Beneficiary Work: The Hidden Labor of Medicaid Users Pursuing Cross-State Moves

For users of Medicaid personal care assistance (PCA) services and their families, interstate variation in eligibility and service availability act as structural barriers to cross-state movement. However, program users desire and pursue cross-state moves. In this article, we provide a grounded theory analysis of 18 interviews with Medicaid PCA users with physical disabilities who expressed desire for or pursued cross-state moves. Our analysis identified six forms of previously unnamed and unrecognized work. As PCA users plan or pursue cross-state moves, they are also (1) assessing service ecosystems, (2) finding the right door, (3) persisting through the bureaucratic gauntlet, (4) advocating for systems cooperation, (5) reestablishing networks of support, and (6) responding to service gaps/lapses. Collectively, we describe this hidden labor as beneficiary work, the unremunerated work that program users must do in order to retain access to benefits for which they qualify. Beneficiary work, while hidden, is not optional; it is necessary for continued access to community and broadly, for survival. Identifying and describing beneficiary work expands on Feminist and interactionist perspectives on disability, poverty, and work, and highlights the need for changes to Medicaid policy that address PCA users as mobile citizens.     

Promoting Health and Wellness in African American Males through Rites of Passage Training

The current work presents exploratory research findings related to the effectiveness of Let the Circle Be Unbroken, an African-centered “rites of passage” training program, to promote health and well-being in a sample of high-risk, African American males. An abbreviated version of the ADPRC-TADPOLE questionnaire was administered to 39 African American boys, between the ages of 8 and 16 years, who were participating in a community-based “rites of passage” training program. Findings suggest that the Let the Circle Be Unbroken training program is a viable program for improving self-esteem among young African American males. The implications of this research are relevant to the reduction of some health disparities observed among underrepresented populations, especially African American males.     

Communicating Uncertain Science to the Public: How Amount and Source of Uncertainty Impact Fatalism,Backlash, and Overload

Public dissemination of scientific research often focuses on the finding (e.g., nanobombs kill lung cancer) rather than the uncertainty/limitations (e.g., in mice). Adults (n = 880) participated in an experiment where they read a manipulated news report about cancer research (a) that contained either low or high uncertainty (b) that was attributed to the scientists responsible for the research (disclosure condition) or an unaffiliated scientist (dueling condition). Compared to the dueling condition, the disclosure condition triggered less prevention‐focused cancer fatalism and nutritional backlash.     

The Search for a New OPAC: Selecting an Open Source Discovery Layer

In early 2011, an Indiana University Libraries task force was charged with selecting an open source discovery layer to serve as the public interface for IU's online catalog, IUCAT. This process included creating a rubric of core functionality and rating two discovery layers based on criteria in four main categories: general features and functionality; authentication and account management; export and share; and search functionality and results display. The article includes information about our rubric and the two discovery layers reviewed, Blacklight and VuFind, as well as a discussion of the priorities of the task force. The article concludes with future steps and anticipated highlights for IUCAT.     

Evaluating the Effects of Screening for Telephone Service in Dual Frame RDD Surveys

The high costs and largely unknown error properties of cellulartelephone interviews make screening for cell-only adults a potentiallyattractive option in dual frame RDD surveys. Screening out adultswith landline telephones from the cellular sample does not affectthe coverage properties of a dual frame survey, but it may affectother sources of error, especially nonresponse. In this study,data from a 2006 dual frame RDD survey conducted for the PewResearch Center, the Associated Press, and AOL are used to evaluatethe effects of implementing a cell-only screener on both thebias and variance of weighted survey estimates. The effect ofscreening appears to be minimal so long as an adjustment fortelephone service is included in the weighting method. Resultsof an attempt to correct for residual nonresponse due to inaccessibilityare also discussed.     

Associations between Affect,Context, and Sexual Desire in Depressed Young Women

We investigated associations of sexual desire with time of day, physical and social context, and positive and negative affect using momentary sampling in 44 depressed young women (mean age = 18). Analyses revealed that depressed young women experienced sexual desire when with their boyfriends and later in the evening. Sexual desire was also positively associated with positive affect. Sexual desire was not associated with negative affect or physical context. This research suggests that sexual desire is experienced by depressed young women in normative developmental social contexts. Our findings may help clinicians and sexual health educators in correcting the myth that depressed women do not have sexual desire.     

Social Work Students and Faculty: Testing the Convergence of Perspectives on Student Writing Abilities

Students (n = 244, 76% MSSW) and faculty members (n = 40, 36% tenure or tenure track) at a social work program at a large public southern U.S. university were surveyed to assess within- and between-group differences in perspectives on student writing. Faculty members expressed significantly greater concern with student writing than students. Latina/o, African American, female, and undergraduate students all reported more writing challenges compared to their peers. Likewise, full-time faculty members who teach mainly online or had less training in writing instruction reported more challenges than their colleagues. Overall, our findings support the need for writing interventions that acculturate students to the discipline through a more inclusive, culturally competent discourse as well as increased faculty preparation for teaching writing.