The Kids Say Project: Supporting Children to Talk about their Experiences and to Engage in Decision-making

Research and policy calls for hearing the voices of children and youth in out-of-home care and involving them in decisions about their own lives. The “Kids Say” cards were designed to facilitate this engagement, particularly with Indigenous children and youth. A feasibility study explored the extent to which the Kids Say cards were acceptable to young people, and prompted discussion about their lives and what is important to them. The study involved 47 participants, aged 7 to 18 years, from three cultural groups: Aboriginal n?=?20; culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) n?=?10; non-Indigenous English-speaking n?=?17. The cards were found to be appealing to all three groups, and to facilitate child and youth voice. Findings also did not differ significantly according to gender or age. These preliminary findings indicate the potential value of appropriate practice tools to support children and youth to share their experiences and participate in decision-making.

IMPLICATIONS

• Engaging resources, such as the Kids Say resource, are potentially valuable in supporting practitioners to encourage children and young people to share their experiences and participate in decision-making about their own care and service needs.

• Training in creating safe sharing contexts for children and young people is essential. While emphasis is often given to gathering child voices, there is a need for at least equal emphasis on respectful adult listening.

     

DriveID: safety innovation through individuation

The driving task is highly complex and places considerable perceptual, physical and cognitive demands on the driver. As driving is fundamentally an information processing activity, distracted or impaired drivers have diminished safety margins compared with non- distracted drivers (Hancock and Parasuraman, 1992; TRB 1998 a & b). This competition for sensory and decision making capacities can lead to failures that cost lives. Some groups, teens and elderly drivers for example, have patterns of systematically poor perceptual, physical and cognitive performance while driving. Although there are technologies developed to aid these different drivers, these systems are often misused and underutilized. The DriveID project aims to design and develop a passive, automated face identification system capable of robustly identifying the driver of the vehicle, retrieve a stored profile, and intelligently prescribing specific accident prevention systems and driving environment customizations.     

Civil Citations for Cannabis Possession: Alternatives to Arrest for Adolescent Substance Use

Results from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) have indicated that approximately 8% of responding adolescents ages 12–17 engaged in illicit substance use during the past year; the most commonly reported substance used was marijuana (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), NSDUH series H-44, HHS publication no. (SMA) 12-4713, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, MD, 2012). Importantly, marijuana use places adolescents at risk of arrest when found in possession of cannabis. Drug abuse violations are associated with multiple consequences for the youth, their families, and communities. Policy makers, therefore, have encouraged the use of civil citations to reduce drug abuse related arrests for youth. Purpose: The current study sought to identify and describe civil citations use for youth marijuana possession. Methods: Using a secondary dataset, we examined aggregate arrests in a Central Florida county. Results: During a 3-year period, 1635 arrests were made for cannabis possession. The vast majority of such arrests were for multiple charges (n?=?1272; 78%). For those arrested due to cannabis possession alone (n?=?363; 22%), over 75% were adults (n?=?281). Therefore, only 82 youth were arrested under the charge, accounting for less than one quarter of all arrests for F.S. §893.13.6b (2013). However, the majority of these youth were detained in juvenile assessment centers (65%, n?=?59); a rate markedly higher than their adult counterparts (37%, n?=?105). Discussion: Due to the concerns associated with arrest and detainment, the authors contend efforts should be made to increase use of civil citations for youth with cannabis possession when possible. Implications for policy are presented.     

Dialogues with entrepreneurs in China: How start-up companies cultivate relationships with strategic publics

This qualitative study examined relationship cultivation and public relations practices in start-up companies in Mainland China. Findings from 28 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs in China¹ suggest that employees and customers are the most important strategic publics for start-ups, followed by investors, the media, and the government. Symmetrical relationship cultivation strategies suggested in previous literature apply to the start-up context in China with specific variations. New strategies such as vision and value communication, empowerment, authentic communication, and proactive reporting were identified for start-ups to build quality relationships with various strategic publics. Compared with large established corporations, start-ups have unique public relations purposes, needs, and scope of practice. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Depression screening,education, and treatment at the workplace: A pilot study utilizing the CDC Health Scorecard

Depression is a significant health issue for many Americans, ranking among the top worksite issues resulting in referrals to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) with prevalence rates in the working population of more than 6%. This study was part of a larger statewide assessment conducted using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Worksite Health Scorecard. The purpose of this study is to examine the number of Kentucky workplaces currently offering screening, education, and treatment related to depression. The study also aims to compare the number of Kentucky workplaces offering these elements by size and industry type. The one-time, cross-sectional assessment surveyed a random sample of 1,200 worksites to examine worksite offerings of screening, education, counseling, management training, and health insurance coverage related to depression. Results showed that the majority of worksites do not provide employee depression screening, education and counseling, management training on identifying warning signs of depression, or comprehensive treatment and follow-up for employees with depression. Smaller worksites (<250 employees) were even less likely than larger companies to provide screening, education, counseling, training, and insurance coverage for depression. Increasing the provision of these wellness components at the worksite has potential to improve the quality of life for employees and reduce the financial burden to employers.     

Climatic conditions and infant care: implications for child nutrition in rural Ethiopia

Population and Environment - We examine the relationships between climatic conditions, breastfeeding behavior, and maternal time use in Ethiopia. Infant feeding practices are important predictors...     

A Comparative Cancer Risk Evaluation of MTBE and Other Compounds (Including Naturally Occurring Compounds) in Drinking Water in New Hampshire

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was added to gasoline in New Hampshire (NH) between 1995 and 2006 to comply with the oxygenate requirements of the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act. Leaking tanks and spills released MTBE into groundwater, and as a result, MTBE has been detected in drinking water in NH. We conducted a comparative cancer risk assessment and a margin-of-safety (MOS) analysis for several constituents, including MTBE, detected in NH drinking water. Using standard risk assessment methods, we calculated cancer risks from exposure to 12 detected volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including MTBE, and to four naturally occurring compounds (i.e., arsenic, radium-226, radium-228, and radon-222) detected in NH public water supplies. We evaluated exposures to a hypothetical resident ingesting the water, dermally contacting the water while showering, and inhaling compounds volatilizing from water in the home. We then compared risk estimates for MTBE to those of the other 15 compounds. From our analysis, we concluded that the high-end cancer risk from exposure to MTBE in drinking water is lower than the risks from all the other VOCs evaluated and several thousand times lower than the risks from exposure to naturally occurring constituents, including arsenic, radium, and radon. We also conducted an MOS analysis in which we compared toxicological points of departure to the NH maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 13 µg/L. All of the MOSs were greater than or equal to 160,000, indicating a large margin of safety and demonstrating the health-protectiveness of the NH MCL for MTBE.     

Somatic illness and psychosocial risk among military Amerasian adolescents and young adults in Luzon,the Philippines

There are very few empirical mental health studies of military Filipino Amerasians, progeny of United States servicemen and Filipina national mothers abandoned during overseas duty. A preliminary finding in a 3-year, multiple-case study focusing primarily on stigmatization-related psychosocial risk and stress and their relationship to core mental health symptomatology showed elevated prevalence (56%) of somatic illness and probable somatization disorder among the sample (N = 16). Somatic complaints were categorized as a mental stress factor in the overall study showing (62.5%) scoring severe levels of anxiety, depression or stress using the Depression, Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). The unexpected presence of somatic illness is noteworthy and with palliative implications for medical and clinical social workers and allied health professionals. Such practitioners are likely to encounter Amerasian clients who apparently number well over 50,000 throughout the archipelago, and treat Amerasians having experienced racial stigmatization and presenting psychosomatic physical ailments possibly masking somatization complications and psychopathological disorder.