The Implicit Curriculum Survey: An Examination of the Psychometric Properties

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Implicit Curriculum Survey (ICS) using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Students enrolled in four different MSW programs (N=262) from different geographic locations completed the ICS, which is a Web-based survey. The domains of the ICS include field, academics, community, diversity, faculty advising, and support services. The ICS includes quantitative and qualitative responses. However, for this study only the quantitative results were used. The EFA revealed that for each of the subscales, Cronbach’s alphas ranged from .52 to .90 and validity of the ICS was demonstrated through the good model fits found during the factor analysis. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.     

Identifying Associations Between State Medicaid Expansion Decisions and Spatial Disparities in County Insurance Rate Changes Under the Affordable Care Act

By the end of 2014, twenty-four states rejected Medicaid expansion, providing a unique opportunity to examine changes in insurance coverage rates after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act within and between states that did versus did not expand Medicaid. Using multilevel regression analyses of county-level non-elderly adult small area health insurance estimates (N = 3135) from the US Census Bureau, several important findings emerge. Compared to counties located in states that did not expand Medicaid, counties located in states that did expand experienced significantly larger increases in adult health insurance coverage rates between 2013 and 2014, net of the county baseline insurance coverage rate, socioeconomic and demographic composition, and labor market characteristics. In states that did not expand Medicaid, counties with larger shares of vulnerable residents (i.e., poor adults and low education) experienced lagging improvements in health insurance coverage. However, counties in states that expanded Medicaid were protected from several of these exacerbated disparities, and in some cases, experienced larger insurance coverage improvements than counties with less disadvantaged populations. These findings suggest that although insurance coverage increased in nearly all counties between 2013 and 2014, increases would have been larger and disparities would have been further alleviated if more states with highly concentrated vulnerable populations had expanded Medicaid.     

Reassessing and Revising Commuting Zones for 2010: History,Assessment, and Updates for U.S. ‘Labor-Sheds’ 1990–2010

This paper employs commuter flow data from the 1990 and 2000 Decennial Censuses, and the 2006–2010 American Community Survey to replicate, evaluate, and extend the delineation of commuting zones first proposed by Tolbert and Killian (Labor Market Areas for the United States, 1987). Commuting zones offer a valuable tool for research on regional economies and have long served rural sociologists, economists, and geographers interested in a representation of the economy that acknowledges a connection between urban and rural areas and the capacity of economic systems to cross state lines. Our delineations provide both an update in the form of new delineations for 2010 and a revised set of 1990 and 2000 delineations that benefit from a consistent methodology across decades. We also provide a set of tools for comparing delineations across methods and over time. In presenting our revised delineations, we shed light on the role of expert opinion in the original delineations, the strengths and weaknesses of the original method, and offer suggestions for further revision of this tool that may better reflect the theoretical conception of commuting zones.     

The Emotional Experience and Expression of Anger: Children’s Perspectives

The purpose of this study was to explore and identify key themes related to a child’s experience of anger. The existing literature on children’s emotional experiences stems from adult perceptions and interpretations; this study was envisioned to investigate the experience of anger among children using their own words. Furthermore, this study was designed to illustrate a contextual perspective of children’s emotional knowledge, so that teachers, social workers, counsellors and other child mental health professionals may be able to relate and interpret children’s emotional experiences. Participants were male and female students, aged 8–9 years and in a regular grade three classroom within a community school. Through the use of semi-structured interview focus groups conducted over a span of 10 weeks, participants were invited to disclose their understandings of anger and how they experienced it. Results were analyzed via a content analysis that resulted in five themes. These themes consisted of understanding anger, origins of anger, consequences of anger, regulation and resolution of anger, and finally relations with others. Results and implications of the findings were discussed.     

Differential mortality risks from violent causes for foreign- and native-born residents of the USA

This paper examines the differences in adult violent causes (homicide, suicide, vehicle accidents, and otheraccidents) for mortality risks between the Americanforeign- and native-born adult populations, whileconsidering the length of time lived in the USA and the influences of other socio-demographic characteristics. Data came from the National Health InterviewSurvey-National Death Index linked file for the years1989--1995. Cox proportional hazards modelsestimate the association between nativity, length ofstay, and mortality risk for each violent cause. Theresults show that foreign-born persons differ in their risks of violent death vis-á-vis the native-bornpopulation by the amount of the time they have livedin the USA. In particular, recent immigrants (lessthan 15 years) display higher risks fromhomicide, lower risks from suicide, and lower risksfrom other accidents (not vehicle) than thenative-born individuals. This pattern is differentfor longer-term immigrants (15 or more years) whohave, for the most part, similar risks from othercauses of violent death compared to native-bornresidents. The findings suggest that there arecompositional differences between immigrants by length of stay and that the process of acculturation mayinclude the amplification or diminution of risks ofvarious causes of violent death.     

‘Taking advantage’ or fleeing persecution? Opposing accounts of asylum seeking

This paper discursively analyses advocates' explanations of asylum seeking in the 2001 Australian parliamentary debates. Previous research has mapped the negative discourses used to present asylum seekers as economic migrants ‘taking advantage’ of soft laws. This paper analyses how advocates oppose this rhetoric, re‐categorising asylum seekers as potential refugees, and establishing Australia as legally and morally responsible for providing protection. This paper examines three influences shaping advocates' arguments: opposing anti‐asylum seeker rhetoric; theories of the formation of anti‐asylum seeker public opinion; and the parliamentary and wider liberal democratic intellectual political framework. It then analyses four extracts taken from political speeches in the parliament, focussing on the rhetorical strategies used to counter a pervasive ‘culture of disbelief’ against asylum seekers.     

Ethical questions in functional neuroimaging and cognitive enhancement

The new field of neuroethics has recently emerged following unprecedented developments in the neurosciences. Neuroimaging and cognitive enhancement in particular are demanding ethical debate. For example, neuroscientists are able to measure, with increasing accuracy, intimate personal biases and thoughts as they occur in the brain. “Smart drugs” are now available that can effectively and safely enhance mental functioning in both healthy and clinical populations. This article describes the scientific principles behind these technologies, and urges the development of ethical principles based on a clear understanding of them. Europe should take the United States’ lead in devoting resources specifically intended to examine neuroethical concerns within European healthcare and legal frameworks.

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Zusammenfassung Die zahlreichen Entwicklungen in den Neurowissenschaften haben kürzlich zur Entstehung des neuen Feldes der Neuroethik geführt. Vor allem die Möglichkeiten von Neuro-Bildgebung und kognitiver Leistungssteigerung machten eine ethische Debatte erforderlich. So sind Neurowissenschaftler heute in der Lage, mit zunehmender Genauigkeit intime persönliche Neigungen und Gedanken zu messen, sobald sie im Gehirn erscheinen. Zudem gibt es „Smart Drugs”, die mentale Funktionen sowohl in gesunden als auch in klinischen Populationen auf effektive und sichere Weise steigern können. In diesem Beitrag beschreiben wir die wissenschaftlichen Prinzipien hinter diesen Technologien und drängen auf die Entwicklung ethischer Prinzipien auf der Grundlage eines klaren Verständnisses besagter Technologien. Europa sollte dem Beispiel der Vereinigten Staaten folgen und Mittel zur Verfügung stellen, die spezifisch der Untersuchung neuroethischer Belange innerhalb des europäischen Gesundheitswesens und der Gesetzgebung in Europa dienen.

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Resume´ Des développements sans précédent dans les sciences neurologiques ont récemment débouché sur l’émergence du nouveau domaine de la neuro-éthique. La neuroimagerie et l’accroissement du rendement cognitif exigent en particulier un débat éthique. Par exemple, les neuroscientifiques sont en mesure aujourd’hui de mesurer avec une précision croissante les inclinaisons et les pensées intimes personnelles dès leur apparition dans le cerveau. Il existe à présent des « smart drugs », des molécules intelligentes, qui permettent de renforcer de manière efficace et sûre les fonctions mentales de populations saines comme cliniques. Le présent article décrit les principes scientifiques qui se cachent derrière ces technologies et considère qu’il est urgent de développer des principes éthiques fondés sur une compréhension claire de ces technologies. L’Europe devrait suivre l’exemple des États-Unis et consacrer des ressources spécialement destinées à étudier les questions de neuro-éthique au sein de la santé publique européenne et de ses cadres législatifs.

     

Effects of sexually transmitted infection status, relationship status, and disclosure status on sexual self-concept

Research has indicated that having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as genital herpes and genital human papilloma virus (HPV) can have a negative impact on an individual's sexuality. The current study was designed to evaluate the effect of STI status, relationship status, and disclosure status on various dimensions of sexual self-concept. A questionnaire that evaluated the above variables was completed by 117 individuals with genital herpes, 82 individuals with HPV, and 75 individuals with no STI. The results demonstrated that having herpes or HPV had a significant negative impact on aspects of sexual self-concept. It does not appear that an individual's relationship status is a factor associated with the impact of having an STI on the sexual self-concept. Respondents who had disclosed their STI to their partners, however, had significantly more positive feelings about aspects of their sexual self-concept than those who had not disclosed their STI to their partners. The implications of these research findings for health practitioners are discussed.     

The denial of emergency protection: factors associated with court decision making

Despite the importance of civil orders of protection as a legal resource for victims of intimate partner violence, research is limited in this area, and most studies focus on the process following a court's initial issuance of an emergency order. The purpose of this study is to address a major gap in the literature by examining cases where victims of intimate partner violence are denied access to temporary orders of protection. The study sample included a review of 2,205 petitions that had been denied by a Kentucky court during the 2003 fiscal year. The study offers important insights into the characteristics of petitioners and respondents to denied orders and outlines individual, contextual, structural, qualitative/perceptual, and procedural factors associated with the denial of temporary or emergency protective orders. Recommendations for statutory changes, judicial education, and future research to remedy barriers to protection are offered.     

Attitudes and Stereotypes Regarding Older Women and HIV Risk

Persons aged 50 years and over will soon disproportionately represent the future of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is estimated that by 2015 older adults will represent 50% of persons living with HIV in the United States. Despite the HIV/AIDS growing population among older adults, attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes toward older adults that exist in general society have affected HIV prevention, education, and care. Specifically, ageist attitudes about the sexuality of older adults in general and older women in particular, low clinical HIV suspicion among healthcare providers, lack of knowledge about risk among older women, and differentials in power related to negotiating sexual practices all lead to heightened concerns for the prevention, identification, and treatment of HIV disease in mature women. This article examines common attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes that exist within general society as well as health and social service providers that place older women at a disadvantage when it comes to HIV prevention, education, and treatment.