To ITV or Not to ITV: A Comparison of Hybrid and Web-enhanced Approaches to Teaching a Macro-course in Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Hybrid education includes an online component and interaction between students and teacher by televised sound and image. This approach contrasts dramatically with traditional face-to-face teaching and classroom teaching modalities enhanced by Web-based tools. Should educators in “human behavior and the social environment” (HBSE) use hybrid technologies? This study explores the differences and similarities in student satisfaction and learning outcomes between a hybrid and a face-to-face Web-enhanced macro-course in HBSE. Results suggest that hybrid and Web-enhanced course delivery methods do not differently impact student learning. Students did report greater satisfaction with some but not all aspects of the hybrid sections.     

‘Ways of Remembering’: Transatlantic Connections and African Diaspora's Homecoming in the Republic of Benin

Abstract

Since the seventeenth century, the Atlantic ‘perimeter’ has been characterised by exchanges of commodities, bodies and cultural productions. Within this space, West Africa has established itself as an ‘ancestral land’: a pivotal physical and imagined location for its diaspora. Exploring how a ‘homeland’ is constructed, the article analyses practices of homecoming in the contemporary Republic of Benin. It argues that the particular historical conjuncture of the early 1990s, mainly characterised by the democratic transition, has allowed the restoration of Atlantic connections. Aspiring to establish a vibrant tourism industry, the new government strongly encouraged African American homecomings, commemorating the slave trade and celebrating diasporic cultures. The Vodun religion, because of its propagation across the New World through the slave trade, became the core symbol of this reunion, the very evidence of the strength of ancestral linkages and a foundation for black commonality. Reframing notions of ancestry and transnational belongings, the article examines how the insertion of Benin into global, economic and cultural circuits has led to the emergence of new cultural practices, meanings and subjectivities, both related to national and diasporic spaces.     

Frequentist and Bayesian approaches for a joint model for prostate cancer risk and longitudinal prostate-specific antigen data

The paper describes the use of frequentist and Bayesian shared-parameter joint models of longitudinal measurements of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and the risk of prostate cancer (PCa). The motivating dataset corresponds to the screening arm of the Spanish branch of the European Randomized Screening for Prostate Cancer study. The results show that PSA is highly associated with the risk of being diagnosed with PCa and that there is an age-varying effect of PSA on PCa risk. Both the frequentist and Bayesian paradigms produced very close parameter estimates and subsequent 95% confidence and credibility intervals. Dynamic estimations of disease-free probabilities obtained using Bayesian inference highlight the potential of joint models to guide personalized risk-based screening strategies.     

Beyond Study Abroad: A Human Rights Delegation to Teach Policy Advocacy

Advancement of human rights is a core competency in the social work curriculum. Presented is a model to teach policy practice from a human rights perspective based on a violence-against-women delegation visit to Guatemala. Postdelegation policy advocacy responses included White House and State Department briefings on the problems, including femicide. Case examples of witnessed testimony about human rights violations, including rape, femicide, and human trafficking, reflect the unique and dynamic nature of social work practice in a global context. We link Council on Social Work Education core competencies in policy practice and human rights to experiential learning strategies used by the delegation and derive lessons learned to advance human rights education for the profession.     

Teaching Human Development: Current Theoretical Deficits and a Theory-Enriched “Models,Metaphors, and Maps” Remedy

Contemporary social work education in the area of human development is anemic. There is too little coverage of the theoretical frameworks, models, theorists, competencies, and functions necessary to prepare students for careers that apply developmental science. This premise is supported by a content analysis of 12 human development textbooks and 44 course outlines. Three major strategies—teaching by models, teaching by metaphors, and teaching by maps—are described as methods for enriching human development education. Four alternatives for including theoretical content are also offered.     

Adding the “Symbolic” to Interactionist Practice: A Theoretical Elaboration of William Schwartz' Legacy to Group Workers

Symbolic interactionism is one of the premier theoretical perspectives on group life, but group work theorists have neglected it. This article provides metatheoretical reflections on the legacy of William Schwartz and the stalled project of theorizing about the communicative foundation of groups. Exemplars in the interactionist tradition are profiled, and their conceptual and practical contributions to a “symbolic” interactionist group theory are highlighted. The structure of interactionist theory is mapped, and a set of distinctive concepts and assumptions organized around the construct of symbolic practices is presented. The article concludes with a call to group workers to harvest the fruits of the interactionist theoretical and research program.     

桑原骘藏关于安氏家族和布哈拉关系的误解

在详细叙述桑原骘藏关于安氏家族来自布哈拉的论文之后 ,富安敦认为 ,根据《河西节度副大使安公碑铭并序》、《元和姓纂》以及其他一些史料 ,武威安氏家族在汉代由安息入华 ,这个家族的来源与布哈拉没有任何关系     

Prior education and entrepreneurial intentions: the differential impact of a wide range of fields of study

Studies on entrepreneurial intentions often neglect the heterogeneity of individuals’ education background. This paper develops an integrated intention-based framework and analyzes the impact of fields of study on entrepreneurial intentions. Based on a sample of 2423 final-year students, enrolled in 32 fields of study, and resorting to logistic estimations, we find that, beside the attitude towards starting a business, fields of study, considered at a highly detailed level, are relevant (direct and indirect) predictors of entrepreneurial intention. We unambiguously show that there is a huge hidden potential for new venture creation in fields of study related to creative and leisure activities (e.g., Arts and humanities, or, more specifically, Literature and linguistics, History and archaeology, Audio-visual techniques and media production, Sports, and Architecture and town planning), Law, and Health (most notably, Pharmacy and Veterinary). Significant differences in the level of intention between students of different fields of study indicate that universities should more extensively focus entrepreneurship education on students in other subject area than business or engineering/technology sciences.     

Bayesian longitudinal models for paediatric kidney transplant recipients

Chronic kidney disease is a progressive loss of renal function which results in the inability of the kidneys to properly filter waste from the blood. Renal function is usually estimated by the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), which decreases with the worsening of the disease. Bayesian longitudinal models with covariates, random effects, serial correlation and measurement error are discussed to analyse the progression of eGFR in first transplanted children taken from a study in València, Spain.     

Fault Tree Analysis for Exposure to Refrigerants Used for Automotive Air Conditioning in the United States

A fault tree analysis was used to estimate the number of refrigerant exposures of automotive service technicians and vehicle occupants in the United States. Exposures of service technicians can occur when service equipment or automotive air-conditioning systems leak during servicing. The number of refrigerant exposures of service technicians was estimated to be 135,000 per year. Exposures of vehicle occupants can occur when refrigerant enters passenger compartments due to sudden leaks in air-conditioning systems, leaks following servicing, or leaks caused by collisions. The total number of exposures of vehicle occupants was estimated to be 3,600 per year. The largest number of exposures of vehicle occupants was estimated for leaks caused by collisions, and the second largest number of exposures was estimated for leaks following servicing. Estimates used in the fault tree analysis were based on a survey of automotive air-conditioning service shops, the best available data from the literature, and the engineering judgement of the authors and expert reviewers from the Society of Automotive Engineers Interior Climate Control Standards Committee. Exposure concentrations and durations were estimated and compared with toxicity data for refrigerants currently used in automotive air conditioners. Uncertainty was high for the estimated numbers of exposures, exposure concentrations, and exposure durations. Uncertainty could be reduced in the future by conducting more extensive surveys, measurements of refrigerant concentrations, and exposure monitoring. Nevertheless, the analysis indicated that the risk of exposure of service technicians and vehicle occupants is significant, and it is recommended that no refrigerant that is substantially more toxic than currently available substitutes be accepted for use in vehicle air-conditioning systems, absent a means of mitigating exposure.