Mark My Words! Service User and Carer Involvement in Social Work Academic Assessment

This paper discusses the involvement of service users in academic assessment as part of a second year module for social work undergraduate students at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. The three main tasks undertaken in partnership are detailed: designing an assessment form, assessment of student group presentations and assessment of a written reflective essay. The paper starts by identifying key questions raised by the assessor team before providing a critical commentary on the process, and identifying challenges and learning points. The experience emphasises the need for a more critical and searching approach towards service user involvement in social work education in academic assessment. Moreover, the team's experience suggests that such work is best achieved in the context of collaborative working relationships based on trust, with opportunities for team reflection and supported by training in academic assessment.     

Health and quality of life of older people,a replication after six years

Replicating a survey of 875 people 55 years old or more undertaken in September 1999 throughout the former Northern Interior Health Region (NIHR) of British Columbia, in September 2005 a sample of 656 people completed a 22-page questionnaire. The average age of the respondents was 68, with a range running from 55 to 96 years, and 64% were women. Responses to the SF-36 questionnaire indicated that for male respondents aged 55–64, the mean score for the 8 dimensions was 76.1. This mean was a bit higher than the 74.4 mean of 1999. For male respondents aged 65 and older the mean was 69.0, which was also higher than the 68.3 mean of 1999. For females aged 55–64, the mean score for 8 dimensions was 73.1, versus 73.0 in 1999. For female respondents aged 65 and older, the mean score was 67.0, versus 65.4 in 1999. Based on these mean scores for the 8 dimensions, then, it is fair to say that the overall health status of males and females aged 55 years and older in the region in 2005 was at least as good as (i.e., the same as or better than) that in 1999. Comparing 28 average figures for the 2005 respondents on satisfaction with specific domains of life (e.g., financial security, health, sense of meaning) and three global indicators (satisfaction with life as a whole and with the overall quality of life, and happiness) with those of the 1999 respondents, we found that the scores for the 2005 sample were at least as high as those of the other sample. Thus, it seems fair to say that the perceived quality of life of older people in the former NIHR so far as it is revealed in domain and global satisfaction and happiness scores, is at least as good as the perceived quality of life of a similar sample in 1999. Although a large majority perceived increases in crime in the 2 year periods prior to both surveys, smaller percentages of the 2005 sample than of the 1999 sample thought that crime had increased over the past two years, avoided going out at night, feared for their safety, had crime-related worries, engaged in crime-related defensive behaviours and were actually the victims of any crimes. Therefore, it seems fair to say that, so far as crime-related issues are concerned for the two samples of seniors responding to our surveys, there is more evidence of improvement than of deterioration. Applying stepwise multiple regression, each of the eight dependent variables was explained on the basis of four clusters of predictors separately and then a final regression was run using only the statistically significant predictors from the four clusters. Broadly speaking, 7 SF-36 health status scales explained from 28% to 45% of the variance in the 8 dependent variables, running from satisfaction with the overall quality of life (28%) to the single item measure of general health (45%). The seven predictors in the Social Relations cluster explained from 7% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 57% of the variance in the Life Satisfaction scores. The four predictors in the Problems cluster explained from 10% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 24% of the variance in the SWLS scores. The 11 predictors in the Domain Satisfaction cluster explained from 14% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 64% of the variance in the SWB scores. Putting all the significant predictors together for each dependent variable, in the weakest case, 4 of 11 potential predictors explained 33% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores and in the strongest case, 9 of 15 potential predictors explained 70% of the variance in Life Satisfaction scores. Among other things, these results clearly show that respondents’ ideas about a generally healthy life are different from, but not independent of, their ideas about a happy, satisfying or contented life, or about the perceived quality of their lives or their subjective wellbeing. Finally, the 7 core discrepancy predictors of MDT plus incomes were used to explain the eight dependent variables. From 13% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 57% of the variance in SWLS scores was explained using those predictors. Based on an examination of the Total Effects scores for the predictors of the 8 dependent variables, the most influential predictors were Self-Wants, followed by Self-Others and then Self-Best. In other words, the most influential discrepancy predictors of respondents’ overall life assessments were those between what respondents have versus what they want, followed by what they have versus what others of the same age and sex have, and then by what they have versus the best they ever had in the past. We would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for support of this research with funds granted to Alex C. Michalos through the Gold Medal Award in 2004.     

“So Tight in the Thighs,So Loose in the Waist”

While a wide range of research documents how media continue to devalue female athletes, negatively affecting female body image and perceptions of female athletic ability, new media technologies are allowing athletes to potentially challenge these representations. This essay focuses on @SoccerGrlProbs, the Twitter handle of an anonymous group of soccer players, and their interaction with over 180,000 followers. Examining how @SoccerGrlProbs constructs female athletic identity, it considers how this identity is taken up by girls and young women in their own self-constructions as athletes. It argues that @SoccerGrlProbs enables young female athletes to negotiate the conflicting demands of emphasized femininity and athleticism by inspiring self-constructions that allow them to claim athletic “somebodiness” while simultaneously subverting sports discourses emphasizing self-mastery and female athletes' (hetero)sexual attractiveness.     

Is Pesticide Use Socially Acceptable? A Comparison between Urban and Rural Settings

Objective . This study examines key factors that are identified as theoretically probable influences on levels of public acceptance of pesticide use. Research questions were generated about the relationship between levels of acceptability of pesticide use and measures of trust in information about pesticides from various sources, perceptions of the safety of pesticides, concerns about exposure, personal experiences with pesticides, place of residence (urban/rural), and several other demographic variables. Methods . These factors were examined using data gathered in a random-sample, self-completion survey of residents in urban and rural areas in a northern Utah county. Results . Bivariate analysis indicates significant differences between urban and rural respondents that disappear when examined in multivariate analyses. The perception of the safety of pesticides is the variable most strongly associated with levels of acceptability of pesticide use. Conclusions . Personal experience with pesticides is more important than residency in predicting acceptability levels. Trust is a significant predictor for perceptions of safety, but not for acceptability.     

Some Bayesian Methods for Two Auditing Problems

Two problems of interest to auditors are: (i) finding an upper bound for the total amount of overstatement of assets in a set of accounts; and (ii) estimating the amount of sales tax owed on a collection of transactions. For the first problem, the Stringer bound has often been used despite the fact that in many cases it is known to be much too large. Here we will introduce a family of stepwise Bayes models that yields bounds that are closely related to the Stringer bound but are less conservative. Then we will show how this approach can also be used for solving the second problem. This will allow practitioners with modest amounts of prior information to select inference procedures with good frequentist properties.     

Awareness and use of a university recreational trail

The purpose of this study was to assess awareness and use of a university recreational trail. The authors used an Internet questionnaire developed by the university's Institutional Research Department, with questions derived from the Environmental Supports for Physical Activity Questionnaire and the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey Physical Activity Module. Four hundred and sixty-seven undergraduate college students participated. Ninety-one percent of students reported being aware of the trail, and 73% reported using the trail. Sixty-four percent of students reported seeing signage referring to the recreational trail. Sixty-seven percent of the students reported using the trail once in the past week, 7% reported using the trail twice in the past week, and only 2% of the students reported using the trail more than 3 times in the past week. Sixty-two percent reported using the trail with another individual. Students who were aware of the trail were more likely to use the trail. However, of the individuals who used the trail, the majority only used the trail 1 day a week. University programming is needed to increase trail usage among college students.     

Formative evaluation of a motivational intervention for increasing physical activity in underserved youth

The present study was designed to develop an innovative motivational intervention (based on Self-Determination Theory and Social Cognitive Theory) to increase physical activity (PA) in underserved adolescents. Sixty-four adolescents (35 females, 29 males; 50% minority; 65% on reduced lunch program; ages 11-13 yr) participated in either an 8-week motivational intervention after-school (n = 32) or a typical after-school program (n = 32). The conceptual framework for the intervention targeted the social environment (perceived autonomy, perceived social support, participation, fun), cognitive mediators (perceived choice, self-efficacy, and relatedness/belongingness), and motivational orientation (intrinsic motivation, commitment, positive self-concept). Formative evaluation data was collected by staff through daily forms throughout the 8-week program and through observational data completed by independent objective observers during 2 weeks of the program. The major themes that were identified addressed theoretical concepts regarding the intervention and logistical issues in delivering the intervention. The data revealed information regarding the importance of the cognitive appropriateness of the PA and motivational activities, the environmental climate for promoting nurturing relationships, developing specific strategies for increasing intrinsic rather than extrinsic reinforcement, and developing methods for preventing social "cliques" and gender conflicts to maintain an appropriate level of support in the social climate. Themes for training staff included focusing on team building, leadership, and nurturing. This formative evaluation is being used to formalize a randomized trial to test the effects of a student-centered motivational intervention on increasing PA in underserved 6th graders.     

Trajectories of discrimination among Chinese American youth: Variation,predictors, and outcomes

Using 3 waves of longitudinal data from 444 Chinese American adolescents (M_age = 13.04 at Wave 1, 54% identified as women), the current study explored if there was variation in discrimination trajectories from early to late adolescence and whether contextual and individual factors predicted trajectories as well as if trajectories were associated with academic achievement and mental health. Three distinct discrimination trajectories were identified: low-increasing, moderate-stable, and high-decreasing. The results also revealed that neighborhood Chinese concentration and adolescents' acculturation predicted discrimination trajectories. Different trajectories were also associated with depressive symptoms; adolescents in the high-decreasing trajectory reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in late adolescence than in the other two trajectories. The findings highlight the heterogeneity in Chinese American adolescents' discrimination experience.