Strategies for enhancing online teaching in social work education

ABSTRACT

In response to the growing importance of online education in social work education, this article describes the context of online teaching and learning in social work education. Online teaching and learning are further discussed in the context of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We emphasize the importance and need for trained faculty to teach in an online environment, particularly in HBCUs; offer an example of how the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU, prepares its faculty to teach online; and conclude with specific strategies for online teaching and social work faculty. Finally, we provide recommendations for social work education.     

Modified linear programming and class 0 bounds for graph pebbling

Given a configuration of pebbles on the vertices of a connected graph G, a pebbling move removes two pebbles from some vertex and places one pebble on an adjacent vertex. The pebbling number of a graph G is the smallest integer k such that for each vertex v and each configuration of k pebbles on G there is a sequence of pebbling moves that places at least one pebble on v. First, we improve on results of Hurlbert, who introduced a linear optimization technique for graph pebbling. In particular, we use a different set of weight functions, based on graphs more general than trees. We apply this new idea to some graphs from Hurlbert’s paper to give improved bounds on their pebbling numbers. Second, we investigate the structure of Class 0 graphs with few edges. We show that every n-vertex Class 0 graph has at least \(\frac{5}{3}n - \frac{11}{3}\) edges. This disproves a conjecture of Blasiak et al. For diameter 2 graphs, we strengthen this lower bound to \(2n - 5\), which is best possible. Further, we characterize the graphs where the bound holds with equality and extend the argument to obtain an identical bound for diameter 2 graphs with no cut-vertex.     

Nonparametric estimation of regression models with mixed discrete and continuous covariates by the K-nn method

In this article we consider the problem of estimating a nonparametric conditional mean function with mixed discrete and continuous covariates by the nonparametric k-nearest-neighbor (k-nn) method. We derive the asymptotic normality result of the proposed estimator and use Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate its finite sample performance. We also provide an illustrative empirical example of our method.     

How does discharge status impact suicide risk in military veterans?

Little is known about over 125,000 veterans who received non-honorable military discharges since 2001, even though these veterans face substantial barriers to obtaining services and are likely to be at high risk for negative mental and behavioral health outcomes including suicide. Seven-hundred twenty-two veterans living the in the San Francisco Bay Area participated in the study. The sample comprised honorably discharged (n = 508) and non-honorably discharged veterans (n = 214). T-tests were used to compare means on predictors of suicide risk including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol use, somatic symptoms, and physical disability. A series of regression models tested relationships between predictors, discharge status, and suicide risk. Non-honorably discharged veterans demonstrated higher mean scores than honorably discharged veterans on all predictors. In regression models, somatic symptoms (β = 0.22, p < 0.001), physical disability (β = 0.16, p < 0.05), and discharge status (β = 0.33, p < 0.001) were associated with suicide risk. The final model showed an interaction effect for discharge status on the relationship between somatic symptoms and suicide risk (β = 0.16, p < 0.05). Non-honorably discharged veterans showed higher rates of mental and physical health problems and suicide risk compared to honorably discharged veterans. The magnitude of the relationship between somatic symptoms and suicide risk was significantly greater in non-honorably discharged veterans.     

MORTALITY,HEALTH STATUS,AND WEALTH

In this paper we use the two waves of the British Retirement Survey (1988/1989 and 1994) to quantify the relationship between socioeconomic status and health outcomes. We find that, even after conditioning on the initial health status, wealth rankings are important determinants of mortality and the evolution of the health indicator in the survey. For men aged 65 moving from the 40th percentile to the 60th percentile in the wealth distribution increases the probability of survival by between 1.0 and 1.9 percentage points depending on the measure of wealth used. A similar effect is found for women of between 1.1 and 1.3 percentage points. In the process of estimating these effects we control for nonrandom attrition from our sample. (JEL: I2, J19)     

State of public relations education in the United States: 2006 report on a national survey of executives and academics

A survey of 312 public relations executives and educators examined how well practitioners and instructors perceive public relations students to be prepared for the practice, the content and value of public relations curricula and, the future of public relations education in the United States. Results are largely consistent with those from a slightly smaller 1998 survey, suggesting that the views of both groups are consistent over time and providing the first two data points in what it is hoped will develop into a longitudinal line of research addressing public relations education. Judgments regarding the desired characteristics among job applicants and essential curriculum content were extremely similar between the practitioner and educator groups with both wanting more emphasis on research, ethics and strategic planning as the field moves from a low-paid technical emphasis toward a much better paid strategic planning and research emphasis.     

Understanding Ivy Lee's declaration of principles: U.S. newspaper and magazine coverage of publicity and press agentry, 1865–1904

Ivy Lee's 1905 “Declaration of Principles” has been called the “starting point of modern public relations,” but what did it mean in the context of his time? Analysis of press discussion finds that, while press agentry was connected to the circus and theater, “corporate publicity” was linked to Theodore Roosevelt's call for the release of financial information in the public interest. The paper confirms that scholars do not have a clear understanding of public relations history and identifies areas for further research.     

A Test of the Cross-Sectional Robustness of the Arbitrage Pricing Model Using Foreign Exchange Rates*

This paper tests the cross-sectional robustness of the arbitrage pricing theory (APT) model using foreign exchange rate data to determine if the model is robust with respect to the various random samples and various factor analytic techniques. Factor scores are developed using various samples and factor analytic techniques to explain the returns for other samples and groupings. The APT model is found to be robust across samples and techniques.     

ON THE INEFFECTIVE EDUCATION OF DECISION SCIENTISTS

There is general agreement that the training of decision scientists during the past ten years has left much to be desired. This note presents nine rules relating to the fundamental reasons for the failure of training programs, along with suggestions for improving the present state of affairs.