Student Debates in Policy Courses

This article examines the use of student debates to promote substantive knowledge and policy practice skills. The authors present a pedagogical rationale for student debates, describe the incorporation of debates into a child welfare policy course, and report the results of an evaluation. Students demonstrated significantly greater increases in self-reported knowledge of course topics when they participated in debates than when they observed debates or learned through standard forms of instruction. The majority of students reported satisfaction with the debates, reported that participation improved their policy skills and knowledge, and rated the educational value of debates higher than traditional assignments.     

No-one else could understand': Women's Experiences of a Support Group run by and for Mothers of Sexually Abused Children

Summary Previous studies have shown that when a woman finds out aboutthe sexual abuse of her children the consequences for her areserious and can represent a major life crisis. Women in thisposition frequently report a lack of professional understandingand support. The current study explores the experiences of women attendinga busy peer support group at the NSPCC in York. It demonstratesthe vital role that peer support can play. It traces a varietyof factors which mean that family, friends and social workersare not well placed to help. At the heart of these difficultiesare the powerful feelings of guilt and failure in their roleas mothers which the women experienced as a result of the sexualabuse of their children. For these women it was impossible toshare with social workers their doubts about their own abilitiesas mothers, particularly in a context in which those workerswere making judgements about their ‘ability to protect’.On the other hand the support group provided a safe and non-judgementalforum in which these powerful emotions could be expressed anddealt with. The study explores the role that social workerscan play in relation to such groups.     

A Look at State‐Level Risk Assessment in the United States: Making Decisions in the Absence of Federal Risk Values

State environmental agencies in the United States are charged with making risk management decisions that protect public health and the environment while managing limited technical, financial, and human resources. Meanwhile, the federal risk assessment community that provides risk assessment guidance to state agencies is challenged by the rapid growth of the global chemical inventory. When chemical toxicity profiles are unavailable on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Risk Information System or other federal resources, each state agency must act independently to identify and select appropriate chemical risk values for application in human health risk assessment. This practice can lead to broad interstate variation in the toxicity values selected for any one chemical. Within this context, this article describes the decision‐making process and resources used by the federal government and individual U.S. states. The risk management of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the United States is presented as a case study to demonstrate the need for a collaborative approach among U.S. states toward identification and selection of chemical risk values while awaiting federal risk values to be set. The regulatory experience with TCE is contrasted with collaborative risk science models, such as the European Union's efforts in risk assessment harmonization. Finally, we introduce State Environmental Agency Risk Collaboration for Harmonization, a free online interactive tool designed to help to create a collaborative network among state agencies to provide a vehicle for efficiently sharing information and resources, and for the advancement of harmonization in risk values used among U.S. states when federal guidance is unavailable.     

Social Network Analysis for Analyzing Groups as Complex Systems

ABSTRACT

The introduction and application of social network analysis, a method seen as superior to experimental or single-system research design for showing group change, examined group dynamics and change over time using a hypothetical example of an Internet group for gays and lesbians. Rather than utilizing traditional definitions of independent and dependent variables, the analysis utilized hypothetical data with nodes or individuals, ties, and the relationships they formed. The recently developed computer program NodeXL provided diagrams and statistics that demonstrated node and tie variation and individual and group development over time. Discussion demonstrated the utility of such diagrams for research and practice.     

近同戈尔斯坦、查隆和比尔商榷

在戈尔斯坦、查隆和比尔最近发表的论文--<高海拔地区缺氧、文化和人类生育力或生殖能力的比较研究>(<美国人类学家>85:28-49,1983)中,作者试图说明,在喜马拉雅山脉以及阿尔卑斯山脉这样的高海拔地区,缺氧不会抑制人类的生殖能力.     

Maintaining the Gains: What Worked in the Year after Brief Family Therapy

Brief family therapy, including single session therapy, is widely used to provide a timely and responsive service for children with emotional and behavioural problems. However, there is surprisingly little information about how these children and families fare in the longer term. The brief family therapy program described here was directed toward children with problems of moderate severity. Child Behaviour Checklists (CBCL) were completed by parents before, three months after, and twelve months after therapy; 110 parents also participated in semi‐structured telephone interviews twelve months after therapy. Parents' CBCL ratings showed a significant decrease in children's problems after therapy, which were maintained over the subsequent year, although some children continued to experience difficulties. Parents generally found brief therapy a helpful experience. Ways to strengthen the preventive possibilities of brief therapy work will be identified at both a practical and conceptual level.     

Impacts of Home Modifications on Aging-in-Place

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between home modifications and aging-in-place. Using the ENABLE-AGE United Kingdom sample (N = 376), the authors hypothesize that seniors who have modified their housing are likely to have stayed longer in their current housing. There is a positive relationship between home modifications and aging-in-place. The results underscore the importance of supportive environment to prolong living in housing settings.