A Survey of 100 Community Colleges on Student Substance Use,Programming, and Collaborations

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to survey community college personnel about student substance use, and infrastructure (staff and funding), programs, and collaborations dedicated to substance use prevention. Participants: The sample included 100 administrators, faculty, and health services staff at 100 community colleges. Methods: Participants completed a Web-based survey. Results: Participants reported a number of alcohol and other drug (AOD) related concerns. Despite limited staff and funding dedicated to AOD, institutions are implementing a number of programs, although many are not implementing some of the programs popular at traditional 4-year colleges. They are also collaborating with a number of on- and off-campus groups. The availability of staff and funding dedicated to AOD, and the presence of residence halls, is associated with health programming and substance abuse collaborations. Conclusions: Results suggest that there is a need for increased research to understand the most effective AOD prevention strategies for community colleges.     

Assessing the Imprint of the Long-gone Hapsburg Empire's Border on the Romanian Students' Migration Intentions

This article aims to identify if belonging to one side or another of the former Hapsburg Empire's border matters in relation to migration intentions. Based on a survey of 3,051 students enrolled at three Romanian universities, and using geo-referencing, data mining tools, logistic regressions and prediction nomograms, we found that students who have their homes in different parts, depending on this historical border, manifest different sensitivity levels towards recognition of their own value and the poor quality of public institutions and services, as they have different perceptions concerning the role of individual freedom, parental role models, the work ethic and interpersonal trust. These differences further generate opposite migration intentions for the two sub-samples. Therefore, students who have their homes in the former Empire's area have lower migration intentions than those outside it, despite their proximity to the western borders. The results suggest various economic and non-economic determinants as important predictors of migration intentions.     

HIV/AIDS stigma manifestations during clinical interactions with MSM in Puerto Rico

HIV/AIDS stigma can have detrimental effects on physician/patient interactions when manifested by health professionals. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS stigma is usually manifested in an intersectional manner with other preexisting stigmas, including stigma toward men who have sex with men (MSM). Therefore, our study aimed to examine the behavioral manifestations of HIV/AIDS stigma among physicians in training during simulated clinical interactions with MSM, and explore the interrelation between HIV/AIDS stigma attitudes and behaviors. We implemented an experimental design using Standardized Patient simulations with a sample of 100 physicians in training in Puerto Rico. Results show a significant difference in the two groups’ means (p?<?.001), with a higher number of stigma behaviors in the HIV MSM patient condition (M?=?6.39) than the common cold control condition (M?=?5.20). Results evidence that stigma manifestations toward MSM with HIV may continue to be an obstacle for public health in Puerto Rico, and that medical training to prevent stigma is still needed.     

Stability and Change of Regional Quality of life in Switzerland, 1978–1996

Data from surveys on local quality of life (QOL) in Switzerland amongthree age cohorts of a combined 87 000 recruits doing their basicmilitary training in 1978, 1987 and 1996 are used in this study in orderto answer the following questions: How stable was the QOLprofile of the whole country since 1978, and how much QOLprofiles changed since then at the four disaggregationlevels of the 26 cantons, 106 regions, 169 urban communities and 91neighborhoods or suburbs of the 7 largest urban agglomerations ofSwitzerland? At the first three disaggregation levels, most of theone-item measures used seem to be rather valid, i.e., they tended infact to generate stable as well as plausible results in unchangingsituations, or to react sensitively to “objectively” changingconditions of life. Where in public discourse QOL attributes arediffuse, i.e. where they are only loosely coupled to acertain village, town, region etc., or where the QOL profiles of smallerterritories are only based on answers of a few respondents, the strongerimpact that unknown measurement errors have under these conditions makesinterpreting the results of some single variables moredifficult. Especially at the level of cantons and regions, however, QOLprofiles defined by spatially well-focused sets of subjectiveindicators are easily interpretable and very stable. Through all threesurveys, they depict and preserve the distinctive characteristics of acanton or region remarkably well. In general, interpreting these surveyresults from the perspective of discursive social psychology proves tobe advantageous.

     

欧洲安全战略与国家的优先选择

从安全威胁的感知、威胁应对方式、资源分配和公众舆论等四个方面对比分析欧洲安全战略视角和欧盟四个主要成员国(法国、德国、意大利、英国)视角的异同可以看出,虽然欧洲安全战略尚未形成一种明显的认同或独立性,而且各欧盟成员国之间还存在重要的分歧,但是它却为共同的安全战略或安全文化的形成奠定了坚实的基础。     

Devout Muslims or tough highlanders? Exploring attitudes toward ethnic nationalism and racism in Europe’s ethnic-Chechen Salafi communities

This is the first article that systematically deconstructs the idealised, widely shared view and formal self-representation of Salafis as a de-culturalised group of Muslim believers who are solely devoted to the idea of a uniform Muslim identity and are indifferent to the notions of ethnic nationalism and racism. Drawing on unique interviews with EU-based ethnic-Chechen émigré Salafis, the article illuminates the ways they draw boundaries and consequently construe their ethnic and racial identities as superior and opposed to Muslims stemming from the Middle East and Central Asia. Below the surface of coherent ideologically shaped self-representations, the diaspora Salafis’ identities reflect the idea of Chechnya’s mountainous topography being conducive to a superior ‘national mentality’, racial purity, and cultural uniqueness. Intriguingly, the diaspora-Chechen Salafis’ attitudes toward Middle Easterners and Central Asians employ a rhetoric which entails similarities with the notion of imagined geographies and to some extent resembles Western Orientalist discourse. In stark contrast to leading Salafi scholars’ statements emphasising a united Muslim identity, which are routinely echoed by outsiders, this article points out the maintenance of strong ethnic-nationalist and racist resentments amongst individual members of this religious community.