was conducted comparing responses both within and between communities by leadership position. Findings indicate that a clear majority (59%) of those interviewed are in favor of the casino in the community, believe the casino enhances the quality of life in the community (65%), and believe that the casino has a positive effect on the economy (77%). Although a majority of the community leaders interviewed view the impact of casinos favorably, responses vary both by community and by position within the community. Finally, since ths group of community leaders was not selected randomly, it is possible that unintended interview bias shifted these results in a positive direction.     

Civil Society in an Age of Environmental Accountability: How Local Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations Reduce U.S. Power Plants’ Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Institutional scholars have argued that in the absence of legislation on the issue of climate change, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can help reduce the amount of anthropogenic greenhouse gases being emitted to the environment by disseminating environmental norms. Consistent with this reasoning, they have shown that from the middle of the last century up through the mid‐1990s, nations with more memberships in NGOs have tended to have lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the aggregate. Doubts remain, however, about whether NGOs have reduced emissions in the time since and at the level of individual power plants where the lion's share of carbon pollution is emitted. Using plant‐specific information on CO₂ emissions recently collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, we investigate the effects of local environmental NGOs (ENGOs) on plants’ environmental performance. Consistent with our expectations, we find that local ENGOs not only directly reduce plants’ emissions but indirectly do so by enhancing the effectiveness of subnational climate policies that encourage energy efficiency. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on the decoupling of normative systems, social movements, environmental sociology, and the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan.     

Reliability,Validity, and Classification Accuracy of the DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Gambling Disorder and Comparison to DSM-IV

The DSM-5 was published in 2013 and it included two substantive revisions for gambling disorder (GD). These changes are the reduction in the threshold from five to four criteria and elimination of the illegal activities criterion. The purpose of this study was to twofold. First, to assess the reliability, validity and classification accuracy of the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for GD. Second, to compare the DSM-5–DSM-IV on reliability, validity, and classification accuracy, including an examination of the effect of the elimination of the illegal acts criterion on diagnostic accuracy. To compare DSM-5 and DSM-IV, eight datasets from three different countries (Canada, USA, and Spain; total N = 3247) were used. All datasets were based on similar research methods. Participants were recruited from outpatient gambling treatment services to represent the group with a GD and from the community to represent the group without a GD. All participants were administered a standardized measure of diagnostic criteria. The DSM-5 yielded satisfactory reliability, validity and classification accuracy. In comparing the DSM-5 to the DSM-IV, most comparisons of reliability, validity and classification accuracy showed more similarities than differences. There was evidence of modest improvements in classification accuracy for DSM-5 over DSM-IV, particularly in reduction of false negative errors. This reduction in false negative errors was largely a function of lowering the cut score from five to four and this revision is an improvement over DSM-IV. From a statistical standpoint, eliminating the illegal acts criterion did not make a significant impact on diagnostic accuracy. From a clinical standpoint, illegal acts can still be addressed in the context of the DSM-5 criterion of lying to others.