Impact of perceived second-hand consequences related to alcohol use on college students' drinking behavior intent: a test of feasibility

This article presents the results of an experiment designed to determine the impact of a group discussion about second-hand consequences of alcohol use on college students' intentions to consume alcohol. Participants were students enrolled in two large Community Health courses at a large Midwestern university (n = 184). After randomization of class sections into an intervention or a control group, intervention group students participated in a class discussion on the negative consequences college students experience as a result of other students' drinking behavior, prior to answering survey questions regarding their drinking behavior intent. Compared to controls who completed the questionnaire only, intervention group participants reported intent to limit themselves to fewer drinks per drinking occasion (p = .003) and fewer drinks per week (p = .004). The effects of the brief educational intervention were analyzed using structural equation modeling, to test the feasibility of a hypothesized intervention mechanism.     

Evaluating consumer satisfaction in residential continuing care settings

The outcome of the project reported on here is a client-centered consumer satisfaction questionnaire designed to evaluate new models of residential continuing care in Alberta, Canada. Satisfaction is defined as a multi-dimensional construct that is grounded in the consumer's experience. Consultation with the clients of the services during development of the instrument ensured that characteristics important to the clients were assessed. The result is an instrument with which to measure satisfaction that is fully client-centered and that, with appropriate modifications, can be used to monitor any client-centered program for cognitively-able continuing care clients.     

Reducing integrins improves the quality of fly life

Integrins are cell surface receptors that mediate adhesion to the extracellular matrix. In this Perspective, we focus on the recent finding that a decrease in the levels of integrins yields fruit flies that retain youthful mobility as they age and display an increased mean life span. We discuss how the reduction of integrin activity might lead to the observed changes.     

Identifying meaning and perceived level of satisfaction within the context of work

OBJECTIVE: The primary objectives of this study were to identify sources of meaning for individuals within the context of a work environment, and to compare varied sources of meaning for individuals with high and low work satisfaction levels. METHOD: Participants were chosen based on satisfaction levels in employment, full-time employment status within an organization for at least one year, and diversity in the work setting. Data were gathered through a series of interviews and observations of the participants' workplaces. A comparative analysis of transcribed interviews was conducted by the researchers and with an expert occupational therapy faculty panel. From these analyses, the researchers developed work narratives for a mechanical engineer, a high school teacher, an employee of mechanical services, and a career service counselor. RESULTS: Emerging themes from the work narratives indicated that the various meanings employees found in work had an effect on their perceived levels of job satisfaction. Participants conveyed that organization identification, financial benefits, independent decision-making, reciprocal respect, opportunities for creativity, and maintaining significant relationships outside of work enhanced meaning and satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The worker role is a significant source of an individual's identity, meaning, and satisfaction in life. Professionals in various fields can work with employers to develop meaningful work environments for increased job satisfaction, greater motivation for work, increased productivity, and decreased employee turnover.     

Is volunteer labor part of household production? Evidence from married couples

Volunteer labor is generally modeled as an individualistic pursuit, akin to leisure or to human capital accumulation. Some activities labeled as volunteering, however, may be more usefully thought of as quid pro quo time commitments that are part of securing services for family members. Parents are frequently expected to volunteer, for example, when their children participate in youth sports leagues or school marching bands. In such cases, volunteering is essentially an instance of household production undertaken outside the home. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we divide volunteering into three categories—youth-related, religious, and non-youth-related secular—according to the likelihood that an instance of volunteering in the category represents household production. We find evidence that husbands and wives respond to one another’s time pressures such that youth-related volunteering looks like a task for which husbands’ and wives’ time inputs substitute for one another. Further, we find this pattern for housework, and not for other forms of volunteering. An increase in either spouse’s hours of market work will significantly reduce that spouse’s likelihood of volunteering for youth-related activities while raising the partner’s likelihood of volunteering. A similar pattern holds for hours volunteered to youth-related activities, with the wife’s responses achieving statistical significance.     

Medical decision-making: Whose values?

Abstract

Bioethical debates contribute to discussions about the direction of healthcare funding as we enter the twenty - first century. The funding of healthcare is debated by economists, bioethicists and clinicians. Because of their practice experience and knowledge base social workers are also well-placed to contribute to such issues. The debate has taken place at the ‘macro’ rather than the ‘micro’ level. Yet many ethical decisions about healthcare are made at the patient's bedside. Are they procedural or clinical decisions? Are decisions made for a group or class of patient or on an individual basis? Answers for these questions are sought in a study of medical decision-making for head-injured patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a major teaching hospital.

This paper attempts to draw out ethical principles which are part of medical decision-making. The notion of contextual ethics is likened to the ecological approach of Carel Germain which provides a useful framework for ethnomethodological research.     

Interactional Associations of Gender on Savings Behavior: Showing Gender’s Continued Influence on Economic Action

This study looks at how gender relates to a critical economic behavior—savings activity. We start with the proposition that gender is not merely an additional variable to explain savings choices. Gender is the primary type of social categorization in the U.S. today. Therefore, other variables will be differently relevant to savings depending on gender. We use a national survey, the 2006 Economic Decision Making Survey conducted by Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, to examine the proposition. Basic frequencies reveal nonsignificant differences in savings participation across gender, but regression analysis including interactions of gender with other key variables reveals that multiple aspects of individuals’ lives are influenced by gender to predict savings plan participation.     

Modeling Imbalanced Economic Recovery Following a Natural Disaster Using Input‐Output Analysis

Input‐output analysis is frequently used in studies of large‐scale weather‐related (e.g., Hurricanes and flooding) disruption of a regional economy. The economy after a sudden catastrophe shows a multitude of imbalances with respect to demand and production and may take months or years to recover. However, there is no consensus about how the economy recovers. This article presents a theoretical route map for imbalanced economic recovery called dynamic inequalities. Subsequently, it is applied to a hypothetical postdisaster economic scenario of flooding in London around the year 2020 to assess the influence of future shocks to a regional economy and suggest adaptation measures. Economic projections are produced by a macro econometric model and used as baseline conditions. The results suggest that London's economy would recover over approximately 70 months by applying a proportional rationing scheme under the assumption of initial 50% labor loss (with full recovery in six months), 40% initial loss to service sectors, and 10–30% initial loss to other sectors. The results also suggest that imbalance will be the norm during the postdisaster period of economic recovery even though balance may occur temporarily. Model sensitivity analysis suggests that a proportional rationing scheme may be an effective strategy to apply during postdisaster economic reconstruction, and that policies in transportation recovery and in health care are essential for effective postdisaster economic recovery.     

Forecasting the Incidence of Cancer in Regional Victoria,Australia

Loddon Mallee Integrated Cancer Service plays a key role in planning the delivery of cancer services in the Loddon Mallee Region of Victoria, Australia. Forecasting the incidence of cancer is an important part of planning for these services. This article is written from an industry perspective. We describe the context of our work, review the literature on forecasting the incidence of cancer, discuss contemporary approaches, describe our experience with forecasting models, and list issues associated with applying these models. An extensive bibliography illustrates the world-wide interest in this forecasting problem. We hope that it is useful to researchers.