Domestic Violence Screening

Because domestic violence is a serious threat to women’s lives and well-being, social workers are encouraged to screen, assess, and implement intervention. National Association of Social Workers members from Florida were surveyed in order to understand their screening barriers and behaviors. Participants with more Continuing Education Units, agency inservice hours, and additional training perceived fewer barriers to screening, screened more, and identified more domestic violence victims. Multiple regression analysis showed that perceived self-efficacy, paperwork screening reminders, and inservice training hours explained 38.5% (35.8% adjusted) of the variability in screening behaviors. Screening is an important component in the process of helping battered women.     

Effects of Familiarity and Feeding on Newborn Speech–Voice Recognition

Newborn infants preferentially orient to familiar over unfamiliar speech sounds. They are also better at remembering unfamiliar speech sounds for short periods of time if learning and retention occur after a feed than before. It is unknown whether short‐term memory for speech is enhanced when the sound is familiar (versus unfamiliar) and, if so, whether the effect is further enhanced by feeding. We used a two‐factorial design and randomized infants to one of four groups: prefeed‐unfamiliar, prefeed‐familiar, postfeed‐unfamiliar, and postfeed‐familiar. Memory for either familiar or unfamiliar speech (the infant's mother saying “baby” versus a female stranger saying “beagle”) was assessed using head turning to sound in an habituation–recovery paradigm and a retention delay of 85 sec either before or after a typical milk feed. Memory for the familiar speech–voice was enhanced relative to the unfamiliar speech–voice, expressed by significantly less head turning toward the habituated sound stimulus when it was re‐presented after the delay. Memory for familiar or unfamiliar speech was not significantly enhanced from pre‐ to postfeeding, nor was there a significant interaction. This is the first demonstration in newborns that familiarity enhances short‐term memory for speech–voice sound.     

Living in Sin? Religion and Cohabitation in Britain 1985–2005

Frequency of cohabitation among 13,703 adults from the British Social Attitudes data set for 1985–2005 peaked at around 26–30 years of age and increased significantly over the period of study. Cohabitation frequency was compared between those of no religious affiliation and Christian affiliates who (a) attended church at least once a month, (b) attended church but less than once a month, and (c) never attended church. Active Christians were 3.2 times less likely to cohabit than nonaffiliates, and rates of cohabitation have remained stable over time in this group. Christian affiliates who never attended church were 1.2 times less likely to cohabit than nonaffiliates, suggesting that even affiliation without attendance may indicate greater affinity to Christian moral attitudes compared with nonaffiliates.     

Supply and demand: A study of labour market trends and the employment of new social work graduates in victoria

Abstract

At a time of significant restructuring in the community services labour market, it is particularly pertinent to analyse the current labour market opportunities available to new social work graduates. In 1995, using a small RMIT-funded (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) research grant, five schools of social work in Victoria collaborated to pilot a survey of the employment paths of the previous year's social work graduates. The survey was repeated in 1996. A complementary project which analysed the job advertisements for social work and social work-related positions during six months in both 1995 and 1996 provided further insight into the employment opportunities being advertised. Survey results showed a high rate of employment among new graduates with a decreasing number of graduates being employed in designated “social work” positions. This trend was reflected in the requirements for the positions advertised. The implications of this diversity of jobs and the decrease in designated “social work” positions are discussed, particularly in terms of broader changes in the world of work.     

Towards Program Evaluation for Practitioner Learning: Human Service Practitioners' Perceptions of Evaluation

Abstract

While human service practice improvement is acknowledged as an important outcome of program evaluation, much evaluation is narrowly focused on accountability requirements. This type of evaluation often has limited use and relevance to human service practitioners. In exploring forms of evaluation that do have practice relevance, this article presents the experiences and perceptions of human service practitioners subject to evaluations that set out to foster learning. Across the cases participants expressed concerns about data quality and credibility, the relevance of evaluation data to the program context, the invasiveness of the evaluation, management of the process (particularly limited consultation with practitioners), and the lack of effective dissemination. These cases illustrate the challenges for evaluation to be useful to practice, and to foster meaningful improvements to services.     

Effect of Seminar on Compassion on student self-compassion,mindfulness and well-being: A randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT

Objective: Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to have psychological benefits in college students. We explored the effects of an academic Seminar on Compassion on student psychological health. Participants: Forty-one participants (14 male, 27 female, mean age 19.8 ± 1.4 years) were assessed pre- and post- spring semesters 2013 and 2014. Methods: Students were randomized to the Seminar on Compassion or a wait-list control group. Participants completed self-report measures on anxiety, depression, perceived stress, self-compassion, compassion and mindfulness. Salivary alpha-amylase was also assessed. Results: At baseline, self-compassion and mindfulness were negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and perceived stress. There were significant changes between the intervention and control group from Time 1 to Time 2 in mindfulness, self-compassion, compassion, and salivary alpha-amylase; however, there were no significant changes in depression, anxiety, and perceived stress. Conclusions: The course was effective in increasing mindfulness, self-compassion and compassion, and decreasing a salivary marker of stress.     

Relationships between use of dietary supplements,caffeine and sensation seeking among college students

Abstract

Objective: Caffeine and dietary supplement (DS) use by college students is not well-documented. Given reported associations between energy drink consumption and sensation seeking, we used the Sensation Seeking Scale Form V (SSS-V) to assess relationships between sensation-seeking, caffeine, and DS use. Participants: Data from 1,248 college students from five US institutions were collected from 2009 to 2011. Methods: Linear regression was used to examine relationships between scores on the SSS-V and caffeine and DS use, demographic, and lifestyle characteristics. Results: Male sex, nonHispanic race-ethnicity, higher family income, tobacco use, consuming caffeinated beverages, more than 400?mg caffeine per day, and energy drinks with alcohol at least 50% of the time, were significantly associated with higher total SSS-V scores (P?<?0.001). Those using protein DSs had higher total, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility SSS-V scores (Ps?<?0.001). Conclusions: Results demonstrate a positive correlation between sensation-seeking attitudes and habitual caffeine, energy drink, and DS consumption.     

Can we talk about the right to healthcare without language? A critique of key international human rights law,drawing on the experiences of a Deaf woman in Cape Town,South Africa

A case study in Cape Town, South Africa, explores the right to health for signing Deaf ¹ 1. By Deaf (capitalised) we understand those permanently sensorily disabled people who are born deaf or who become deaf as children and whose first language is sign – South African Sign Language (SASL) in this country. View all notes patients attending health services and who are unable to communicate in a language they understand. It argues that, without language, Deaf South Africans’ dignity and right to health is violated, resulting in serious consequences such as incorrect diagnosis, improper treatment and standard of care not being applied. It critiques the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the limits of General Comment 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The paper demonstrates that Deaf patients do not have informational access to healthcare. It argues that language via professional interpreter services is essential to their South African constitutional right of access to healthcare. General Comment 14 addresses informational accessibility, but this is insufficient without addressing language as a pre-requisite. The CRPD imposes on the South African government human rights obligations to provide professional interpreter services for Deaf people, but unfortunately it allows a loophole by enabling cost to serve as reasonable grounds to defer action.     

Interdisciplinary Co-Facilitation of Support Groups for Parents of Children with Autism: An Opportunity for Professional Preparation

Skillful cofacilitation of groups provides group members with shared leadership, combined knowledge, and broadened problem-solving capability. Interdisciplinary cofacilitation offers group members different points of view and diverse professional expertise. This article presents a support group approach for parents of children diagnosed with autism and describes the benefits of interdisciplinary cofacilitation by social workers and early childhood special educators. The advantages and challenges of interdisciplinary cofacilitation are discussed.     

Analysis of error-prone survival data under additive hazards models: measurement error effects and adjustments

Covariate measurement error occurs commonly in survival analysis. Under the proportional hazards model, measurement error effects have been well studied, and various inference methods have been developed to correct for error effects under such a model. In contrast, error-contaminated survival data under the additive hazards model have received relatively less attention. In this paper, we investigate this problem by exploring measurement error effects on parameter estimation and the change of the hazard function. New insights of measurement error effects are revealed, as opposed to well-documented results for the Cox proportional hazards model. We propose a class of bias correction estimators that embraces certain existing estimators as special cases. In addition, we exploit the regression calibration method to reduce measurement error effects. Theoretical results for the developed methods are established, and numerical assessments are conducted to illustrate the finite sample performance of our methods.