Screening Elders in the Emergency Department at Risk for Mistreatment: A Pilot Study

Impaired functional status is associated with risk of elder mistreatment. Screening for functional impairment in elderly patients admitted to emergency departments could be performed to identify patients at risk for elder mistreatment who might benefit from further evaluation. This study utilized a modified Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) screening tool to identify the proportion of elderly at risk for mistreatment due to functional difficulties presenting to two emergency departments in southeastern Virginia, one urban, the other rural. Of a 180-patient cohort (90 per site), 82 screened positive (46%), ISAR > 2 (range 0–6), indicating nearly half of all patients enrolled are at risk for mistreatment. Patients presenting to the urban emergency departments were potentially more at risk than their rural counterparts (p < 0.01). Health care professionals, particularly in urban settings, should consider screening seniors with a simple tool to identify patients at risk of elder mistreatment.     

Child Abuse and Neglect: Perspectives on a National Emergency

Hundreds of thousands of children are being abused and neglected in the United States annually. The structures devised to respond to this abuse and neglect have been unsuccessful. The United States government continues to spend billions of dollars on programs to deal with the effects of these unsuccessful responses. Child abuse and neglect in the United States now represent a national emergency. In this article, we will provide a historical, cultural, and contemporary perspective on child abuse and neglect. This perspective throws light on the complexity of the national emergency and provides a context for further exploration of the issue.     

Strengthening Citizenship Through Deliberative Polling

This article describes the experience and results of a deliberative poll on transportation priorities and funding, with particular attention to the power of the process to foster citizenship learning and engagement. Evidence from predeliberation and postdeliberation surveys, as well as direct observation of the deliberation day event, indicated that the process could be instituted as a regular means to expand the voice of citizens in public policy debates and to strengthen the formation of citizens in the moral and political habits of democratic self-governance.     

The Unique Culture of Gullah/Geechee Families on the Southern Coast of the United States

The Gullah/Geechee people are a distinct group of African Americans that have been more successful in maintaining customs and traditions from Africa than any other subset of African Americans. This group's unique language is often the first characteristic that brings them to the attention of outsiders; however, upon closer look, their uniqueness is revealed in their art, folklore, music, religion, food, and overall culture. An exploration of the uniqueness of this subgroup of African Americans can provide valuable insight for social workers assisting clients from the Gullah/Geechee culture.     

Work adjustment after combat deployment: reservist repatriation

A longitudinal, qualitative study was conducted with United States (US) Army reservists to explore the concerns and obstacles in the process of returning to the civilian workforce following a combat deployment. A person–environment fit perspective is used to explain the adjustment process and obstacles encountered by the returning reservists. Seven waves of interviews over a 12-month period were conducted. These interviews resulted in the development of a process model of reintegration to work. This process model consists of four phases: Return Home, Return to Work, Activation, and Settling In. We discuss the factors and events that characterize each phase and provide some practical recommendations for employers of military reservists.     

‘Footnotes to Miller and Moore’: Monomyth and Transnationality in the 1986 Superhero Comics

Abstract

New developments in comics studies have begun to consider the superhero comic as a transnational, rather than American, phenomenon. This approach offers a new way of thinking about the typical story that Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s Watchmen jointly upended the comics world in 1986. While there is robust criticism to challenge the idea that 1986 was a miraculous year for comics, the continuing attention drawn by the two works requires us to think further about their apparent similarity. This article proposes the importance of a narrative of American exceptionalism within comics culture as a defining feature of the contemporary context for the production of the works. It then examines their responses to this context, arguing that they undermine the American monomyth of the superhero in different ways that originate in the different national positions of the two writers.