Behavioral contracting: theory and design

An agreement binding a worker and a client, or members of a family, to change specific, measurable behaviors is an effective way to achieve mutual benefits.     

A Decision Theory Perspective on the Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste

In this paper the problem of high-level nuclear waste disposal is viewed as a five-stage, cascaded decision problem. The first four of these decisions having essentially been made, the work of recent years has been focused on the fifth stage, which concerns specifics of the repository design. The probabilistic performance assessment (PPA) work is viewed as the outcome prediction for this stage, and the site characterization work as the information gathering option. This brief examination of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository through a decision analysis framework resulted in three conclusions: (1) A decision theory approach to the process of selecting and characterizing Yucca Mountain would enhance public understanding of the issues and solutions to high-level waste management; (2) engineered systems are an attractive alternative to offset uncertainties in the containment capability of the natural setting and should receive greater emphasis in the design of the repository; and (3) a strategy of waste management should be adopted, as opposed to waste disposal, as it allows for incremental confirmation and confidence building of a permanent solution to the high-level waste problem.     

Risk filtering, ranking, and management framework using hierarchical holographic modeling.

This paper contributes a methodological framework to identify, prioritize, assess, and manage risk scenarios of a large-scale system. Qualitative screening of scenarios and classes of scenarios is appropriate initially, while quantitative assessments may be applied once the set of all scenarios (hundreds) has been prioritized in several phases. The eight-phase methodology is described in detail and is applied to operations other than war. The eight phases are as follows: Phase I, Scenario Identification-A hierarchical holographic model (HHM) is developed to describe the system's "as planned" or "success" scenario. Phase II, Scenario Filtering-The risk scenarios identified in Phase I are filtered according to the responsibilities and interests of the current system user. Phase III, Bi-Criteria Filtering and Ranking. Phase IV, Multi-Criteria Evaluation. Phase V, Quantitative Ranking-We continue to filter and rank scenarios based on quantitative and qualitative matrix scales of likelihood and consequence; and ordinal response to system resiliency, robustness, redundancy. Phase VI, Risk Management is performed, involving identification of management options for dealing with the filtered scenarios, and estimating the cost, performance benefits, and risk reduction of each. Phase VII, Safeguarding Against Missing Critical Items--We examine the performance of the options selected in Phase VI against the scenarios previously filtered out during Phases II to V. Phase VIII, Operational Feedback-We use the experience and information gained during application to refine the scenario filtering and decision processes in earlier phases. These eight phases reflect a philosophical approach rather than a mechanical methodology. In this philosophy, the filtering and ranking of discrete scenarios is viewed as a precursor to, rather than a substitute for, consideration of the totality of all risk scenarios.     

Elderly prisoners: a growing and forgotten group within correctional systems vulnerable to elder abuse

There are over 2.1 million people incarcerated in the nation's jails and prisons. Additionally, close to 600,000 prisoners are released annually into communities across the country. Many prisoners and those released from prisons are elderly. The purpose of this article is to examine the systemic abuse and neglect experienced by elderly prisoners while they are incarcerated and when they are released from prison. Most correctional systems have inadequate resources, processes, and personnel to manage the elderly population inside and outside of prisons. In addition to providing a definition of "elderly prisoner," two specific problems-prison health care and prisoner re-entry-are examined in the article. The article concludes with recommendations for both policy and research on how best we can further understand and address the multiple needs and concerns faced by elderly prisoners.     

Is Video-Game Playing a Risk Factor for Pathological Gambling in Australian Adolescents?

Very little research has been conducted to examine the relationship between video-game playing and gambling in adolescence. In this study, 2,669 adolescents aged 13–17 years were surveyed to obtained details of their involvement in gambling and video-game playing as well as a measure of pathological gambling (the DSM-IV-J). The results showed that, the frequency of video game playing was significantly related to pathological gambling, but that the effect size was very small and largely accounted for by the greater popularity of both activities amongst boys. There was some evidence for stronger associations between technologically similar activities, namely arcade video games and an interest in gaming machines, but other factors discussed in the paper may also account for this association. In summary, the findings suggested that playing video-games is unlikely to be a significant risk factor for pathological gambling during adolescence.

The morning after Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission report: decolonisation through hybridity,ambivalence and alliance

Abstract

In Canada, 2015 will be remembered for the publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report which related to all Canadians the impacts of the Indian residential school system. The Commission invokes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and uses the term reconciliation as a national strategy for moving forward. This paper employs an autoethnographic methodology and proposes that reconciliation might benefit by finding ways of confronting the Other within; I describe my reflections on a trip to the 2015 conference Learning at Intercultural Intersections at Thompson Rivers University. My social and cultural experiences as a Korean Canadian academic and administrator are challenged in order to consciously shift my own colonising mindset. Reconciliation in Canada will require significant personal, professional, institutional and sociocultural inquiry. What does it mean to discover the Other within? How do we walk with Indigenous peoples? How do educators come to be called ally by Indigenous peoples?     

An Assessment of Social Work Education Efforts to Recruit and Retain MSW Students of Color

Social work programs in the United States (N=74) were investigated to determine strategies used for recruiting and retaining MSW students of color. Most schools had student populations exceeding 25,000 and combined BSW, MSW, and PhD programs. Data were collected using a Graduate Recruitment and Retention Scale with corresponding and acceptably stable subscales (alpha coefficients=.86 and .83, respectively). Long-term and durable problems were revealed vis-à-vis graduate student diversity, and few significant differences existed between public and private MSW program student diversity efforts. One exception was personalized follow-up to inquiries about application processes (p=0.01). Public or private status did not predict student diversity efforts in recruitment (Lambda [20, 35]=0.542, p>0.05, partial eta squared=0.458) or retention (Lambda [13, 50]=0.865, p>0.05, partial eta squared=0.135).