Local Environment of Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) in a Mid-Sized U.S. City

As the U.S. population ages, almost half of elderly householders have lived in their current home for more than 20 years, and a significant majority wish to remain in their current residence or community for as long as possible as they age. Concern with how communities will cope with these trends has led to a growing interest in naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs), which are neighborhoods or housing complexes that house a concentration of older adults, and their potential to enhance efforts to support aging-in-place. In this article, we examine the local built and social environment of neighborhood NORCs in Tallahassee, Florida, a low-density mid-sized city. We found that a large proportion of NORCs are located in neighborhoods with an urban form, or physical design, that is presumed to be less supportive of active aging, and associated with poor access to amenities, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and parks. Another substantial portion of NORCs are located in neighborhoods with some aspects of a supportive urban form. We also found that NORCs are over-represented in neighborhoods featuring low residential turnover and above average homeownership rates. This suggests a potential for collective action to facilitate aging-in-place, even in neighborhoods thought not to have supportive physical environments.     

Using Personal Quality Assessment for Selection of Social Work Students

Abstract

The social work profession has long struggled to find fair and effective ways of selecting students into their education programs. A psychometric test battery, gathered together under the title “Personal Qualities Assessment” (PQA) has been developed at the University of Newcastle to identify a range of qualities in aspiring health professionals. Two of its components were used to determine whether there was a relationship between scores obtained by social work students in these tests and scores achieved in an empathic listening and critical review hurdle assessment prior to the first field placement. The results showed that social work students who were moderately empathic, not narcissistic, and moderately libertarian in their moral orientation performed better on the assessment than students who were less empathic, more narcissistic, or extreme in their moral orientation. These results suggest that measurement of these qualities could be useful in selecting the most suitable individuals for social work programs.     

Efficacy of a Web-Based,Tailored, Alcohol Prevention/Intervention Program for College Students: Initial Findings

Abstract

Objective: Reduce college student at-risk drinking (ARD) using a Web-based brief motivational alcohol prevention/intervention called Michigan Prevention and Alcohol Safety for Students (M-PASS). Participants: Participants included 1,137 randomly sampled first-year college students, including 59% female, 80% white, and averaged age 18.1 years. Methods: Intervention group participants (n = 616) attended 4 online M-PASS sessions, receiving feedback tailored to individual drinking patterns and concepts from 4 behavior change theories. Control group participants (n = 521) completed a mid-phase survey, and both groups were surveyed at baseline and posttest. Results: Evidence of M-PASS's efficacy was found. The intervention was associated with advanced stage of change, lower tolerance of drinking and drink/driving, fewer reasons to drink, and use of more strategies to avoid ARD. Preliminary evidence of behavioral change was also found. Efficacy was greater for women than men. Conclusions: Web-based programs may be useful in reducing alcohol-related risk among college students. Further evaluation is needed.     

Prevalence and Predictors of Social Work Student Food Insecurity

ABSTRACT

Food security is an essential component of material wellness and social justice. This study draws on a 2013 survey of 496 students within a school of social work in a Pacific Northwestern U.S. public university to (a) provide the first estimate of the prevalence of food insecurity among social work students and (b) investigate coping strategies used and resources accessed by students. It was determined that 43% of students had experienced food insecurity in the preceding year. In addition, students in the BSW program, students of color, females, and first-generation college students were more likely to be food-insecure. Based on these findings, the article describes strategies for addressing the material and self-care needs of social work students and practitioners.     

STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS AND ASSIGNMENT TO ABILITY GROUPS: TWO CONCEPTUAL FORMULATIONS

This article discusses two conceptual formulations of the relationship between students' ascribed and achieved characteristics and their assignment to ability groups for instruction in school. The first formulation is a sophisticated specification of the commonly used educational rationale for within-class ability grouping. It is based on the work of Barr and Dreeben (1983) as elaborated in their book How Schools Work . The second is a sociological model that predicts an independent and separate role of classroom social organization in classroom processes and learning because of the constraints on implementing the educational theory behind ability grouping. This formulation derives from the research program of the authors. The theoretical propositions of the two conceptual models are compared and contrasted and they are subjected to preliminary empirical testing using two data sets on ability groups.     

Sex differences in the effects of noise and nightwork on performance efficiency

An experimental investigation of the combined effects of noise and nightwork revealed the following sex differences. Female subjects showed a large night-time impairment on a test of manual dexterity, but performed working memory tasks better at night than in the day. In contrast to this, male subjects showed a small impairment at night on both types of task. Other tasks, such as the simple reaction time task, were impaired at night for both sexes, and some tasks, such as the high memory load search task, showed no night-time impairment in males or females. There was no evidence of noise producing different effects in the two sexes, and few instances of sex differences in the size of post-meal impairments. Overall, these results show mat the effect of working at night depends on the nature of the task and also the sex of the person performing it.