The social auditor

The auditor is essentially a social animal. However, beyond this lies a type of audit called social audit which tries to strike a balance between an organization's social and more traditional business objectives. After the polar contrasting views of monetarist Friedman amd Marxism have been outlined, we concentrate on considering social audit in the more common mixed economy. With no statutory or other requirement for external social audit, the onus is on organizations to take their own initiatives. Internal resistance often needs to progress through five distinct phases to reach acceptance. Some organizations appoint consumer advocates, such as Esther Peterson. There is an underlying statutory basis to social audits, but if this is extended we enter the domain of external pressure groups, such as the private independent Social Audit and the statutory National Consumer Council. Finally, the scope and motivation for internalizing social audit is discussed.     

Sustained work, fatigue, sleep loss and performance: A review of the issues

The physiological and psychological stressors associated with sustained work, fatigue, and sleep loss affect worker performance. This review describes findings relating to sustained work stresses commonly found in our advancing technological world. Researchers report decrements in sustained performance as a function of fatigue, especially during and following one or more nights of complete sleep loss, or longer periods of reduced or fragmented sleep. Sleep loss appears to result in reduced reaction time, decreased vigilance, perceptual and cognitive distortions, and changes in affect. Sleep loss and workload interact with circadian rhythms in producing their effects. These interactions are a major source of stress in work situations requiring sustained work in continuous operations and have implications for theoretical models of sustained perceptual and cognitive functioning.     

Elder Abuse Telephone Screen Reliability and Validity

Purposes: (a) To identify reliable and valid questions that identify elder abuse, (b) to assess the reliability and validity of extant self-reported elder abuse screens in a high-risk elderly population, and (c) to describe difficulties of completing and interpreting screens in a high-need elderly population. Design and Methods: All elders referred to research-trained social workers in a community service agency were asked to participate. Of the 70 elders asked, 49 participated, 44 completed the first questionnaire, and 32 completed the duplicate second questionnaire. A research assistant administered the telephone questionnaires. Results: Twenty-nine (42%) persons were judged abused, 12 (17%) had abuse reported, and 4 (6%) had abuse substantiated. The elder abuse screen instruments were not found to be predictive of assessed abuse or as predictors of reported abuse; the measures tended toward being inversely predictive. Two questions regarding harm and taking of belongings were significantly different for the assessed abused group. Implications: In this small group of high-need community-dwelling elders, the screens were not effective in discriminating between abused and nonabused groups. Better instruments are needed to assess for elder abuse.     

Associations Between Past Bullying Experiences and Psychosocial and Academic Functioning Among College Students

Abstract. Objectives: This study examined whether childhood bullying victimization was associated with psychosocial and academic functioning at college. Participants: The sample consisted of 413 first-year students from a large northeastern university. Methods: Students completed an online survey in February 2012 that included items assessing past bullying involvement, current psychosocial and academic functioning, and victimization experiences since arriving at college. Results: Regression analyses indicated that reports of past bullying and other peer victimization were associated with lower mental health functioning and perceptions of physical and mental health, but were not associated with perceptions of social life at college, overall college experience, or academic performance. Conclusions: Childhood bullying victimization is associated with poorer mental and physical health among first-year college students. Colleges should consider assessing histories of bullying victimization, along with other past victimization exposures, in their service provision to students.