A Preliminary Qualitative Analysis on the Feasibility of Using Gaming Technology in Caregiver Assessment

This exploratory qualitative study examined the feasibility of utilizing gaming technology that will ultimately assess task performance and stress among caregivers of dementia patients. The long-term goal is to use this unobtrusive application (app) to detect caregiver burnout for the purposes of early intervention. This preliminary study examined participant interface with a specific gaming technology called CAST (Caregiver Assessment Using Serious Gaming Technology). Ten dementia caregivers participated. Participants attended a demonstration and then interacted with a preliminary version of the CAST tablet application. Social work researchers interviewed participants using open-ended questions to gauge interest, technology skill level, and comfort with the app. Participants expressed interest and identified potential ways to further develop the system in order to increase ease of use, decrease time commitment, and improve suitability for daily use. The provided feedback will be used to refine the user interface of the application, which will then be used to monitor caregivers’ stress in future development.     

The Process is Pedagogy: What Does Community Participation Teach?

Does participation in community activities increase the knowledgeand skills of the volunteers? If so, which knowledge and skillsare gained? What is the relationship between learning throughcommunity activities and a volunteer's age, gender, level ofeducation and level of involvement? To examine these questions, data from a survey conducted ina small American community were used. Respondents were askedif they had learned any new knowledge or skills, or had extendedtheir existing knowledge and skills from participating in communityactivities. The analysis shows that all volunteers increasedtheir knowledge and skills. Most of what they learned was generalknowledge rather than specific skills and was not new but extensionsof existing knowledge. The question format greatly influencedinterviewee response. The authors conclude that people's knowledgeand skills are increased by becoming involved in community activitiesand the greater their involvement, the greater the learning.The process is the teacher!     

The relationship between income and subjective well-being: Relative or absolute?

Although it appears that income and subjective well-being correlate in within-country studies (Diener, 1984), a debate has focused on whether this relationship is relative (Easterlin, 1974) or absolute (Veenhoven, 1988, 1991). The absolute argument advanced by Veenhoven states that income helps individuals meet certain universal needs and therefore that income, at least at lower levels, is a cause of subjective well-being. The relativity argument is based on the idea that the impact of income or other resources depends on changeable standards such as those derived from expectancies, habituation levels, and social comparisons. Two studies which empirically examine these positions are presented: one based on 18 032 college studies in 39 countries, and one based on 10 year longitudinal data in a probability sample of 4 942 American adults. Modest but significant correlations were found in the U.S. between income and well-being, but the cross-country correlations were larger. No evidence for the influence of relative standards on income was found: (1) Incomechange did not produce effects beyond the effect of income level per se, (2) African-Americans and the poorly educated did not derive greater happiness from specific levels of income, (3) Income produced the same levels of happiness in poorer and richer areas of the U.S., and (4) Affluence correlated with subjective well-being both across countries and within the U.S. Income appeared to produce lesser increases in subjective well-being at higher income levels in the U.S., but this pattern was not evident across countries. Conceptual and empirical questions about the universal needs position are noted. Suggestions for further explorations of the relativistic position are offered.     

The effects of multiracial identification on students’ perceptions of racism

This paper compares the differing perceptions of racism reported by White (n = 222), Black (n = 99), and White–Black multiracial (n = 45) students at an urban campus of a Southern university. Using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), we examine the differences between the racial groups in three campus contexts—campus in general, with instructors, and with other students. Items chosen for analysis included behaviors or actions experienced by at least 4% of the respondents. In nearly all areas, the multiracial student group reported the most experience with prejudice. We employ standpoint theory to discuss these findings.     

Bounding Estimates for Critical Events When Directly Disposing Highly Enriched Spent Nuclear Fuel in Unsaturated Tuff

This paper examines the possibility of criticality in a nuclear waste repository. The estimated probabilities are rough bounds and do not entirely dismiss the possibility of a critical condition; however, they do point to the difficulty of creating conditions under which a critical mass could be assembled (i.e., corrosion of containers, separation of neutron absorbers from the fissile material, and collapse or precipitation of the fissile material). In addition, should a criticality occur in or near a container, the bounding consequence calculations showed that fissions from one critical event are quite small (<˜10²⁰ fissions, if similar to aqueous and metal accidents and experiments). Furthermore, a reasonable upper bound of total critical events of 10²⁸ fissions corresponds to only 0.1% of the number of fissions represented by the spent nuclear fuel inventory in a repository containing 70,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) (the expected size for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada).     

Editor's note

Journal of Family and Economic Issues -     

Research utilization: Reaching decision makers

“Is anyone listening?” is the question behind a decade of radio probing of deep space. It is also the question which haunts many researchers of social policy issues. We introduce our subject with a recent example of a clear response to a research “probe” in youth services policy space. It is also an unusually successful case of researchers “reaching” policy makers.