A Study of the Utility of a Participative Approach to Employee Attitude Surveys as a Management Tool at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-05-01

Classification) A Study of the Utility of a Participative Approach to Employee Attitude Surveys as a Management Tool at the Audie L. Murphy Memoria VA...Engineering-49, Medical-38, Laboratory-32, Social Work-23, and RMS-19.) The responses of employees in all other services would be collectively identified...Laboratory 47 Social Work 78 All Others 50 TABLE 3 Positive Responses to Question Thirteen By Service Comparing responses by salary level the average positive

Dyadic Collaboration among Preschool-Age Children and the Benefits of Working with a More Socially Advanced Peer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Jeongeon; Lee, Jeonghwa

2015-01-01

Research Findings: This study examined the learning effects of collaborative group work under heterogeneous group composition among 5-year-old children, especially in terms of their social skills. To this end, the study utilized an experimental research design wherein 3 groups of differently composed dyads and a group of students who worked alone…

Utility of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for Educational Psychologists' Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aljunied, Mariam; Frederickson, Norah

2014-01-01

Despite embracing a bio-psycho-social perspective, the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) assessment framework has had limited application to date with children who have special educational needs (SEN). This study examines its utility for educational psychologists' work with…

Knowledge diffusion in social work: a new approach to bridging the gap.

PubMed

Herie, Marilyn; Martin, Garth W

2002-01-01

The continuing gap between research and practice has long been a problem in social work. A great deal of the empirical practice literature has emphasized practice evaluation (usually in the form of single-case methodologies) at the expense of research dissemination and utilization. An alternative focus for social work researchers can be found in the extensive theoretical and research literature on knowledge diffusion, technology transfer, and social marketing. Knowledge diffusion and social marketing theory is explored in terms of its relevance to social work education and practice, including a consideration of issues of culture and power. The authors present an integrated dissemination model for social work and use a case example to illustrate the practical application of the model. The OPTIONS (OutPatient Treatment In ONtario Services) project is an example of the effective dissemination of two research-based addiction treatment modalities to nearly 1,000 direct practice clinicians in Ontario, Canada.

Faculty Experiences of Merger and Organizational Change in a Social Work Program.

PubMed

Adedoyin, A Christson; Miller, Monte; Jackson, Mary S; Dodor, Bernice; Hall, Kristen

2016-01-01

Social work programs are experiencing unprecedented organizational changes due to budget cuts, dwindling resources, global, and technological challenges. However, there is limited information in the literature about the merger experiences of faculty in social work programs. On one hand undergoing merger and reorganization provides the opportunity to reorganize, reprioritize, re-assess, develop strategies, and explore previously untapped opportunities for social work programs. Conversely, merger experiences have caused frustration, intention to quit, confusion, and loss of professional identity for social work faculty. In this article the authors utilize a journaling method and sense-making approach of the merger experiences of some of the faculty members of a social work program in the United States. The authors suggest a framework to understand how the faculty confronted the challenges, overcame the pitfalls, and maximized the opportunities offered during the merger and organizational change process.

Laying the Foundations for Scientometric Research: A Data Science Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perron, Brian E.; Victor, Bryan G.; Hodge, David R.; Salas-Wright, Christopher P.; Vaughn, Michael G.; Taylor, Robert Joseph

2017-01-01

Objective: Scientometric studies of social work have stagnated due to problems with the organization and structure of the disciplinary literature. This study utilized data science to produce a set of research tools to overcome these methodological challenges. Method: We constructed a comprehensive list of social work journals for a 25-year time…

Utilizing Video Conferencing to Introduce an International Perspective to Foundation Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forgey, Mary Ann; Loughran, Hilda; Hansen, Johna

2013-01-01

Video conferencing has much potential to enrich international social work education. In this educational initiative, video conferencing was used to deliver a joint foundation social work practice class to students attending an MSW degree program both in the United States and in Ireland. Student feedback indicated that they gained an appreciation…

THE USE OF RESEARCH RESULTS IN TEACHING SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LAWRENCE, RICHARD G.

BECAUSE THE SUCCESS OF INTERVENTION DEPENDS UPON THE VALIDITY OF THE PROPOSITIONS EMPLOYED, AND BECAUSE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ASSURES VALIDITY BY PROVIDING THE MOST SYSTEMATIC AND RIGOROUS ATTENTION TO PROBLEMS, THE UTILIZATION OF RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT TO SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE. SEVERAL FACTORS LIMIT ITS USE--(1) ALTHOUGH CONCEPTS ARE CLEARLY DEFINED…

Undergraduate Social Work Students' Perceptions of a Team-Based Learning Approach to Exploring Adult Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watkins, Karen; Forge, Nicholas; Lewinson, Terri; Garner, Brittany; Carter, Larance D.; Greenwald, Lindsay

2018-01-01

Social work educators are challenged to adopt innovative instructional methods and pedagogies to prepare students to meet the contemporary needs of diverse client populations. A team-based learning (TBL) approach is a pedagogical strategy that utilizes cooperative and collaborative learning principles to inspire academic, professional, and…

Beyond Diversity and Inclusion: Creating a Social Justice Agenda in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lerner, Justin E.; Fulambarker, Anjali

2018-01-01

A social justice classroom agenda relies on the ability of educators to create a space free from microaggressions that can be strengthened through an approach of cultural humility. Utilizing Bonnycastle's social justice continuum, this article explores how to create a classroom grounded in social equality and guided by social work values to foster…

Feminist Social Work: Practice and Theory of Practice.

PubMed

Eyal-Lubling, Roni; Krumer-Nevo, Michal

2016-07-01

Although feminist social work has been practiced in Israel since the 1970s, little has been written about it. This qualitative study aims to fill this gap by documenting and conceptualizing feminist theory of practice and actual practice based on interviews with 12 feminist social workers. Findings reveal that the interviewees perceive feminist practice as significantly different from traditional social work practice based on four analytical principles: (1) gender analysis, (2) awareness of power relations, (3) analysis of welfare services as structures of oppression, and (4) utilization of feminist language, as well as 10 principles of action. The principles are discussed in the context of feminist social work in Israel and in light of feminist principles described in international literature.

Social Capital, Human Capital and Parent-Child Relation Quality: Interacting for Children's Educational Achievement?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Otter, Cecilia; Stenberg, Sten-Åke

2015-01-01

We analyse the utility of social capital for children's achievement, and if this utility interacts with family human capital and the quality of the parent-child relationship. Our focus is on parental activities directly related to children's school work. Our data stem from a Swedish cohort born in 1953 and consist of both survey and register data.…

Sex, race, and the adverse effects of social stigma vs. other quality of life factors among primary care patients with moderate to severe obesity.

PubMed

Wee, Christina C; Davis, Roger B; Chiodi, Sarah; Huskey, Karen W; Hamel, Mary B

2015-02-01

Patients with obesity face widespread social bias, but the importance of this social stigma to patients relative to other quality of life (QOL) factors is unclear. Our aim was to examine the importance of obesity-related social stigma relative to other QOL factors on reducing patients' overall well-being. We used a cross-sectional telephone interview. The study was conducted at four diverse primary care practices in Greater Boston. Three hundred and thirty-seven primary care patients aged 18-65 years and with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 kg/m(2) or higher participated in the study. Patients' health utility (preference-based QOL measure) was determined via responses to a series of standard gamble scenarios assessing willingness to risk death to lose various amounts of weight or to achieve perfect health. We used the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-lite instrument to assess QOL domains specific to obesity (physical function, self-esteem, sexual life, public distress or social stigma, and work), and we examined variation in utility explained by these domains. Depending on patients' race/ethnicity, mean health utilities ranged from 0.92 to 0.99 among men and from 0.89 to 0.93 among women. After adjustment for race, BMI, and education, none of the QOL domains explained much of the variation in utility among men, except for work function among Hispanic men. In contrast, social stigma was the leading QOL contributor to utility for Caucasian women (explaining 6 % of the marginal variation beyond demographics and BMI). In contrast, sexual function was the most important contributor among African American women (3 % marginal variation), and work life was most important among Hispanic women (> 20 % in variation). Lower scores in one domain did not always translate into lower well-being. Moreover, QOL summary scores often explained less of the variation than some individual domains. Obesity-related social stigma had disproportionate adverse effects on Caucasian women patients' well-being, whereas weight-related impairment in work function was particularly important among Hispanic patients and impaired sexual function was important to diminished well-being among African American women although its impact appeared modest.

Functions of Conflict: Perceived Utility in the Emergent Professions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henkin, Alan B.; And Others

1991-01-01

Describes perceptions of conflict as a utility (functional conflict) among 1,953 department executives in programs of social work, education, and nursing (the emergent professions); and analyzes perceptual data in terms of organizational conflict climate and demographics. Variations in terms of perceived operational utility of organizational…

A postgraduation follow-up of social work students trained in "SBIRT": Rates of usage and perceptions of effectiveness.

PubMed

Senreich, Evan; Ogden, Lydia P; Greenberg, Joy Pastan

2017-01-01

Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based modality that can help social workers work with substance-using clients as part of an integrated health care approach. This study reports the findings of a post-graduation one-year follow-up survey of 193 master's and bachelor's social work students trained in SBIRT in practice courses at a Northeast urban college. Forty-three percent of the trainees who were practicing social work after graduation were using SBIRT. A content analysis of participants' comments found that the vast majority found SBIRT to be a valuable practice modality, with barriers to utilization of SBIRT identified.

Utilizing International Clinical Practice to Build Inter-Cultural Sensitivity in Social Work Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krajewski-Jaime, Elvia R.; And Others

1996-01-01

Twenty-three undergraduate social work students from Eastern Michigan University completed a seven-week internship in a geriatric unit at a Mexico City hospital. Analyzes stages that students went through as they began to realize the importance of cultural context and to understand cultural differences in human behavior and service provision.…

Establishing a Community of Inquiry through Hybrid Courses in Clinical Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferrera, Maria; Ostrander, Noam; Crabtree-Nelson, Sonya

2013-01-01

Utilizing the conceptual framework of Garrison, Anderson, and Archer for critical inquiry, this paper outlines the importance of the community of inquiry (COI) model and how it may inform online social work education. Integrating the COI model, we discuss how online learning in the classroom with a hybrid approach has been used to facilitate…

Christian Feminism in Action: Kate Cocks's Social Welfare Work in South Australia, 1900-1950

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trethewey, Lynne

2007-01-01

Utilizing a biographical approach and network analysis, this article examines one South Australian woman's life of public and Methodist social welfare service in the post-suffrage era. It is argued that although Kate Cocks (1875-1954) viewed her welfare work as "a God-given mission", as "practical Christian service", personal…

Cost Analysis of a Distance Education MSW Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stotzer, Rebecca L.; Fujikawa, Keith; Sur, Jill; Arnsberger, Pam

2013-01-01

The use of technology to facilitate education and the provision of an entire higher education degree has exploded in the last two decades. Social work educators have been a part of that trend and have started to utilize distance education (DE) technologies. There is a growing literature regarding the efficacy of DE instruction in social work, and…

Adolescent Work, Vocational Development, and Education

PubMed Central

Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J.; Mortimer, Jeylan T.

2006-01-01

This review examines contemporary issues in vocational development with emphasis on adolescents’ work experiences in social context. Attention is directed to the changing social and cultural context for vocational development, the influence of work experience on adolescent development and educational achievement, and theoretical approaches that guide contemporary studies of vocational development and career maturity. In light of the utility of current theories, new directions are suggested to enhance understanding of adolescent employment, vocational development, and educational pursuits. Social policy initiatives to promote adolescents’ exercise of agency and their vocational development are considered. PMID:17387375

Resource Guide to Effective Utility Management and Lean

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Water and wastewater utilities are critical to the environmental, economic, and social well being of our nation’s communities, as they work to ensure that the public continues to enjoy the benefits of clean and safe water.

Critical Aesthetic Pedagogy: Toward a Theory of Self and Social Empowerment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Medina, Yolanda

2012-01-01

This book introduces a progressive type of education called Critical Aesthetic Pedagogy. This pedagogy utilizes the arts to promote critical learning, and incorporates particular types of aesthetic experiences into pedagogical practices to increase students' social empowerment and commitment to social justice. The first coherent body of work that…

Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.

PubMed

Kerfoot, Karlene

2008-06-01

The precursor to leadership success is the ability to learn about and utilize the social identity of the group as it has evolved. The most successful have expertise in assessing the social identity of groups and developing a commonality of a shared vision that represents the best work of the group and of the leader.

Leadership: social identity and guiding from within.

PubMed

Kerfoot, Karlene M

2009-01-01

The precursor to leadership success is the ability to learn about and utilize the social identity of the group as it has evolved. The most successful have expertise in assessing the social identity of groups and developing a commonality of a shared vision that represents the best work of the group and of the leader.

The why of practice: utilizing PIE to analyze social work practice in Australian hospitals.

PubMed

Nilsson, David; Joubert, Lynette; Holland, Lucy; Posenelli, Sonia

2013-01-01

This research used a collaborative approach to gain a comprehensive, quantitative understanding of the breadth and depth of the social work role in health care. Data was collected from individual interviews with all employed hospital social workers (N = 120) across five Melbourne, Australia health networks about their most recently completed case. This data was coded using a revised version of the Karls and Wandrei (1994) Person-in-Environment (PIE) tool to retrospectively analyze the reasons for social work involvement over the course of the case. The findings demonstrate that the hospital social work role is multidimensional across a number of domains but centers predominantly on assisting clients and their significant others with issues of altered social roles and functioning; particularly in relation to role responsibility, dependency, and managing associated role-change losses. The findings of this study will assist hospital social workers, managers, and academics to better describe and effectively undertake this complex work. These findings will also assist in the development of professional training and education to up-skill social workers who operate within this complex setting.

Utility of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for educational psychologists’ work

PubMed Central

Aljunied, Mariam; Frederickson, Norah

2014-01-01

Despite embracing a bio-psycho-social perspective, the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) assessment framework has had limited application to date with children who have special educational needs (SEN). This study examines its utility for educational psychologists’ work with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Mothers of 40 children with ASD aged eight to 12 years were interviewed using a structured protocol based on the ICF framework. The Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorder (DISCO) was completed with a subset of 19 mothers. Internal consistency and inter-rater reliability of the interview assessments were found to be acceptable and there was evidence for concurrent and discriminant validity. Despite some limitations, initial support for the utility of the ICF model suggests its potential value across educational, health and care fields. Further consideration of its relevance to educational psychologists in new areas of multi-agency working is warranted. PMID:26157197

The Reverse of Social Anxiety Is Not Always the Opposite: The Reverse-Scored Items of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale Do Not Belong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Woods, Carol M.; Heimberg, Richard G.

2007-01-01

Although well-used and empirically supported, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) has a questionable factor structure and includes reverse-scored items with questionable utility. Here, using samples of undergraduates and a sample of clients with social anxiety disorder, we extend previous work that opened the question of whether the…

The Principal's Experience through the Process of Implementing Social Media in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovecchio, Michael J.

2013-01-01

As school districts struggle to identify the role social media will play both inside and outside of the classroom, educational leaders can no longer ignore the benefits that these tools provide to students, stakeholders and faculty members. The potential challenges facing school leaders working in schools that utilize social media is extensive.…

Utilizing Social Work Skills to Enhance Entrepreneurship Training for Women: A Ghanaian Perspective

PubMed Central

Agbényiga, DeBrenna L.; Ahmedani, Brian K.

2009-01-01

This article describes a women’s entrepreneurship exchange program that was designed and facilitated with the cooperation of various governmental and nongovernmental entities in Ghana for Ghanaian women. The article briefly reviews the entrepreneurship development literature from an international perspective and discusses the Entrepreneurship Program as a targeted approach for empowering and sustaining women’s economic situation in Ghana. Emphasis is placed on understanding the impact of cultural and social networks and the women’s ability to succeed as entrepreneurs through the use of social work skills. PMID:20011682

Utilizing Social Work Skills to Enhance Entrepreneurship Training for Women: A Ghanaian Perspective.

PubMed

Agbényiga, Debrenna L; Ahmedani, Brian K

2008-12-01

This article describes a women's entrepreneurship exchange program that was designed and facilitated with the cooperation of various governmental and nongovernmental entities in Ghana for Ghanaian women. The article briefly reviews the entrepreneurship development literature from an international perspective and discusses the Entrepreneurship Program as a targeted approach for empowering and sustaining women's economic situation in Ghana. Emphasis is placed on understanding the impact of cultural and social networks and the women's ability to succeed as entrepreneurs through the use of social work skills.

Links between social environment and health care utilization and costs.

PubMed

Brault, Marie A; Brewster, Amanda L; Bradley, Elizabeth H; Keene, Danya; Tan, Annabel X; Curry, Leslie A

2018-01-01

The social environment influences health outcomes for older adults and could be an important target for interventions to reduce costly medical care. We sought to understand which elements of the social environment distinguish communities that achieve lower health care utilization and costs from communities that experience higher health care utilization and costs for older adults with complex needs. We used a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach. We classified community performance based on three outcomes: rate of hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions, all-cause risk-standardized hospital readmission rates, and Medicare spending per beneficiary. We conducted in-depth interviews with key informants (N = 245) from organizations providing health or social services. Higher performing communities were distinguished by several aspects of social environment, and these features were lacking in lower performing communities: 1) strong informal support networks; 2) partnerships between faith-based organizations and health care and social service organizations; and 3) grassroots organizing and advocacy efforts. Higher performing communities share similar social environmental features that complement the work of health care and social service organizations. Many of the supportive features and programs identified in the higher performing communities were developed locally and with limited governmental funding, providing opportunities for improvement.

Technology-based Interventions in Social Work Practice: A Systematic Review of Mental Health Interventions

PubMed Central

Montgomery, Katherine

2014-01-01

Despite concerns around the use of technology-based interventions, they are increasingly being employed by social workers as a direct practice methodology to address the mental health needs of vulnerable clients. Researchers have highlighted the importance of using innovative technologies within social work practice, yet little has been done to summarize the evidence and collectively assess findings. In this systematic review, we describe accounts of technology-based mental health interventions delivered by social workers over the past 10 years. Results highlight the impacts of these tools and summarize advantages and disadvantages to utilizing technologies as a method for delivering or facilitating interventions. PMID:25321935

Technology-based interventions in social work practice: a systematic review of mental health interventions.

PubMed

Ramsey, Alex T; Montgomery, Katherine

2014-10-01

Despite concerns around the use of technology-based interventions, they are increasingly being employed by social workers as a direct practice methodology to address the mental health needs of vulnerable clients. Researchers have highlighted the importance of using innovative technologies within social work practice, yet little has been done to summarize the evidence and collectively assess findings. In this systematic review, we describe accounts of technology-based mental health interventions delivered by social workers over the past 10 years. Results highlight the impacts of these tools and summarize advantages and disadvantages to utilizing technologies as a method for delivering or facilitating interventions.

Social Skills Training in Correctional Treatment: An Educational Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodrick, David D.; Reed, Thomas

The authors describe the utilization of psychological methods in training or retraining of prison guards/staff who engaged in an action project with prisoners. Social skills training, behavioral training and effective living approaches are described as they may be integrated into training of persons who work with inmates of correctional…

A Framework for Teaching Social and Environmental Sustainability to Undergraduate Business Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brumagim, Alan L.; Cann, Cynthia W.

2012-01-01

The authors outline an undergraduate exercise to help students more fully understand the environmental and social justice aspects of business sustainability activities. A simple hierarchical framework, based on Maslow's (1943) work, was utilized to help the students understand, analyze, and judge the vast amount of corporate sustainability…

The Social Integration of Supported Employees: A Qualitative Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagner, David C.

This study utilized qualitative methods to examine the social interactions that occur within supported employment settings between workers with disabilities and nondisabled co-workers. The study also examined the job supports at work settings, to understand the relationship between formal, job coach support services and natural job supports. Seven…

The Youth Ecological-Resilience Scale: A Partial Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Breda, Adrian D.

2017-01-01

Purpose: In South Africa, the field of scale development and utilization in social work is referred to as "ecometrics," that is, the measurement of ecological constructs. There is, however, a lack of ecometric tools for social workers, particularly regarding strengths or resilience. Given the high vulnerability of South African youth,…

Key influences on motivations for utility cycling (cycling for transport to and from places).

PubMed

Heesch, Kristiann C; Sahlqvist, Shannon

2013-12-01

Although increases in cycling in Brisbane are encouraging, bicycle mode share to work (the proportion of people travelling to work by bicycle) in the state of Queensland remains low. The aim of this qualitative study was to draw upon the lived experiences of Queensland cyclists to understand the main motivators for utility cycling (cycling as a means to get to and from places) and compare motivators between utility cyclists (those who cycle for utility as well as for recreation) and non-utility cyclists (those who cycle only for recreation). For an online survey, members of a bicycle group (831 utility cyclists and 931 non-utility cyclists, aged 18-90 years) were asked to describe, unprompted, what would motivate them to engage in utility cycling (more often). Responses were coded into themes within four levels of an ecological model. Within an ecological model, built environment influences on motivation were grouped according to whether they related to appeal (safety), convenience (accessibility) or attractiveness (more amenities) and included adequate infrastructure for short trips, bikeway connectivity, end-of-trip facilities at public locations and easy and safe bicycle access to destinations outside of cities. A key social-cultural influence related to improved interactions among different road users. The built and social-cultural environments need to be more supportive of utility cycling before even current utility and non-utility cyclists will be motivated to engage (more often) in utility cycling. SO WHAT?: Additional government strategies and more and better infrastructure that support utility cycling beyond commuter cycling may encourage a utility cycling culture.

Swamp Works- Multiple Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carelli, Jonathan M.; Schuler, Jason M.; Chandler, Meredith L.

2013-01-01

My Surface Systems internship over the summer 2013 session covered a broad range of projects that utilized multiple fields of engineering and technology. This internship included a project to create a command center for a 120 ton regolith bin, for the design and assembly of a blast shield to add further protection for the Surface Systems engineers, for the design and assembly of a portable four monitor hyper wall strip that could extend as large as needed, research and programming a nano drill that could be utilized on a next generation robot or rover, and social media tasks including the making of videos, posting to social networking websites and creation of a new outreach program to help spread the word about the Swamp Works laboratory.

STEM Students' Social Agency and Views on Working for Social Change: Are STEM Disciplines Developing Socially and Civically Responsible Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garibay, Juan C.

2015-01-01

Utilizing a national sample of over 6,100 undergraduates, drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's (CIRP) Freshman Survey and College Senior Survey, this study investigates differences between STEM and non-STEM students at the end of college on the values they place on helping to create a more equitable society. Findings show…

Social Consequences of Nomadic Working: A Case Study in an Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Ramanjit; Wood-Harper, Trevor

This research study identified social challenges that knowledge workers in the Swedish organization TeliaSonera (Telia) face when utilizing wireless technologies to conduct work on the move. Upon collecting the relevant research data, five problem areas were identified: work and life balance, addiction, organizational involvement, nomadic work and control, and individual productivity. Each problem area was examined with the philosophical underpinning of socio-technical design principles. The results confirm that better role boundary management, self-discipline, work negotiation, and e-mail communication skills may be required for the knowledge workers to manage the demands of nomadic working. Similarly, rewarding nomadic work performance, building employee supervisor trust relations, and designing jobs that enhance work and life balance can be imperative.

Clinical social work roles in an integrative, interdisciplinary team: enhancing parental compliance.

PubMed

Terry, P O

1981-01-01

This paper is directed toward those attempting to develop effective social work functions within an interdisciplinary treatment team and utilizes a specialized group as a demonstration model. The Inborn Errors of Metabolism Team at the University of Tennessee Child Development Center deals with children whose genetic disorders require precise dietary management for the prevention of various handicapping conditions including mental retardation. Representatives of the six disciplines forming the core team recognize that professional interdependence must combine with parental cooperation if the program is to succeed. The clinical social worker is a permanent member of the team and focuses on the family during the years each child is followed. Social work roles are multiple and include those of crisis interventionist, family therapist, marriage counselor, patient advocate, and team interpreter. Such social work involvement is essential in the holistic approach to long-term patient care which recognizes that no disorder exists apart from the patient, nor the patient from his family.

Social Justice Literacies in the English Classroom: Teaching Practice in Action. Language and Literacy Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyd, Ashley S.

2017-01-01

This timely book focuses on different social justice pedagogies and how they can work within standards and district mandates in a variety of English language arts classrooms. With detailed analysis and authentic classroom vignettes, the author explores how teachers cultivate relationships for equity, utilize transformative language practices,…

A Method of Synthesizing Large Bodies of Knowledge in the Social Sciences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thiemann, Francis C.

Employing concepts of formal symbolic logic, the philosophy of science, computer technology, and the work of Hans Zetterberg, a format is suggested for synthesizing and increasing use of the rapidly expanding knowledge of the social sciences. Steps in the process include formulating basic propositions, utilizing computers to establish sets, and…

Barriers and facilitators for breastfeeding among working women in the United States.

PubMed

Johnston, Marina L; Esposito, Noreen

2007-01-01

To review the literature and describe the barriers and facilitators to the continuation of breastfeeding for at least 6 months by working women in the United States. A search of PubMed, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, ISI, PsychInfo, and ProQuest. Twenty studies based on the inclusion criteria and published between January 1, 1995, and January 2006. An ecologic framework, which includes the individual (microsystem), social support and relationships (mesosystem), and the workplace environment (exosystem). When working mothers possess certain personal characteristics and develop a strategic plan, breastfeeding is promoted. When social support is available and when support groups are utilized, lactation is also facilitated. Part-time work, lack of long mother-infant separations, supportive work environments and facilities, and child care options facilitate breastfeeding. Health care providers can use the findings of this review to promote breastfeeding among working women by using tactics geared toward the mother, her social network, and the entire community.

Study protocol of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary intervention in the evolution of non-specific sub-acute low back pain in the working population: cluster randomised trial

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Low back pain (LBP), with high incidence and prevalence rate, is one of the most common reasons to consult the health system and is responsible for a significant amount of sick leave, leading to high health and social costs. The objective of the study is to assess the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial educational group intervention (MBEGI) of non-specific sub-acute LBP in comparison with the usual care in the working population recruited in primary healthcare centres. Methods/design The study design is a cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of a MBEGI in comparison with the usual care of non-specific sub-acute LBP. Measures on effectiveness and costs of both interventions will be obtained from a cluster randomised controlled clinical trial carried out in 38 Catalan primary health care centres, enrolling 932 patients between 18 and 65 years old with a diagnosis of non-specific sub-acute LBP. Effectiveness measures are: pharmaceutical treatments, work sick leave (% and duration in days), Roland Morris disability, McGill pain intensity, Fear Avoidance Beliefs (FAB) and Golberg Questionnaires. Utility measures will be calculated from the SF-12. The analysis will be performed from a social perspective. The temporal horizon is at 3 months (change to chronic LBP) and 12 months (evaluate the outcomes at long term). Assessment of outcomes will be blinded and will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion We hope to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of MBEGI, see an improvement in the patients' quality of life, achieve a reduction in the duration of episodes and the chronicity of non-specific low back pain, and be able to report a decrease in the social costs. If the intervention is cost-effectiveness and cost-utility, it could be applied to Primary Health Care Centres. Trial registration ISRCTN: ISRCTN58719694 PMID:21859489

Advocacy Communication and Social Identity: An Exploration of Social Media Outreach.

PubMed

Ciszek, Erica L

2017-01-01

Increasingly, advocacy organizations employ social networking sites as inexpensive and often effective ways to disseminate outreach messages. For groups working to reach lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth, social media provide key platforms for connecting with target audiences. Although these young people increasingly utilize social media, little is known about how digital advocacy campaigns influence their sexual identity formation. This article applies concepts of social identity to examine how LGBTQ youth understand advocacy campaigns, how they perceive LGBTQ as a social category presented in campaigns, and what values they assign to LGBTQ group membership.

Interdisciplinary Training: Preparing Counselors for Collaborative Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okech, Jane E. Atieno; Geroski, Anne M.

2015-01-01

This article utilizes one counselor education program's experience as a framework for exploring how to prepare counselors to work in interdisciplinary teams. Based on an interdisciplinary training program that involves faculty and graduate students from counseling, social work, nursing, internal medicine and family medicine, the article explores…

Home Health Care Utilization: A Review of the Research for Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kadushin, Goldie

2004-01-01

The author reviewed the literature to identify the variables associated with home health care utilization using the Andersen-Newman model as a framework for analysis. Sixty-four studies published between 1985 and 2000 were identified through PUBMED, Sociofile, and PsycINFO databases. Home health care was defined as in-home skilled nursing,…

El Portal Latino Alzheimer's Project: Model Program for Latino Caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease-Affected People.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aranda, Maria P.; Villa, Valentine M.; Trejo, Laura; Ramirez, Rosa; Ranney, Martha

2003-01-01

Describes the El Portal Latino Alzheimer's Project--a dementia-specific outreach and services program targeting Latino caregivers in the Los Angeles area. Results of an evaluation of service utilization indicate a reduction in barriers to care and an increase in services utilization. Implications for social work practice are discussed. (Contains…

Poverty, wealth, and health care utilization: a geographic assessment.

PubMed

Cooper, Richard A; Cooper, Matthew A; McGinley, Emily L; Fan, Xiaolin; Rosenthal, J Thomas

2012-10-01

Geographic variation has been of interest to both health planners and social epidemiologists. However, while the major focus of interest of planners has been on variation in health care spending, social epidemiologists have focused on health; and while social epidemiologists have observed strong associations between poor health and poverty, planners have concluded that income is not an important determinant of variation in spending. These different conclusions stem, at least in part, from differences in approach. Health planners have generally studied variation among large regions, such as states, counties, or hospital referral regions (HRRs), while epidemiologists have tended to study local areas, such as ZIP codes and census tracts. To better understand the basis for geographic variation in hospital utilization, we drew upon both approaches. Counties and HRRs were disaggregated into their constituent ZIP codes and census tracts and examined the interrelationships between income, disability, and hospital utilization that were examined at both the regional and local levels, using statistical and geomapping tools. Our studies centered on the Milwaukee and Los Angeles HRRs, where per capita health care utilization has been greater than elsewhere in their states. We compared Milwaukee to other HRRs in Wisconsin and Los Angeles to the other populous counties of California and to a region in California of comparable size and diversity, stretching from San Francisco to Sacramento (termed "San-Framento"). When studied at the ZIP code level, we found steep, curvilinear relationships between lower income and both increased hospital utilization and increasing percentages of individuals reporting disabilities. These associations were also evident on geomaps. They were strongest among populations of working-age adults but weaker among seniors, for whom income proved to be a poor proxy for poverty and whose residential locations deviated from the major underlying income patterns. Among working-age adults, virtually all of the excess utilization in Milwaukee was attributable to very high utilization in Milwaukee's segregated "poverty corridor." Similarly, the greater rate of hospital use in Los Angeles than in San-Framento could be explained by proportionately more low-income ZIP codes in Los Angeles and fewer in San-Framento. Indeed, when only high-income ZIP codes were assessed, there was little variation in hospital utilization among California's 18 most populous counties. We estimated that had utilization within each region been at the rate of its high-income ZIP codes, overall utilization would have been 35 % less among working-age adults and 20 % less among seniors. These studies reveal the importance of disaggregating large geographic units into their constituent ZIP codes in order to understand variation in health care utilization among them. They demonstrate the strong association between low ZIP code income and both higher percentages of disability and greater hospital utilization. And they suggest that, given the large contribution of the poorest neighborhoods to aggregate utilization, it will be difficult to curb the growth of health care spending without addressing the underlying social determinants of health.

Supporting Creativity, Inclusion and Collaborative Multi-Professional Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, John M.

2013-01-01

This article connects arguments in the field of integrated and multi-professional working concerning the need to promote a strengths-based approach to children, childhood and children's services with writing about creativity in schooling. It utilizes strength-based and social justice approaches to encourage professionals who work with children and…

Examining Social Studies Teachers' Views on Branch Teachers' Committee Meetings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilcan, Bahadir; Çepni, Osman; Kilinç, Ali Çagatay

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the views of social studies teachers on branch teachers' committee meetings (BTCM). This study utilized a qualitative method, phenomenological design. The sample of the research is composed of 16 teachers working in public secondary schools in the central district of Karabük province during the spring…

Demographic Norms for Metropolitan, Nonmetropolitan and Rural Counties. Mental Health Demographic Profile System Working Paper No. 24, July 1975.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsmith, Harold F.; And Others

Utilizing 1970 census statistics for metropolitan, nonmetropolitan, rural, and "all" counties, this paper presents the selected percentile values for the 130 statistics (social indicators) in the Mental Health Demographic Profile System (the MHDPS is a system which allows the delineation of residential areas with common social rank, life…

How the Role of Socialization Affects Blended Learning Methodologies for Faculty Working with Teams in a Healthcare Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kenny, Kevin J.

2010-01-01

When looking at healthcare education settings, one barrier to understanding the nature of socialization and its effect on teaching methodology design is the advent of blended learning formats used within education departments. The author utilized qualitative research using grounded theory with deductive, verification and inductive processes to…

Social Learning Theory and Behavioral Therapy: Considering Human Behaviors within the Social and Cultural Context of Individuals and Families.

PubMed

McCullough Chavis, Annie

2011-01-01

This article examines theoretical thoughts of social learning theory and behavioral therapy and their influences on human behavior within a social and cultural context. The article utilizes two case illustrations with applications for consumers. It points out the abundance of research studies concerning the effectiveness of social learning theory, and the paucity of research studies regarding effectiveness and evidence-based practices with diverse groups. Providing a social and cultural context in working with diverse groups with reference to social learning theory adds to the literature for more cultural considerations in adapting the theory to women, African Americans, and diverse groups.

Creating a professional development platform to transform social work clinical practice in health care.

PubMed

Xenakis, Nancy

2018-07-01

Since U.S. Congress' 2010 passing of the Affordable Care Act and the creation of numerous care coordination programs, Mount Sinai Hospital's Department of Social Work Services has experienced exponential growth. The Department is deeply committed to recruiting and developing the most talented social workers to best meet the needs of patients and family caregivers and to serve as integral, valued members of interdisciplinary care teams. Traditional learning methods are insufficient for a staff of hundreds, given the changes in health care and the complexity of the work. This necessitates the use of new training and education methods to maintain the quality of professional development. This article provides an overview of the Department's strategy and creation of a professional development learning platform to transform clinical social work practice. It reviews various education models that utilize an e-learning management system and case studies using standardized patients. These models demonstrate innovative learning approaches for both new and experienced social workers in health care. The platform's successes and challenges and recommendations for future development and sustainability are outlined.

Working Men's Constructions of Visiting the Doctor.

PubMed

Mahalik, James R; Backus Dagirmanjian, Faedra R

2018-05-01

To understand influences on medical help seeking in men from traditionally masculine occupations, semistructured interviews with 12 men employed in manual and industrial labor were conducted. The semistructured interview format explored participant men's understanding and experiences of annual exams and medical help seeking, their own and others' reactions to seeking medical help, and influences on their own care and understanding of what it means to seek medical care. Utilizing consensual qualitative research methodology, five domains emerged: Social norms around medical care, managing threat, getting medical help is gendered, work-related influences, and pragmatic contributors to medical help seeking. Results extended the literature by situating men's understanding of physician visits within a gendered and social context, and highlighting the influence of work and coworkers, where messages are often contradictory and inconsistent about medical help seeking. Future research should examine additional contextual factors influencing men's attitudes toward seeking health care, including race, culture, and sexual orientation, as well as seek to develop and evaluate interventions that promote men's utilization of medical services.

Education and Child Welfare Supervisor Performance: Does a Social Work Degree Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perry, Robin E.

2006-01-01

Objective: To empirically examine whether the educational background of child welfare supervisors in Florida affects performance evaluations of their work. Method: A complete population sample (yielding a 58.5% response rate) of administrator and peer evaluations of child welfare workers' supervisors. ANOVA procedures were utilized to test if…

Social Structural Characteristics of Hispanic Recreationists on the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests

Treesearch

Deborah S. Carr; Daniel R. Williams

1992-01-01

Much of the early work done within the realm of ethnic group participation in outdoor recreation has focused on understanding what was seen as underparticipation utilizing two possible explanations: marginality and ethnicity. Rather than characterizing these explanations as competing, it may be more fruitful to characterize them as being two parts of the larger social...

Working With Socially and Medically Complex Patients: When Care Transitions Are Circular, Overlapping, and Continual Rather Than Linear and Finite.

PubMed

Roberts, Shauna R; Crigler, Jane; Ramirez, Cristina; Sisco, Deborah; Early, Gerald L

2015-01-01

The care coordination program described here evolved from 5 years of trial and learning related to how to best serve our high-cost, high-utilizing, chronically ill, urban core patient population. In addition to medical complexity, they have daily challenges characteristic of persons served by Safety-Net health systems. Many have unstable health insurance status. Others have insecure housing. A number of patients have a history of substance use and mental illness. Many have fractured social supports. Although some of the best-known care transition models have been successful in reducing rehospitalizations and cost among patients studied, these models were developed for a relatively high functioning patient population with social support. We describe a successful approach targeted at working with patients who require a more intense and lengthy care coordination intervention to self-manage and reduce the cost of caring for their medical conditions. Using a diverse team and a set of replicable processes, we have demonstrated statistically significant reduction in the use of hospital and emergency services. Our intervention leverages the strengths and resilience of patients, focuses on trust and self-management, and targets heterogeneous "high-utilizer" patients with medical and social complexity.

'I'm So Stressed!': A Longitudinal Model of Stress, Burnout and Engagement among Social Workers in Child Welfare Settings.

PubMed

Travis, Dnika J; Lizano, Erica Leeanne; Mor Barak, Michàlle E

2016-06-01

The well-documented day-to-day and long-term experiences of job stress and burnout among employees in child welfare organisations increasingly raise concerns among leaders, policy makers and scholars. Testing a theory-driven longitudinal model, this study seeks to advance understanding of the differential impact of job stressors (work-family conflict, role conflict and role ambiguity) and burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation) on employee disengagement (work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours). Data were collected at three six-month intervals from an availability sample of 362 front line social workers or social work supervisors who work in a large urban public child welfare organisation in the USA. The study's results yielded a good model fit (RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.96, NFI = 0.94). Work-family conflict, role ambiguity and role conflict were found to impact work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours indirectly through burnout. The outcome variable, exit-seeking behaviours, was positively impacted by depersonalisation and work withdrawal at a statistically significant level. Overall, findings, at least in the US context, highlight the importance of further examining the development of job burnout among social workers and social work supervisors working in child welfare settings, as well as the utility of long-term administrative strategies to mitigate risks of burnout development and support engagement.

42 CFR 1003.103 - Amount of penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...)(7) relating to printed media, and a penalty of not more than $25,000 in the case of such misuse..., utilization review, medical social work, or administrative services; or (ii) Employs or contracts with any...

42 CFR 1003.103 - Amount of penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...)(7) relating to printed media, and a penalty of not more than $25,000 in the case of such misuse..., utilization review, medical social work, or administrative services; or (ii) Employs or contracts with any...

Social determinants of bone densitometry uptake for osteoporosis risk in patients aged 50yr and older: a systematic review.

PubMed

Brennan, Sharon L; Wluka, Anita E; Gould, Haslinda; Nicholson, Geoffrey C; Leslie, William D; Ebeling, Peter R; Oldenburg, Brian; Kotowicz, Mark A; Pasco, Julie A

2012-01-01

The World Health Organization identifies that osteoporosis is one of the leading health problems in the Western world. An increased risk of fragility fracture is observed in more socially disadvantaged individuals in most Western countries. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is currently the procedure of choice to diagnose osteoporosis and assess fracture risk. We systematically reviewed the literature regarding social determinants of DXA utilization for osteoporosis detection in patients aged 50yr and older using a computer-aided search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsychINFO from January 1994 to December 2010. Five cross-sectional studies, incorporating 16 separate analyses, were identified for inclusion in this review. The best evidence analysis identified limited evidence for a positive association between either income or education with DXA utilization; furthermore, the best evidence analysis found no evidence for an association between either marital status or working status and DXA utilization. Further research is required to identify whether a relationship exists and elucidate reasons for disparities in DXA utilization between different social groups, such as choice and referral processes, as a necessary precursor in identifying modifiable determinants and appropriate strategies to promote preventive screening to identify fracture risk. Copyright © 2012 The International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The balancing act: Exploring stigma, economic need and disclosure among male sex workers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

PubMed Central

Closson, Elizabeth F.; Colby, Donn J.; Nguyen, Thi; Cohen, Samuel S.; Biello, Katie; Mimiaga, Matthew J.

2014-01-01

In Vietnam, there is an emerging HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM). Male sex workers (MSWs) engage in high-risk sexual behaviours that make them particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. In 2010, 23 MSM in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) who recently received payment for sex with another man completed in-depth qualitative interviews exploring motivations for sex work, patterns of sex work disclosure and experiences of social stigma. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and translated into English and analysed using a qualitative descriptive approach. Low wages, unstable employment, and family remittances were motivating factors for MSM in HCMC to sell sex. Participants described experiences of enacted and felt social stigma related to their involvement in sex work. In response, they utilized stigma management techniques aimed at concealment of involvement in sex work. Such strategies restricted sexual communication with non-paying sex partners and potentially limited their ability to seek social support from family and friends. Departing from decontextualized depictions of sex work disclosure, our findings describe how decisions to reveal involvement in sex work are shaped by social and structural factors such as social stigma, techniques to minimize exposure to stigma, economic imperatives and familial responsibilities. PMID:25555192

Postpartum depressive symptoms and the combined load of paid and unpaid work: a longitudinal analysis.

PubMed

Dagher, Rada K; McGovern, Patricia M; Dowd, Bryan E; Lundberg, Ulf

2011-10-01

To investigate the effects of total workload and other work-related factors on postpartum depression in the first 6 months after childbirth, utilizing a hybrid model of health and workforce participation. We utilized data from the Maternal Postpartum Health Study collected in 2001 from a prospective cohort of 817 employed women who delivered in three community hospitals in Minnesota. Interviewers collected data at enrollment and 5 weeks, 11 weeks, and 6 months after childbirth. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale measured postpartum depression. Independent variables included total workload (paid and unpaid work), job flexibility, supervisor and coworker support, available social support, job satisfaction, infant sleep problems, infant irritable temperament, and breastfeeding. Total average daily workload increased from 14.4 h (6.8 h of paid work; 7.1% working at 5 weeks postpartum) to 15.0 h (7.9 h of paid work; 87% working at 6 months postpartum) over the 6 months. Fixed effects regression analyses showed worse depression scores were associated with higher total workload, lower job flexibility, lower social support, an infant with sleep problems, and breastfeeding. Working mothers of reproductive years may find the study results valuable as they consider merging their work and parenting roles after childbirth. Future studies should examine the specific mechanisms through which total workload affects postpartum depressive symptoms.

Control of power: the political economy of electric-utility development in the US

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McGuire, P.W.

1986-01-01

This work examines the processes by which the dominant relations of production are reproduced and the dominant social order maintained amidst the conflicts and contradictions of capitalism. The specific subject of analysis is the changing relationships and dynamics of the various electric utility firms and associated organizations. The development of the industry is traced from the initial development of commodifiable electric devices through regulation, consolidation, and the Great Crash. The work relies on secondary sources drawn from numerous disciplines, government agencies, industry sources, and the accounts of central social actors. This consideration of the early history of an industry whichmore » is such a crucial underpinning of 20th century economic development, provides a springboard for reevaluation of the prevailing instrumental and structural theories of social-economic control and change. There are 4 basic concerns in each time frame: (1) competition among privately-owned firms; (2) competition between privately - and publicly-owned firms; (3) interactions between industry and political agencies; and (4) interactions between industry and economic institutions.« less

The Information-Seeking Behavior of Police Officers in Turkish National Police

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guclu, Idris

2011-01-01

A current trend that has emerged as a result of the information age is information-seeking behavior. From individuals to large social institutions, information-seeking behavior is utilized to attain a wide variety of goals. This body of work investigates the information-seeking behaviors of police officers who work in police stations in the…

Addressing Social Media Presence: Shifting from Place to Space in Career/Transfer ePortfolios

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apostel, Shawn

2015-01-01

Institutions of higher education are increasingly utilizing ePortfolio projects to allow students a space to showcase their work to their instructors, peers, and potential employers, and with the primary audience focusing on instructor or peer, the ePortfolio has worked well over the years. However, as the audience shifted more to potential…

Educating for the Future in Family Life. Information Series No. 228.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Elizabeth J.

This paper utilizes knowledge gained from work on future issues related to families, the work of futurists on social trends and technological development, and recent studies in home economics to draw conclusions regarding what people will need to know in the 1980s and beyond to be intelligent consumers and effective homemakers. The first of six…

Gendered depression: Vulnerability or exposure to work and family stressors?

PubMed

Marchand, Alain; Bilodeau, Jaunathan; Demers, Andrée; Beauregard, Nancy; Durand, Pierre; Haines, Victor Y

2016-10-01

Research has shown that employed women are more prone to depression than men, but the pathways linking gender to depression remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine how work and family conditions operated as potentially gendered antecedents of depression. It evaluated more specifically how differences in depressive symptoms in women and men could be explained by their differential vulnerability and exposure to work and family conditions, as well as by the mediating role of work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC). Data were collected in 2009-2012 from a sample of 1935 employees (48.9% women) nested in 63 workplaces in the province of Quebec (Canada). Data were analyzed with multilevel path analysis models to test for the differential exposure hypothesis, and stratified by gender to test for the differential vulnerability hypothesis. Results supported both hypothesizes, but only WFC played a mediating role between work-family stressors and depression. Regarding the vulnerability hypothesis, WFC was more strongly associated with women depressive symptoms, and the magnitude of the association between family income and WFC was stronger for women. Overall, the differential exposure hypothesis seemed to reach a greater empirical support. After accounting for work and family stressors as well as WFC, differences in depressive symptoms in women and men were no longer significantly, as WFC, working hours, irregular work schedule and skill utilization acted as mediators. WFC associated with higher depressive symptoms and skill utilization with lower depressive symptoms. WFC related to higher working hours and irregular work schedule. Compared to men, women reported higher WFC, but lower working hours, less irregular work schedule and lower skill utilization at work. Women's higher rate of depression is intrinsically linked to their different social experiences as shaped by a gendered social structure and gendered organizations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A social work contribution to suicide prevention through assertive brief psychotherapy and community linkage: use of the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA).

PubMed

Petrakis, Melissa; Joubert, Lynette

2013-01-01

There is a striking absence of literature articulating and evaluating clinical social work contributions to suicide prevention, despite considerable practice in this important field. This article reports on a model of assertive brief psychotherapeutic intervention and facilitated linkage to community services utilized in a prospective cohort study of emergency department suicide attempt aftercare. A key outcome measure, the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA), was used with 65 patients to assess psychosocial domains at initial presentation, 4-weeks, 3-months, and 6-months. There were significant improvements in the domains of work, finance, leisure, social life, living situation, personal safety and health by 3 months. There were highly significant correlations between psychosocial improvements and improved depression scores.

Dynamics of organizational culture: Individual beliefs vs. social conformity.

PubMed

Ellinas, Christos; Allan, Neil; Johansson, Anders

2017-01-01

The complex nature of organizational culture challenges our ability to infer its underlying dynamics from observational studies. Recent computational studies have adopted a distinctly different view, where plausible mechanisms are proposed to describe a wide range of social phenomena, including the onset and evolution of organizational culture. In this spirit, this work introduces an empirically-grounded, agent-based model which relaxes a set of assumptions that describes past work-(a) omittance of an individual's strive for achieving cognitive coherence; (b) limited integration of important contextual factors-by utilizing networks of beliefs and incorporating social rank into the dynamics. As a result, we illustrate that: (i) an organization may appear to be increasingly coherent in terms of its organizational culture, yet be composed of individuals with reduced levels of coherence; (ii) the components of social conformity-peer-pressure and social rank-are influential at different aggregation levels.

‘I'm So Stressed!’: A Longitudinal Model of Stress, Burnout and Engagement among Social Workers in Child Welfare Settings

PubMed Central

Travis, Dnika J.; Lizano, Erica Leeanne; Mor Barak, Michàlle E.

2016-01-01

The well-documented day-to-day and long-term experiences of job stress and burnout among employees in child welfare organisations increasingly raise concerns among leaders, policy makers and scholars. Testing a theory-driven longitudinal model, this study seeks to advance understanding of the differential impact of job stressors (work–family conflict, role conflict and role ambiguity) and burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation) on employee disengagement (work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours). Data were collected at three six-month intervals from an availability sample of 362 front line social workers or social work supervisors who work in a large urban public child welfare organisation in the USA. The study's results yielded a good model fit (RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.96, NFI = 0.94). Work–family conflict, role ambiguity and role conflict were found to impact work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours indirectly through burnout. The outcome variable, exit-seeking behaviours, was positively impacted by depersonalisation and work withdrawal at a statistically significant level. Overall, findings, at least in the US context, highlight the importance of further examining the development of job burnout among social workers and social work supervisors working in child welfare settings, as well as the utility of long-term administrative strategies to mitigate risks of burnout development and support engagement. PMID:27559215

Complex families, the social determinants of health and psychosocial interventions: Deconstruction of a day in the life of hospital social workers.

PubMed

Muskat, Barbara; Craig, Shelley L; Mathai, Biju

2017-09-01

The roles of hospital social workers are delineated in the literature; however, their daily interventions have only been described anecdotally. This study analyzes the daily work of social workers in a pediatric hospital through a survey completed which examined factors related to interventions utilized and time spent per case over a 1-day period. Length and types of interventions were associated with the social determinants of health, time since diagnosis, biopsychosocial issues, and perception of complexity. The study offers a snapshot of the personalized expertise, provided by social workers that addresses complex contextual and biopsychosocial concerns of patient and families.

Pro-Social Goals in Achievement Situations: Amity Goal Orientation Enhances the Positive Effects of Mastery Goal Orientation.

PubMed

Levontin, Liat; Bardi, Anat

2018-04-01

Research has neglected the utility of pro-social goals within achievement situations. In this article, four studies demonstrate that amity goal orientation, promoting mutual success of oneself together with others, enhances the utility of mastery goal orientation. We demonstrate this in longitudinally predicting performance (Studies 1 and 2) and in maintaining motivation after a disappointing performance (Studies 3 and 4). The studies demonstrate the same interaction effect in academic and in work achievement contexts. Specifically, whereas amity goal orientation did not predict achievement on its own, it enhanced the positive effect of mastery goal orientation. Together, these studies establish the importance of amity goal orientation while also advancing our understanding of the effects of other achievement goal orientations. We suggest future directions in examining the utility of amity goals in other contexts.

An Evaluation of a Social Norms Marketing Project for Tobacco Prevention with Middle, High, and College Students; Use of Funds from the Tobacco Master Settlement (Virginia)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martino-Mcallister, Jeanne; Wessel, Maria Theresa

2005-01-01

The "Anti-Tobacco Media Blitz" (ATMB), a social-norms marketing program, was utilized for tobacco prevention with middle and high school students. University students assisted middle and high school students with the implementation of this campaign, which included a variety of media. Students worked in teams to design, develop, and…

[Adjustment of the Andersen's model to the Mexican context: access to prenatal care].

PubMed

Tamez-González, Silvia; Valle-Arcos, Rosa Irene; Eibenschutz-Hartman, Catalina; Méndez-Ramírez, Ignacio

2006-01-01

The aim of this work was to propose an adjustment to the Model of Andersen who answers better to the social inequality of the population in the Mexico City and allows to evaluate the effect of socioeconomic factors in the access to the prenatal care of a sample stratified according to degree of marginalization. The data come from a study of 663 women, randomly selected from a framework sample of 21,421 homes in Mexico City. This work collects information about factors that affect utilization of health services, as well as predisposing factors (age and socioeconomic level), as enabling factors (education, social support, entitlement, pay out of pocket and opinion of health services), and need factors. The sample was ranked according to exclusion variables into three stratums. The data were analyzed through the technique of path analysis. The results indicate that socioeconomic level takes part like predisposed variable for utilization of prenatal care services into three stratums. Otherwise, education and social support were the most important enabling variables for utilization of prenatal care services in the same three groups. In regard to low stratum, the most important enabling variables were education and entitlement. For high stratum the principal enabling variables were pay out of pocket and social support. The medium stratum shows atypical behavior which it was difficult to explain and understand. There was not mediating role with need variable in three models. This indicated absence of equality in all stratums. However, the most correlations in high stratum perhaps indicate less inequitable conditions regarding other stratums.

The New Victors: A Progressive Policy Analysis of Work Reform for People with Very Severe Handicaps.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Dianne L.; Ferguson, Philip M.

1986-01-01

Current efforts to reform vocational services for severely disabled adults are examined in the context of past reform efforts, the meaning of work, and the status of the labor force. Proposed solutions should avoid exclusion of the severely disabled due to reliance on economic utility as the price of social integration. (Author/DB)

Improving the Selection, Classification, and Utilization of Army Enlisted Personnel. Annual Report, 1984 Fiscal Year

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

Conscientiousness ABLE Scales Emotional Stability Self - esteem Non-delinquency Traditional Values Conscientiousness Achievement/Work Orientation Work...constructs which point towards a physical per- spective while the second cluster, Dominance/ Self - Esteem , points towards a psychological perspective...and is conventional, conservative, and resistant to social change. Dominance Self - esteem Conscientiousness Locus of Control 246 Tendency to

[Changes in workers' rehabilitation procedures under the Brazilian social security system: modernization or undermining of social protection?].

PubMed

Takahashi, Mara Alice Batista Conti; Iguti, Aparecida Mari

2008-11-01

This article describes the changes in workers' rehabilitation practices under the Brazilian National Social Security Institute (INSS) in the 1990s, in the context of neoliberal economic adjustment measures, based on an analysis of INSS documents from 1992 to 1997. The INSS plan for "modernization" of workers' rehabilitation led to: (1) dismantling of multidisciplinary teams; (2) induction of workers to accept proportional retirement pensions and voluntary layoffs; (3) under-utilization of the remaining INSS professional staff; (4) elimination of treatment programs for workers' rehabilitation; and (5) dismantling of INSS rehabilitation centers and clinics. The changes in the Brazilian social security system undermined the county's social security project and hegemony and reduced social security reform to a mere management and fiscal issue. Current "rehabilitation" falls far short of the institution's original purpose of social protection for workers, while aiming at economic regulation of the system to contain costs of workers' benefits. Workers that suffer work-related accidents are denied occupational rehabilitation, which aggravates their social disadvantage when they return to work.

Darwinism: Evolution or Revolution?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holt, Niles R.

1989-01-01

Maintains that Darwin's theory of evolution was more than a science versus religion debate; rather it was a revolutionary concept that influenced numerous social and political ideologies and movements throughout western history. Traces the impact of Darwin's work historically, utilizing a holistic approach. (RW)

Social memory engram in the hippocampus.

PubMed

Okuyama, Teruhiro

2018-04-01

Social memory is one of the crucial components of episodic memories. Gregarious animals living in societies utilize social memory to exhibit the appropriate social behaviors such as aggression, avoidance, cooperative behavior, and even mating behavior. However, the neural mechanisms underlying social memory in the hippocampus remains mysterious. Here, I review some evidence from work done in rodents and primates on the brain region(s) and circuits encoding and/or retrieving social memory, as well as a storage for social memory (i.e. social memory engram neurons). Based on our recent findings that neural ensemble in ventral CA1 sub-region of the hippocampus possesses social memory engram, I would discuss the neural network for social information processing in order to encode social memory; and its evolutionary conservation between rodents and human. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Coping strategies and social support needs of experienced and inexperienced nurses performing shiftwork.

PubMed

Gifkins, Jane; Loudoun, Rebecca; Johnston, Amy

2017-12-01

The aim of this investigation was to compare perceptions of nurses exposed to short or longer term shift work and their experiences working under this type of scheduling. Shift work is a crucial component of nurses' working lives, ensuring continuous care for patients. This study fills a research gap around the personal experiences of shift working nurses and the strategies used to manage the impacts of shift work. Qualitative case study design. Constructivist methodology, including in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted in 2015, was used for the study. Iterative review and inductive analysis of transcripts from nine recently graduated nurses and twelve experienced nurses enabled identification and verification of key themes. Three main areas of difference between new and experienced nurses relating to shift work challenges in a nursing environment emerged: perceptions about the utility of working in shifts, coping strategies and social support at home and work. Most experienced nurses found shift work advantageous, especially those with dependents. Coping strategies included flexible shift arrangements in both groups. Experienced nurses detailed the importance of support from family and friends while inexperienced nurses described feeling disconnected from social supports. Experienced nurses cited a lack of support from nursing managers as problematic. Findings suggest shift selection mitigated challenges of shift work for both inexperienced and experienced nurses, indicating autonomous roster selection is critical. Similarly, social support at work from senior nurses and management and at home played an important role in nurses' coping. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Longitudinal Risk and Resilience Factors Predicting Psychiatric Disruption, Mental Health Service Utilization & Military Retention in OIF National Guard Troops

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-01

learning disabilities and/or emotional difficulties • Wrote integrated assessment reports • Attended Individual Education Plan ( IEP ) meetings where...worked with wide range of disabilities from autism and cerebral palsy to oppositional defiant disorder and bipolar disorder; developed leadership...therapy program for a nine year old boy with autism to foster the development of social skills; utilized sign language to increase communication

Characterizing Resilience and Growth Among Soldiers: A Trajectory Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

0120 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Nansook Park 5e. TASK NUMBER e -mail: nspak@umich.edu 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7...tried all available methods to reach potential participants including e -mail, regular mail, phone and social media like Facebook. We were able to...utilize all possible ways of contacting participants including e -mail, regular mail, phone calls, and social media (e.g., Facebook). Furthermore

Using conflict theory to explore the role of nursing home social workers in home- and community-based service utilization.

PubMed

Fogler, Sarah

2009-11-01

Nursing home social work (NHSW) practitioners are central to home- and community-based service (HCBS) utilization. They assist residents with long-term care (LTC) decision-making and coordinate community-based LTC supports and services for older adults transitioning back into the community after a rehabilitative nursing home (NH) stay. As members of multiple groups, they must simultaneously balance the needs of NH residents, the NH organization, and social policies related to LTC. To date, policy research on HCBS has been atheoretical in that it has not accounted for the possible inherent conflicts that adversely affect the discharge planning practices of NHSW practitioners. This article applies the Conflict Theory to (a) explore the competing interests of the NH industry and the nation's government, (b) examine the potential effect of these competing interests on the effectiveness of NHSW discharge planning practices, and (c) present a conceptual framework to further investigate the relationship between NHSW and both individual LTC outcomes and national policy initiatives aimed at increasing HCBS utilization.

AIDS and the question of culture: focus on social cognitive theory.

PubMed

Kim, Suk-hee

2010-01-01

Each of us has a variety of personal theories we use to explain physical, biological, and interpersonal phenomena. Also, our personal theories are our guides as we move toward greater meaning and belief in our lives. This writing shows the reason to utilize the new/recent theory approach in social work practice concerning the issue of AIDS in a cultural-based study on a micro level, though it may compete with macro-level values equally. The social work practice setting needs to open up for engaging dialogue with individuals and large groups within a safe environment and a positive attitude. Not only does this gate allow us to understand clients' and social workers' ways of doing, being, and saying but also ways in which our audience/player (client/we) can perform their/our power of talking about AIDS without fear, guilt, shame, and feelings of despair.

Community Self-Determination in Uptown Chicago: A Social and Cultural History of American Indian Educational Programs and Experiences, 1952-2002

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laukaitis, John J.

2009-01-01

This work examines the under-studied urban dimension of the American Indian self-determination in education by showing how American Indians in Chicago established, developed, influenced, and utilized programs to meet the particular objectives and needs of their local community. By showing how American Indians worked outside of and within systems,…

Drug utilization research in primary health care as exemplified by physicians' quality assessment groups.

PubMed

von Ferber, L; Luciano, A; Köster, I; Krappweis, J

1992-11-01

Drugs in primary health care are often prescribed for nonrational reasons. Drug utilization research investigates the prescription of drugs with an eye to medical, social and economic causes and consequences of the prescribed drug's utilization. The results of this research show distinct differences in drug utilization in different age groups and between men and women. Indication and dosage appear irrational from a textbook point of view. This indicates nonpharmacological causes of drug utilization. To advice successfully changes for the better quality assessment groups of primary health care physicians get information about their established behavior by analysis of their prescriptions. The discussion and the comparisons in the group allow them to recognize their irrational prescribing and the social, psychological and economic reasons behind it. Guidelines for treatment are worked out which take into account the primary health care physician's situation. After a year with 6 meetings of the quality assessment groups the education process is evaluated by another drug utilization analysis on the basis of the physicians prescription. The evaluation shows a remarkable improvement of quality and cost effectiveness of the drug therapy of the participating physicians.

Cost-benefit analysis: the first real rule of fight club?

PubMed Central

Hillman, Kristin L.

2013-01-01

Competition is ubiquitous among social animals. Vying against a conspecific to achieve a particular outcome often requires one to act aggressively, but this is a costly and inherently risky behavior. So why do we aggressively compete, or at the extreme, fight against others? Early work suggested that competitive aggression might stem from an innate aggressive tendency, emanating from subcortical structures. Later work highlighted key cortical regions that contribute toward an instrumental aggression network, one that is recruited or suppressed as needed to achieve a goal. Recent neuroimaging work hints that competitive aggression is upmost a cost-benefit decision, in that it appears to recruit many components of traditional, non-social decision-making networks. This review provides a historical glimpse into the neuroscience of competitive aggression, and proposes a conceptual advancement for studying competitive behavior by outlining how utility calculations of contested-for resources are skewed, pre- and post-competition. A basic multi-factorial model of utility assessment is proposed to account for competitive endowment effects that stem from the presence of peers, peer salience and disposition, and the tactical effort required for victory. In part, competitive aggression is a learned behavior that should only be repeated if positive outcomes are achieved. However, due to skewed utility assessments, deviations of associative learning occur. Hence truly careful cost-benefit analysis is warranted before choosing to vie against another. PMID:24391531

Cost-benefit analysis: the first real rule of fight club?

PubMed

Hillman, Kristin L

2013-12-19

Competition is ubiquitous among social animals. Vying against a conspecific to achieve a particular outcome often requires one to act aggressively, but this is a costly and inherently risky behavior. So why do we aggressively compete, or at the extreme, fight against others? Early work suggested that competitive aggression might stem from an innate aggressive tendency, emanating from subcortical structures. Later work highlighted key cortical regions that contribute toward an instrumental aggression network, one that is recruited or suppressed as needed to achieve a goal. Recent neuroimaging work hints that competitive aggression is upmost a cost-benefit decision, in that it appears to recruit many components of traditional, non-social decision-making networks. This review provides a historical glimpse into the neuroscience of competitive aggression, and proposes a conceptual advancement for studying competitive behavior by outlining how utility calculations of contested-for resources are skewed, pre- and post-competition. A basic multi-factorial model of utility assessment is proposed to account for competitive endowment effects that stem from the presence of peers, peer salience and disposition, and the tactical effort required for victory. In part, competitive aggression is a learned behavior that should only be repeated if positive outcomes are achieved. However, due to skewed utility assessments, deviations of associative learning occur. Hence truly careful cost-benefit analysis is warranted before choosing to vie against another.

Social psychology, terrorism, and identity: a preliminary re-examination of theory, culture, self, and society.

PubMed

Arena, Michael P; Arrigo, Bruce A

2005-01-01

This article relies upon structural symbolic interactionism and five of its organizing concepts (i.e. symbols, the definition of the situation, roles, socialization and role-taking, and the self) to put forth a novel conceptual framework for understanding the terrorist identity. In order to demonstrate the practical utility of the framework, applications to various terrorist groups around the globe are incorporated into the analysis. Overall, both the theoretical and application work help reorient the academic and practitioner behavioral science communities to the importance of culture, self, and society when investigating one's membership in and identity through militant extremist organizations. Given the unique approach taken by this article, several provisional implications are delineated. In particular, future research on terrorism, strategies linked to counter-terrorism, legal and public policy reform, and the relevance of utilizing a sociologically animated social psychology in the assessment of other forms of criminal behavior are all very tentatively explored.

Using the Internet: Concept to Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenhalgh, J. B.

1997-01-01

State, federal, and corporate grants enabled Georgian Court College (New Jersey) to connect to the Internet, establish a multimedia lab, and purchase equipment for interactive distance learning. Describes the implementation of new programs utilizing Internet technology and highlights sample Internet projects in social work, education, aquatic and…

Change and Innovative Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steele, John E.

1971-01-01

The most important quality that placement and the employment community can develop in the coming decade is the ability to respond with innovation, using intelligent and flexible methods to assimilate new technology, fulfill emerging social attitudes, and utilize college graduates in a larger spectrum of satisfying work. (Author)

Social support and vulnerability: state of the art in relation to families and children.

PubMed

MacElveen-Hoehn, P; Eyres, S J

1984-01-01

The purpose of this presentation is to review the concepts of social support and vulnerable families and children, propose a theoretical model on coping and adaptation, and ascertain any significant implications for the delivery of health care services and future research. The review of the literature indicates that major problems persist in the classification, conceptualization, empirical investigation, and clinical application of social support due to a lack of clarity regarding the definition of social support and how it works. Related perspectives such as bonding, child development, and child rearing also reaffirm the need for and the utilization of social support. High-risk factors, such as low maternal age, poverty, single parenthood, and long-term health problems, increase the vulnerability of families and children. This literature strongly suggests that the interactions of adults and children with supportive members of their social networks are important in the development of essential cognitive and social skills, as well as for the promotion of security and comfort. Supports from individuals, families, and groups also are associated with more successful adaptation and favorable outcomes. Despite numerous articles and research projects, however, questions concerning how social support works to assist vulnerable children and families remain. Seven factors are proposed as a theoretical model to identify threatening situations and coping difficulties so that appropriate support can be provided. These factors are surprise, experience, confusion, perceived effectiveness, perceived allies, perceived uniqueness of threat, and overload. Additional testing is required for this model so that a more meaningful investigation and utilization of social support can be established. Additional research also is indicated to determine the specific types of support needed in the presence of certain factors, network style preferences, the supply and demand for support over the life span, and cultural aspects of coping and support processes. The position that appropriate social support will promote mastery and self-determination has significant implications for health professionals.

[Use of health services by a population of 60-year olds and older in Mexico].

PubMed

Borges-Yáñez, S A; Gómez-Dantés, H

1998-01-01

To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and determinants of health services utilization by the Mexican population of 60 years of age or more. Information obtained from the National Health Survey II (ENSA-II) allowed analysis of 4,628 elderly people. Prevalence of chronic diseases was analyzed and the determinants of individuals who had used the health services in the two weeks prior to the interview. The chronic diseases most frequently reported were: hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. The utilization and hospitalization rates of that age group were 11.4 and 5.5%, respectively. The services most frequently used were: the private physician, social security (IMSS, ISSSTE) welfare services (Ministry of Health--SSA- and IMSS-Solidaridad). Interestingly, 25 to 45% of social security insurance holders did not use the services, instead they consulted a private physician. The most important explanatory variables for health services utilization were: the perceived illness, not having worked for the previous week and being a social security insurance holder. Gender, area of residence and level of education were not significant in the explanation of health services utilization. This study demonstrates the need to strengthen preventive and support programs for the elderly population, since they only demand health services when they feel sick.

Questions of trust in health research on social capital: what aspects of personal network social capital do they measure?

PubMed

Carpiano, Richard M; Fitterer, Lisa M

2014-09-01

Health research on personal social capital has often utilized measures of respondents' perceived trust of others as either a proxy for one's social capital in the absence of more focused measures or as a subjective component of social capital. Little empirical work has evaluated the validity of such practices. We test the construct validity of two trust measures used commonly in health research on social capital-generalized trust and trust of neighbors-with respect to measures of people's general network-, organization-, family-, friend-, and neighborhood-based social capital and the extent to which these two trust measures are associated with self-rated general health and mental health when social capital measures are included in the same models. Analyses of 2008 Canadian General Social Survey data (response rate 57.3%) indicate that generalized trust and trust of neighbors are both positively-yet modestly-associated with measures of several domains of network-based social capital. Both trust measures are positively associated with general and mental health, but these associations remain robust after adjusting for social capital measures. Our findings suggest that (a) trust is conceptually distinct from social capital, (b) trust measures are inadequate proxies for actual personal social networks, and (c) trust measures may only be capturing psychological aspects relevant to-but not indicative of-social capital. Though links between perceived trust and health deserve study, health research on social capital needs to utilize measures of respondents' actual social networks and their inherent resources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative genetic versions of Hamilton's rule with empirical applications

PubMed Central

McGlothlin, Joel W.; Wolf, Jason B.; Brodie, Edmund D.; Moore, Allen J.

2014-01-01

Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness revolutionized our understanding of the evolution of social interactions. Surprisingly, an incorporation of Hamilton's perspective into the quantitative genetic theory of phenotypic evolution has been slow, despite the popularity of quantitative genetics in evolutionary studies. Here, we discuss several versions of Hamilton's rule for social evolution from a quantitative genetic perspective, emphasizing its utility in empirical applications. Although evolutionary quantitative genetics offers methods to measure each of the critical parameters of Hamilton's rule, empirical work has lagged behind theory. In particular, we lack studies of selection on altruistic traits in the wild. Fitness costs and benefits of altruism can be estimated using a simple extension of phenotypic selection analysis that incorporates the traits of social interactants. We also discuss the importance of considering the genetic influence of the social environment, or indirect genetic effects (IGEs), in the context of Hamilton's rule. Research in social evolution has generated an extensive body of empirical work focusing—with good reason—almost solely on relatedness. We argue that quantifying the roles of social and non-social components of selection and IGEs, in addition to relatedness, is now timely and should provide unique additional insights into social evolution. PMID:24686930

Applying Sociocultural Theory to Teaching Statistics for Doctoral Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mogro-Wilson, Cristina; Reeves, Michael G.; Charter, Mollie Lazar

2015-01-01

This article describes the development of two doctoral-level multivariate statistics courses utilizing sociocultural theory, an integrative pedagogical framework. In the first course, the implementation of sociocultural theory helps to support the students through a rigorous introduction to statistics. The second course involves students…

Facebook: Maintaining Ethical Practice in the Cyberspace Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birky, Ian; Collins, Wanda

2011-01-01

Current technology provides counseling center clinicians regular and immediate access to the students they work with via social networking. Focusing on Facebook in particular, this article discusses the opportunities and challenges this access creates and specifically explores how utilization of ethical, clinical, and cultural lenses might affect…

School Counselors' Experiences Working with Digital Natives: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallo, Laura L.

2017-01-01

To better understand school counselors' experiences related to students' use of social media, the authors conducted a qualitative study, utilizing a phenomenological approach, with eight practicing high school counselors. Three major themes emerged from the study: "the digital cultural divide," "frustration and fear," and…

Freedom to Tweet? Opportunities and Barriers for Federal Scientists on Social Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldman, G. T.; Bailin, D.; Rogerson, P.; Renaud, A.; Halpern, M.; Grifo, F.

2013-12-01

The recent explosion of social media represents a fundamental shift in how scientists can share their work with the world, and federal scientists are taking advantage of these new tools. A 2009 report by the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council--an interagency forum on federal information-technology management convened under the E-Government Act of 2002--recommends that all federal agencies develop a social media policy to address security concerns and provide guidance to employees on how they should identify themselves in these venues. In response to this report, and to the changing media landscape in general, many federal agencies have since developed polices to clarify how their employees may engage in social media. But how effective are such policies for federal scientists? Past analysis has looked at agency social media policies with an eye on performance metrics or on security and privacy of government information. Here, we assess the policies from a different angle: Do they provide sufficient guidance to government scientists and other technical experts? Do they adequately guide employees in a way that promotes responsible use while also affording them the freedom to use these tools to share their work? And how do different agencies compare? We analyzed policies, conducted a survey of federal scientists, and utilized Freedom of Information Act requests to assess how well federal policies and practices provide guidance and freedom for federal scientists using social media at 17 federal agencies. We found that some agencies have very thorough policies and practices that clearly guide and encourage their employees' use of social media outlets; while others provide minimal to no guidance to their scientists or discourage use of these tools. From this analysis, we identify opportunities for communication of federal science on social media, as well as barriers currently inhibiting federal scientists from using these tools. Finally, we offer recommendations for steps that agencies can take in order to continue progress toward providing freedom for their technical experts to fully utilize social media tools.

Teaching Perspectives and Usage of Journal Writing by Clinical Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alschuler, Mari L.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between teaching perspectives (TPs), faculty usage and perceptions of reflective journaling (RJ), and demographic characteristics among clinical faculty in nursing, social work, and counseling. A combination of causal-comparative and correlational designs was utilized, with stratified…

A More Perfect Commodity: Bottled Water, Global Accumulation, and Local Contestation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaffee, Daniel; Newman, Soren

2013-01-01

Bottled water sits at the intersection of debates regarding the social and environmental effects of the commodification of nature and the ways neoliberal globalization alters the provision of public services. Utilizing Polanyi's concept of fictitious commodities and Harvey's work on accumulation by dispossession, this article traces bottled…

Understanding the Stereotype as a Complex Communication Tool: Touchstone Award

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurylo, Anastacia

2004-01-01

A cognitive approach that views stereotypes as mental tools that function in information processing has dominated recent work on stereotyping. But regardless of their cognitive utility, an association between stereotypes and social injustice (i.e., prejudice, discrimination) has earned stereotypes the label "bad" and consequently something to be…

Online Tools to Support the Delivery of Evidence-Based Practices for Students with ASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sam, Ann M.; Kucharczyk, Suzanne; Waters, Victoria

2018-01-01

Educators continually encounter new challenges that require different tools or ways to utilize current tools in novel ways. Common challenges when working with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may include addressing interfering behavior, developing communication systems, increasing social opportunities for students, and addressing…

Safe Space Oddity: Revisiting Critical Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redmond, Melissa

2010-01-01

Inspired by an incident in a social work graduate classroom in which she was a teaching assistant, the author reflects on her commitment to constructivist teaching methods, critical theory, and critical pedagogy. Exploring the educational utility of notions such as public space and safe space, the author employs this personal experience to examine…

Thinking Relationally about Studying "Up"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stich, Amy E.; Colyar, Julia E.

2015-01-01

In this paper, the authors argue that despite a resurgence of elite studies, the majority of existing scholarship works to reify and legitimize social inequality through its language and method. In particular, the authors utilize Pierre Bourdieu's concept of relational thinking to review and critique contemporary research on elite education and…

The Paradox of Poverty Narratives: Educators Struggling with Children Left Behind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerstl-Pepin, Cynthia I.

2006-01-01

This article utilizes narrative policy analysis to examine social justice narratives embedded within No Child Left Behind with respect to economic inequities. It juxtaposes national educational policy dialogues against the stories of educators working within an elementary school that serves a high-poverty community. The qualitative research…

Thermal Energy Briefing with FPL

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-17

Sustainability Team Lead Dan Clark addresses the news media and NASA Social about the new Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Feb. 17. The TES tank works like a giant battery and is saving the center utility cost. These savings will be applied to new sustainable projects at Kennedy.

Thermal Energy Briefing with FPL

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-17

Bart Gaetjens, Florida Power & Light's FPL area external affairs manager, addresses the news media and NASA Social about the new Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank Feb. 17. The TES tank works like a giant battery and is saving the center utility cost. These savings will be applied to new sustainable projects at Kennedy.

42 CFR 1003.103 - Amount of penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...)(7) relating to printed media, and a penalty of not more than $25,000 in the case of such misuse..., utilization review, medical social work, or administrative services; or (ii) Employs or contracts with any... reasonably be expected to have the effect of denying or discouraging enrollment (except as permitted by...

42 CFR 1003.103 - Amount of penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...)(7) relating to printed media, and a penalty of not more than $25,000 in the case of such misuse..., utilization review, medical social work, or administrative services; or (ii) Employs or contracts with any... reasonably be expected to have the effect of denying or discouraging enrollment (except as permitted by...

42 CFR 1003.103 - Amount of penalty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...)(7) relating to printed media, and a penalty of not more than $25,000 in the case of such misuse..., utilization review, medical social work, or administrative services; or (ii) Employs or contracts with any... reasonably be expected to have the effect of denying or discouraging enrollment (except as permitted by...

Contributions of a supportive work environment to parents' well-being and orientation to work.

PubMed

Greenberger, E; Goldberg, W A; Hamill, S; O'Neil, R; Payne, C K

1989-12-01

Examined the joint and unique contributions of informal social support in the workplace and formal, family-responsive benefits and policies provided by employers to the job-related attitudes and personal well-being of employed parents with a young child. Eighty married men, 169 married women, and 72 single women with a preschool child completed a survey concerning social support from co-workers and supervisor, utilization of family-responsive benefits and policies, readiness to leave the employer for additional benefits, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, role strain, and health symptoms. Among the findings: (a) Fathers and mothers expressed equal levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but mothers reported more role strain and health symptoms; (b) nearly 48% of married women's organizational commitment was accounted for by measures of support in the workplace; (c) informal social support at work was significantly more important to men's well-being than that of women; and (d) formal, family-responsive policies appeared more consequential for the prediction of women's role strain, perhaps because of women's greater responsibility for adjusting work life to meet the demands of family roles.

Predictors of job satisfaction among academics at an Iranian university.

PubMed

Zarafshani, Kiumars; Alibaygi, Amir Hossein

2009-04-01

The overall job satisfaction of 128 faculty of Razi University in Iran was investigated using a modified version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire to elicit information in this stratified random sample. Faculty members were most satisfied with intrinsic aspects of the work such as "social service," "activity," and "ability utilization" and less satisfied with extrinsic aspects of work such as "security," "university policies," and "compensation." Publication counts and years of teaching experience contributed significantly to the prediction of overall job satisfaction among these faculty members. Intervention efforts must involve socializing faculty in the early stages of their careers, encouraging them to engage in research activities and write for reputable journals, while providing compensation and job security.

Student use of Web 2.0 tools to support argumentation in a high school science classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weible, Jennifer L.

This ethnographic study is an investigation into how two classes of chemistry students (n=35) from a low-income high school with a one-to-one laptop initiative used Web 2.0 tools to support participation in the science practice of argumentation (i.e., sensemaking, articulating understandings, and persuading an audience) during a unit on alternative energy. The science curriculum utilized the Technology-Enhanced Inquiry Tools for Science Education as a pedagogical framework (Kim, Hannafin, & Bryan, 2007). Video recordings of the classroom work, small group discussions, and focus group interviews, documents, screen shots, wiki evidence, and student produced multi-media artifacts were the data analyzed for this study. Open and focused coding techniques, counts of social tags and wiki moves, and interpretive analyses were used to find patterns in the data. The study found that the tools of social bookmarking, wiki, and persuasive multimedia artifacts supported participation in argumentation. In addition, students utilized the affordances of the technologies in multiple ways to communicate, collaborate, manage the work of others, and efficiently complete their science project. This study also found that technologically enhanced science curriculum can bridge students' everyday and scientific understandings of making meaning, articulating understandings, and persuading others of their point of view. As a result, implications from this work include a set of design principles for science inquiry learning that utilize technology. This study suggests new consideration of analytical methodology that blends wiki data analytics and video data. It also suggests that utilizing technology as a bridging strategy serves two roles within classrooms: (a) deepening students' understanding of alternative energy science content and (b) supporting students as they learn to participate in the practices of argumentation.

Social interactions in an online self-management program for rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed

Shigaki, Cheryl L; Smarr, Karen L; Gong, Yang; Donovan-Hanson, Kathleen; Siva, Chokkalingam; Johnson, Rebecca A; Ge, Bin; Musser, Dale R

2008-12-01

To evaluate social interactions among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), participating in an empirically based, cognitive-behavioural, self-management (SM), and peer-support program, delivered in an online format. Thirty individuals with RA were recruited online. Subjects were a subset of participants in the treatment arm of a waiting-list controlled study testing the effectiveness of a 10-week, online, SM education and peer support program. Primary outcomes were process variables describing social activity in the online environment during active treatment. Qualitative review of discussion board posts was undertaken to gain insight into participants' perceptions of social interactions. Participants spent a large proportion of logged-in time accessing educational materials and community-level activity was vibrant, with members utilizing the discussion board and e-mail. The Chat feature was less well-used. Discussion board posts regarding RAHelp were very positive, especially in regard to perceived supportiveness and bonding among participants, and a sense of feeling uniquely understood by others who have RA. Concern arose in response to periods in which the discussion board was 'too quiet'. Our work complements the emerging literature supporting acceptance and utility of Internet-based programming as a venue for SM education and social interaction among individuals with chronic illness.

Understanding Violence Through Social Media

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

understudied. To determine the feasibility of social media utilization in conflict prediction, we compared historical conflict data and social media...research, we conclude that social media metadata has a positive impact on conflict prediction when compared with historical conflict data. Additionally...of social media utilization in conflict prediction, we compared historical conflict data and social media metadata, utilizing over 829,537 geo

Social Phobia in Youth: The Diagnostic Utility of Feared Social Situations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puliafico, Anthony C.; Comer, Jonathan S.; Kendall, Philip C.

2007-01-01

The present study evaluated the utility of parent- and child-reported social fears for reaching a diagnosis of social phobia in youth. The diagnostic utility of (a) the number of fears and (b) specific feared social situations was examined. The sample included 140 youth and their parents: youth diagnosed with social phobia (n = 50), youth…

Technology Acceptance and Adoption of Innovative Smartphone Uses among Hospital Employees

PubMed Central

Moon, Byung Chan

2014-01-01

Objectives The number of healthcare institutions adopting smartphones continues to increase, implying that their utilization is undoubtedly gaining attention. Understanding the needs of smartphone users will provide a greater opportunity for successful information technology acceptance by expanding the scope of its utilization. This study focuses on how smartphones are accepted and utilized in hospitals and analyzes the factors influencing users' attitude, social influence, and intention of use. Methods For the study model, the researcher has mainly adopted the Theory of Reasoned Action and further modified and used the models of Technology Acceptance and Information Systems Success. To test the model empirically, a survey was conducted with 122 professionals on information development teams in Korean tertiary hospitals. Results The common smartphone usage modes were Internet searching, e-mail, scheduling, and social networking in consecutive order. Phone calls consisted of 51.4% of work-related purposes, while other functions, such as text message, Web browser, and scheduling, were mostly used for personal purposes. Costs, contents quality, innovation, ease of use, and support were shown to have statistically significant effects on user attitude, and social influence, portability, security, content quality, and innovation were significant. User attitude and social influence were both statistically significant with respect to intention of use, with user attitude greater than social influence. Conclusions The participating staff were analyzed as having strong personal faith and principles, independent from their external environment. Timely information exchanges among medical staff will facilitate appropriate communication and improved health services to patients in need. PMID:25405067

Technology Acceptance and Adoption of Innovative Smartphone Uses among Hospital Employees.

PubMed

Moon, Byung Chan; Chang, Hyejung

2014-10-01

The number of healthcare institutions adopting smartphones continues to increase, implying that their utilization is undoubtedly gaining attention. Understanding the needs of smartphone users will provide a greater opportunity for successful information technology acceptance by expanding the scope of its utilization. This study focuses on how smartphones are accepted and utilized in hospitals and analyzes the factors influencing users' attitude, social influence, and intention of use. For the study model, the researcher has mainly adopted the Theory of Reasoned Action and further modified and used the models of Technology Acceptance and Information Systems Success. To test the model empirically, a survey was conducted with 122 professionals on information development teams in Korean tertiary hospitals. The common smartphone usage modes were Internet searching, e-mail, scheduling, and social networking in consecutive order. Phone calls consisted of 51.4% of work-related purposes, while other functions, such as text message, Web browser, and scheduling, were mostly used for personal purposes. Costs, contents quality, innovation, ease of use, and support were shown to have statistically significant effects on user attitude, and social influence, portability, security, content quality, and innovation were significant. User attitude and social influence were both statistically significant with respect to intention of use, with user attitude greater than social influence. The participating staff were analyzed as having strong personal faith and principles, independent from their external environment. Timely information exchanges among medical staff will facilitate appropriate communication and improved health services to patients in need.

Toward a mediation model for nurses' well-being and psychological distress effects of quality of leadership and social support at work.

PubMed

Van der Heijden, Beatrice I J M; Mulder, Regina H; König, Christoph; Anselmann, Veronika

2017-04-01

Given the lack of active nurses in industrialized countries throughout the world, in combination with demographic changes, it is of utmost importance to protect nurses' well-being and to prevent psychological distress, because of their strong association with premature occupational leave. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quality of leadership and social support at work on well-being and psychological distress of nurses and to determine whether nurses' overcommitment mediates the relationship between the abovementioned determinants and the outcomes. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather our data. This study utilized part of the database of the Nurses' Early Exit Study. A total of 34,771 nurses (covering all nurse qualifications) working in hospitals, nursing homes, and home-care institutions in 8 European countries filled out a questionnaire (response rate = 51.4%). For all model variables (job satisfaction, satisfaction with salary, positive affectivity, personal burnout, negative affectivity, quality of leadership, social support from immediate supervisor, social support from near colleagues, and overcommitment), psychometrically sound, that is, valid and reliable measures were used. Outcomes from testing a structural equation mediation model indicated that, respectively, positive and negative influences of leadership quality and social support from supervisor and colleagues on nurses' well-being and psychological distress are partially mediated, that is, reduced, by nurses' overcommitment. Social work environment is highly important in relation to nurses' well-being and psychological distress.

Toward a mediation model for nurses’ well-being and psychological distress effects of quality of leadership and social support at work

PubMed Central

Van der Heijden, Beatrice I.J.M.; Mulder, Regina H.; König, Christoph; Anselmann, Veronika

2017-01-01

Abstract Given the lack of active nurses in industrialized countries throughout the world, in combination with demographic changes, it is of utmost importance to protect nurses’ well-being and to prevent psychological distress, because of their strong association with premature occupational leave. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quality of leadership and social support at work on well-being and psychological distress of nurses and to determine whether nurses’ overcommitment mediates the relationship between the abovementioned determinants and the outcomes. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather our data. This study utilized part of the database of the Nurses’ Early Exit Study. A total of 34,771 nurses (covering all nurse qualifications) working in hospitals, nursing homes, and home-care institutions in 8 European countries filled out a questionnaire (response rate = 51.4%). For all model variables (job satisfaction, satisfaction with salary, positive affectivity, personal burnout, negative affectivity, quality of leadership, social support from immediate supervisor, social support from near colleagues, and overcommitment), psychometrically sound, that is, valid and reliable measures were used. Outcomes from testing a structural equation mediation model indicated that, respectively, positive and negative influences of leadership quality and social support from supervisor and colleagues on nurses’ well-being and psychological distress are partially mediated, that is, reduced, by nurses’ overcommitment. Social work environment is highly important in relation to nurses’ well-being and psychological distress. PMID:28403079

Enhancing rigor and practice of scoping reviews in social policy research: considerations from a worked example on the Americans with disabilities act.

PubMed

Harris, Sarah Parker; Gould, Robert; Fujiura, Glenn

2015-01-01

There is increasing theoretical consideration about the use of systematic and scoping reviews of evidence in informing disability and rehabilitation research and practice. Indicative of this trend, this journal published a piece by Rumrill, Fitzgerald and Merchant in 2010 explaining the utility and process for conducting reviews of intervention-based research. There is still need to consider how to apply such rigor when conducting more exploratory reviews of heterogeneous research. This article explores the challenges, benefits, and procedures for conducting rigorous exploratory scoping reviews of diverse evidence. The article expands upon Rumrill, Fitzgerald and Merchant's framework and considers its application to more heterogeneous evidence on the impact of social policy. A worked example of a scoping review of the Americans with Disabilities Act is provided with a procedural framework for conducting scoping reviews on the effects of a social policy. The need for more nuanced techniques for enhancing rigor became apparent during the review process. There are multiple methodological steps that can enhance the utility of exploratory scoping reviews. The potential of systematic consideration during the exploratory review process is shown as a viable method to enhance the rigor in reviewing diverse bodies of evidence.

Assistants' in nursing perceptions of their social place within mental health-care settings.

PubMed

Cowan, Darrin; Frame, Nicholas; Brunero, Scott; Lamont, Scott; Joyce, Mark

2015-10-01

An international nurse shortage, tightening fiscal constraints, and increased service demands have seen health systems increasingly turn to employing assistants in nursing (AIN) as a cost-effective means to meet demand. This paper describes social positioning from the perspective of 11 AIN who were employed to work in specialist mental health settings in a metropolitan health service in Sydney. Data was collected by means of semistructured interviews. Interview questions encouraged AIN to explore their experience with reference to positioning within the service, role perception, role development, staff relationship, and role satisfaction. Thematic analysis was utilized to generate themes and explore meaning within the data. The following themes emerged: role definition and clarity; socialization and adaptation; and enhancing education. Analysis suggests that whilst AIN were integrated into mainstream service, the scope of activities or role remains geographically variable and inconsistent. Encouragingly, as AIN became familiar with their work environments and teams, they considered themselves to be of value and were able to play a meaningful role. A desire for learning and a need for continuing education also emerged as a primary theme. Findings from the data suggest that AIN in the mental health setting remain a novel and, to some extent, poorly utilized resource. © 2015 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Assessment and Management of Psychosocial Needs: Social Work Utilization in Comprehensive Cleft Team Care.

PubMed

Kaye, Alison; Lybrand, Sandra; Chew, William L

2018-01-01

To determine family-reported psychosocial stressors and social worker assessments and interventions within a comprehensive cleft team. Single-institution prospective provider-completed survey. Four hundred one families seen by cleft team social worker over a 7-month period. Most families (n = 331; 83%) participated in the team social work assessment. At least 1 active psychosocial stressor was reported by 238 (72%) families, with 63 (19%) families reported 3 or more stressors. There were 34 types of stressors reported. Most common were financial strain, young age of patient, new cleft diagnosis, and distance from clinic (57% of families live over an hour away). Family structure and home environment were assessed in detail for 288 (87%) families. Detailed assessments for access to care and behavioral/developmental issues also figured prominently. Social work interventions were provided in 264 (80%) of the visits, of which 91 were for families of new patients with over half who had infants less than 3 months old. Of the 643 interventions provided, the most frequent were parent mental health screens and counseling, early intervention referrals, transportation assistance, securing local hotel discounts, orthodontic referrals, and orthodontic cost coverage. Approximately 10% of encounters required follow-up contact related to the psychosocial concerns identified in clinic. The inclusion of a cleft team social worker is a critical component of comprehensive cleft team care as evidenced by the large proportion of families who required assistance. Ongoing social work assessments are recommended for each patient to help address the variety of psychosocial stressors families face.

The big picture: how social work can effectively utilize photographs.

PubMed

Marshall, Heather L; Craun, Sarah W; Theriot, Matthew T

2009-10-01

Social work has struggled with image problems and misperceptions of the profession and the types of services it provides. Photography is a medium that has been used effectively by other professions to change attitudes and perceptions. The present study examined the potential of photographs to change the image of available social services--namely, an adult day care program. Participants were divided into two groups: (1) a control group that only completed a survey on attitudes about adult day care services and (2) an experimental group that viewed photographs showing positive images of clients engaged in program activities before taking the survey. A multivariate regression demonstrated that those who saw the photographs before taking the survey had more positive attitudes about adult day care services. In fact, the variable representing the presentation of the photographs had the strongest effect on attitudes. Such findings suggest that photography is a potentially powerful tool to promote positive attitudes about social services programs. The implications of these results are discussed.

Preventing unintentional injuries in the home using the Health Impact Pyramid.

PubMed

Mack, Karin A; Liller, Karen D; Baldwin, Grant; Sleet, David

2015-04-01

Injuries continue to be the leading cause of death for the first four decades of life. These injuries result from a confluence of behavioral, physical, structural, environmental, and social factors. Taken together, these illustrate the importance of taking a broad and multileveled approach to injury prevention. Using examples from fall, fire, scald, and poisoning-related injuries, this article illustrates the utility of an approach that incorporates a social-environmental perspective in identifying and selecting interventions to improve the health and safety of individuals. Injury prevention efforts to prevent home injuries benefit from multilevel modifications of behavior, public policy, laws and enforcement, the environment, consumer products and engineering standards, as demonstrated with Frieden's Health Impact Pyramid. A greater understanding, however, is needed to explain the associations between tiers. While interventions that include modifications of the social environment are being field-tested, much more work needs to be done in measuring social-environmental change and in evaluating these programs to disentangle what works best. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Oppression of the bereaved: a critical analysis of grief in Western society.

PubMed

Harris, Darcy

Bereaved individuals often experience profound social pressure to conform to societal norms that constrict the experience of grief rather than support it. This article explores grief in Western society through an analysis of the underlying structures and values that are a part of this social system, utilizing the lens of critical theory. Critical theory examines social norms and conditions in order to identify and expose oppression in various contexts. This article examines the social rules that govern the expression of grief, the role of attachment, social pain, and shame as potent forces that promote compliance with social rules, and the ways that the underlying assumptions and values in Western society shape how bereaved individuals are expected to react. Implications for clinicians who work with terminally ill or bereaved individuals are then reviewed.

Gerontological Competencies among MSW Students: Evaluation of a Gerontology Specialization Program.

PubMed

Wilks, Scott E; Cain, Daphne S; Reed-Ashcraft, Kellie B; Geiger, Jen

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of a gerontology specialization program (GSP) within a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)-accredited master of social work (MSW) program. This study utilized a pretest/posttest design with a three-group comparison: group 1-GSP students; group 2-students from the group 1 program but not in GSP; and group 3-students at two external MSW programs with no GSPs. The overall sample comprised 220 advanced year students. A CSWE Gero-Ed Center/Hartford Partnership empirical measure was used to assess overall, gero social work practice competency. Within-group analyses revealed a significant increase in gero competency scores from pretest to posttest among all groups, with GSP students showing the largest increase. Between-group analysis at pretest revealed that the GSP group showed lower gero competency scores than both non-GSP groups. At posttest, these results overturned: GSP students scored significantly higher gero competency scores than both non-GSP groups. These preliminary findings suggest that the GSP offers an impactful, positive role in development of practice skills for the next generation of gero social work practitioners and scholars. A follow-up study with additional years of data will increase longitudinal rigor and confidence in the long-range efficacy of this GSP.

Exhaust All Measures: Ethical Issues in Pediatric End-of-Life Care.

PubMed

Thieleman, Kara J; Wallace, Cara; Cimino, Andrea N; Rueda, Heidi A

2016-01-01

The death of a child may have a profound impact on parents, family members, and health care providers who provided care for the child. Unique challenges are faced by parents of seriously ill children as they must serve as the legal authority for health care decisions of children under age 18, although the child's wishes must also be considered. Social workers must balance core social work values, bioethical values, and psychosocial issues presented by such situations. While studies have been conducted with physicians and nurses regarding ethical issues in pediatric end-of-life care settings, little is known about how social workers experience these conflicts. This article utilizes two vignettes to illustrate potential ethical issues in this setting and applies the National Association of Social Workers Standards for Palliative and End of Life Care (NASW, 2004 ) to explore options for their resolution. These vignettes provide descriptions of possible reactions in this setting and can be used as a basis for further exploration of ethics in pediatric end-of-life care from a social work perspective.

The utility of Twitter as a tool for increasing reach of research on sexual violence.

PubMed

Wekerle, Christine; Vakili, Negar; Stewart, Sherry H; Black, Tara

2018-05-16

Researchers in violence prevention areas seek to disseminate work for impact to practice and policy. Knowledge transfer, exchange, and mobilization are common terms for research knowledge utilization where public communication platforms are playing an increasing role, having unique capacity to connect stakeholders in advocacy and lived experience, academia, non-governmental organizations, government-supported organizations, such as child welfare, and research funding bodies. Social networking platforms provide a communication intervention opportunity to test the effectiveness of the research reach. A Canadian Institutes of Health Research- funded team grant in boys' and men's health, focusing on sexual violence (SV) victimization, health, and resilience undertook an evaluation to examine whether a strategic approach involving a cadre of SV experts (n = 46) and their research increased engagement. Using a unique identifier (#CIHRTeamSV) content was shared on social media (Twitter) within an ABABAB experimental monthly format (A = no sharing; B = sharing content), following a baseline entry of researchers. Active Twitter engagement lead to increases in the number of individuals' profile views, article downloads, and citations. These findings encourage further research into the utility of social media for disseminating sexual violence research, and that social media has developed as a forum for evidence-based conversation on sensitive topics of public health import. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Re-Politicizing Participatory Action Research: Unmasking Neoliberalism and the Illusions of Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Steven; Kapoor, Dip

2016-01-01

Utilizing potential cross-pollinations of theoretical insights taken from approaches to educational and social research that have mostly emerged outside of the university and been generated by critical theorists and most recently indigenous researchers as work that has not only challenged the epistemological and ontological foundations of the…

Research versus Advocacy in the Allocation of Resources: Problems, Causes, Solutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menolascino, Frank J.; Stark, Jack A.

1990-01-01

This commentary on EC 231 901 discusses whether resource allocations and service policies for mentally retarded individuals should be based upon purported findings of scientific theory or the purported needs of service systems. The paper calls for improved research utilization and understanding of what makes a social movement work. (JDD)

What Works in Youth Violence Prevention: A Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagan, Abigail A.; Catalano, Richard F.

2013-01-01

Objectives: Given the high rates at which adolescents engage in violence, the strong link between adolescent and adult violence, and the financial and social costs of violence, the prevention of violent behavior is a national priority. Methods: The authors conducted a comprehensive review of evaluations utilizing quasi-experimental or experimental…

Internet Utilization among B.Ed. Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thangarajathi, S.

2011-01-01

Social, Economic and technological changes of the fast decades are making teaching more crucial than ever. The information and knowledge society needs a continuous change in the role and working of teachers. Being a teacher in the Knowledge society, one has to deal with i) new knowledge and new ways for accessing knowledge; ii) a networked world…

Past, Present, and Future Trends in Teaching Clinical Skills through Web-Based Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coe Regan, Jo Ann R.; Youn, Eric J.

2008-01-01

Distance education in social work has grown significantly due to the use of interactive television and computer networks. Given the recent developments in delivering distance education utilizing Web-based technology, this article presents a literature review focused on identifying generational trends in the development of Web-based learning…

Utilizing a Substance Use Attitudes, Practices and Knowledge Survey for Multidisciplinary Curriculum Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Dale; Waters, Vicki; McQueen, Katie; Basinger, Scott

2006-01-01

The authors describe the development and administration of a substance use attitudes questionnaire to social work students and clinicians, physician assistant students and practitioners, and medical interns. The general purpose for the Attitudes Survey was to collect baseline data regarding past training, current attitudes, beliefs, practices, and…

Utilizing the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory in Employee Assistance Program Workplace Seminars.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aviles, Christopher B.

Social work educators are being called upon more often to deliver employee workplace seminars for community agencies on a variety of topics ranging from burnout and stress management to improving workplace communication and managing workplace conflicts. One tool that addresses workplace communication is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It…

Utility of No-Sweat Labels for Apparel Consumers: Profiling Label Users and Predicting Their Purchases.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickson, Marsha A.

2001-01-01

Responses from 547 of 2,000 consumers indicated consumer support for socially responsible purchasing. For 16%, "No-Sweat" labels indicating the working conditions of apparel makers were a strong purchasing influence. Women, especially unmarried females with lower educational attainment, were most likely to purchase clothing with No-Sweat…

A Theory-Mindedness Approach: Eliminating the Need for a Gap in Baccalaureate Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Shari E.; Skinner, Jeffrey F.

2013-01-01

Social work educators have been grappling for years with the continually challenging notion of the "integration of theory and practice" and the converse concept, the "gap between theory and practice." This article posits the utility of a theory-mindedness approach to learning and practice as an alternative conceptualization…

Enduring Paradigm, New Opportunities: The Value of the Archival Perspective in the Digital Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilliland-Swetland, Anne J.

This report examines the experiences and contributions of the archival community--practicing archivists, manuscript curators, archival academics, and policy makers who work to define and promote the social utility of records and to identify, preserve, and provide access to documentary heritage regardless of format. The report addresses how the…

Grief and the Internet: Insights for FCS Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gianatassio, Heather M.; Kimberly, Claire

2014-01-01

Working with individuals dealing with death and loss can be particularly challenging for family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals, but what is unknown is how FCS practitioners can utilize social media to understand and assist in the mourning process. The purpose of this study was to gather information about grieving via online social…

Computer Applications in Counselor Education: Developing Cultural Competencies through Online Collaboration of Future School Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ilieva, Vessela; Erguner-Tekinalp, Bengu

2012-01-01

This study examined the applications of computer-mediated student collaboration in a graduate multicultural counseling course. The course work included a reflective cultural competency building assignment that utilized online communication and collaboration using a wiki to extend and improve students' multicultural counseling and social justice…

Thermal Energy Briefing with FPL

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-17

Ismael H. Otero, NASA Kennedy Space Center's project manager on the thermal energy program, addresses the news media and NASA Social about the new Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank Feb. 17. The TES tank works like a giant battery and is saving the center utility cost. These savings will be applied to new sustainable projects at Kennedy.

Utilized social support and self-esteem mediate the relationship between perceived social support and suicide ideation. A test of a multiple mediator model.

PubMed

Kleiman, Evan M; Riskind, John H

2013-01-01

While perceived social support has received considerable research as a protective factor for suicide ideation, little attention has been given to the mechanisms that mediate its effects. We integrated two theoretical models, Joiner's (2005) interpersonal theory of suicide and Leary's (Leary, Tambor, Terdal, & Downs, 1995) sociometer theory of self-esteem to investigate two hypothesized mechanisms, utilization of social support and self-esteem. Specifically, we hypothesized that individuals must utilize the social support they perceive that would result in increased self-esteem, which in turn buffers them from suicide ideation. Participants were 172 college students who completed measures of social support, self-esteem, and suicide ideation. Tests of simple mediation indicate that utilization of social support and self-esteem may each individually help to mediate the perceived social support/suicide ideation relationship. Additionally, a test of multiple mediators using bootstrapping supported the hypothesized multiple-mediator model. The use of a cross-sectional design limited our ability to find true cause-and-effect relationships. Results suggested that utilized social support and self-esteem both operate as individual moderators in the social support/self-esteem relationship. Results further suggested, in a comprehensive model, that perceived social support buffers suicide ideation through utilization of social support and increases in self-esteem.

Impact of Short Social Training on Prosocial Behaviors: An fMRI Study.

PubMed

Lukinova, Evgeniya; Myagkov, Mikhail

2016-01-01

Efficient brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are in need of knowledge about the human brain and how it interacts, plays games, and socializes with other brains. A breakthrough can be achieved by revealing the microfoundations of sociality, an additional component of the utility function reflecting the value of contributing to group success derived from social identity. Building upon our previous behavioral work, we conduct a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments (N = 10 in the Pilot Study and N = 15 in the Main Study) to measure whether and how sociality alters the functional activation of and connectivity between specific systems in the brain. The overarching hypothesis of this study is that sociality, even in a minimal form, serves as a natural mechanism of sustainable cooperation by fostering interaction between brain regions associated with social cognition and those related to value calculation. We use group-based manipulations to induce varying levels of sociality and compare behavior in two social dilemmas: Prisoner's Dilemma and variations of Ultimatum Game. We find that activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus, a region previously associated with cognitive control and modulation of the valuation system, is correlated with activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to a greater degree when participants make economic decisions in a game with an acquaintance, high sociality condition, compared to a game with a random individual, low sociality condition. These initial results suggest a specific biological mechanism through which sociality facilitates cooperation, fairness and provision of public goods at the cost of individual gain. Future research should examine neural dynamics in the brain during the computation of utility in the context of strategic games that involve social interaction for a larger sample of subjects.

Impact of Short Social Training on Prosocial Behaviors: An fMRI Study

PubMed Central

Lukinova, Evgeniya; Myagkov, Mikhail

2016-01-01

Efficient brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) are in need of knowledge about the human brain and how it interacts, plays games, and socializes with other brains. A breakthrough can be achieved by revealing the microfoundations of sociality, an additional component of the utility function reflecting the value of contributing to group success derived from social identity. Building upon our previous behavioral work, we conduct a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments (N = 10 in the Pilot Study and N = 15 in the Main Study) to measure whether and how sociality alters the functional activation of and connectivity between specific systems in the brain. The overarching hypothesis of this study is that sociality, even in a minimal form, serves as a natural mechanism of sustainable cooperation by fostering interaction between brain regions associated with social cognition and those related to value calculation. We use group-based manipulations to induce varying levels of sociality and compare behavior in two social dilemmas: Prisoner’s Dilemma and variations of Ultimatum Game. We find that activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus, a region previously associated with cognitive control and modulation of the valuation system, is correlated with activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to a greater degree when participants make economic decisions in a game with an acquaintance, high sociality condition, compared to a game with a random individual, low sociality condition. These initial results suggest a specific biological mechanism through which sociality facilitates cooperation, fairness and provision of public goods at the cost of individual gain. Future research should examine neural dynamics in the brain during the computation of utility in the context of strategic games that involve social interaction for a larger sample of subjects. PMID:27458349

Skill complementarity enhances heterophily in collaboration networks

PubMed Central

Xie, Wen-Jie; Li, Ming-Xia; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Tan, Qun-Zhao; Podobnik, Boris; Zhou, Wei-Xing; Stanley, H. Eugene

2016-01-01

Much empirical evidence shows that individuals usually exhibit significant homophily in social networks. We demonstrate, however, skill complementarity enhances heterophily in the formation of collaboration networks, where people prefer to forge social ties with people who have professions different from their own. We construct a model to quantify the heterophily by assuming that individuals choose collaborators to maximize utility. Using a huge database of online societies, we find evidence of heterophily in collaboration networks. The results of model calibration confirm the presence of heterophily. Both empirical analysis and model calibration show that the heterophilous feature is persistent along the evolution of online societies. Furthermore, the degree of skill complementarity is positively correlated with their production output. Our work sheds new light on the scientific research utility of virtual worlds for studying human behaviors in complex socioeconomic systems. PMID:26743687

Perceptions towards disability among social work students in Israel: Development and validation of a new scale.

PubMed

Holler, Roni; Werner, Shirli

2018-05-01

Over the last decades, the disability movement has been advocating for a paradigmatic shift in how disability is perceived and managed: from a medical or individual perspective focusing on the person's body and mind to a social perspective emphasizing the context and barriers of disability. However, we still know little about the perceptions of helping professionals, particularly social workers who work closely with disabled people. Thus, the aim of the current study is to develop and validate a scale-Perceptions Toward Disability Scale (PTDS)-to measure how social workers view disability: as an individual or social category. This paper describes the three phases of the scale's construction. First, scale items were formulated and its content validity was examined. Next, a pilot of 30 social workers completed a questionnaire and an initial exploratory factor analysis was conducted. In the third and main phase, the final draft was completed in 2016 by 565 Israeli social work students to assess its psychometric properties. Both exploratory and confirmatory factorial validity and discriminant validity analyses were conducted. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis revealed two distinct factors: an individual perspective of disability comprised of eight items (α = 0.77) and a social perspective of disability comprised of ten (α = 0.66). Subsequent analyses supported the scale's discriminant validity as indicated by the lack of an association between the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP) and the social model subscale (r = .13, p = .19) and by the weak negative relation with the individual model subscale (r = -.25, p = .01). These findings show that the PTDS possesses promising construct validity and provide support for its utility. This easy-to-administer instrument offers several practical benefits and can serve as a framework for further empirical research regarding social work practice with disabled people. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Perceived Workforce Challenges among Clinical Social Workers in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Programs.

PubMed

Stickney Ferguson, Stacy; Randall, Jill; Dabney, Jane; Kalbacker, Marion E; Boyle, Nancy; Thao, Viengneesee; Murphy, Elizabeth A; Denzen, Ellen M

2018-05-01

Clinical social workers are psychosocial care experts who provide interventions that aim to address the emotional, relational, financial, and logistical challenges that arise throughout the hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) treatment and recovery process. Interventions that contribute to better patient outcomes can include cognitive behavioral therapy and counseling for adaptation to illness, family planning for 24/7 caregiver availability and strategies to support patient activities of daily living, instruction on guided imagery and relaxation techniques for symptom management and to decrease anxiety, psychoeducation on the treatment trajectory, and linkage with financial resources. A Social Work Workforce Group (SWG) was established through the System Capacity Initiative, led by the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match, to characterize the current social work workforce capacity and challenges. The SWG conducted a web-based survey of HCT clinical social workers in the United States. The response rate was 57% (n = 90), representing 76 transplant centers. Survey results indicated that the clinical social worker role and scope of practice varies significantly between centers; less than half of respondents reported that their clinical social work expertise was used to its fullest potential. With an estimated 3-fold increase in HCT patient volume by 2020, the need for specialized psychosocial health services will increase. The SWG makes recommendations to build capacity for the psychosocial care of HCT patients and to more fully integrate the social worker as a core member of the HCT team. The SWG created a Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Clinical Social Worker role description that can be used by transplant centers to educate healthcare professionals, benchmark utilization of clinical social workers, and improve comprehensive psychosocial health programs. Copyright © 2018 The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrative approaches utilizing oxytocin to enhance prosocial behavior: from animal and human social behavior to autistic social dysfunction.

PubMed

Yamasue, Hidenori; Yee, Jason R; Hurlemann, René; Rilling, James K; Chen, Frances S; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Tost, Heike

2012-10-10

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is as high as 1 in 100 individuals and is a heavy burden to society. Thus, identifying causes and treatments is imperative. Here, we briefly review the topics covered in our 2012 Society for Neuroscience Mini-Symposium entitled "Integrative Approaches Using Oxytocin to Enhance Prosocial Behavior: From Animal and Human Social Behavior to ASD's Social Dysfunction." This work is not meant to be a comprehensive review of oxytocin and prosocial behavior. Instead, we wish to share the newest findings on the effects of oxytocin on social behavior, the brain, and the social dysfunction of ASD at the molecular, genetic, systemic, and behavior levels, in varied subjects ranging from animal models to humans suffering from autism for the purpose of promoting further study for developing the clinical use of oxytocin in treating ASD.

Food choices and peer relationships: Examining 'a taste for necessity' in a network context.

PubMed

Pachucki, Mark C

2014-01-01

The knowledge of how our taste preferences in food are shaped by our social lives has largely developed without attention to the roles played by relationships with other people. While the well-known sociological work of Pierre Bourdieu highlights the relationship of economic, cultural, and social capital with food consumption, very little scholarship concerned with food has given explicit empirical attention to social network connectivity as a form of social capital. To bridge this gap, this investigation utilizes data from a prospective cohort study of health in which both the food choices of several thousand individuals and their social ties with peers are examined. Comparing the relative social connectedness of individuals and their common food choices provides a new perspective on taste formation and maintenance and provides new evidence of how interpersonal mechanisms play a role in food choice and taste preferences.

Food choices and peer relationships: Examining ‘a taste for necessity’ in a network context

PubMed Central

Pachucki, Mark C.

2016-01-01

The knowledge of how our taste preferences in food are shaped by our social lives has largely developed without attention to the roles played by relationships with other people. While the well-known sociological work of Pierre Bourdieu highlights the relationship of economic, cultural, and social capital with food consumption, very little scholarship concerned with food has given explicit empirical attention to social network connectivity as a form of social capital. To bridge this gap, this investigation utilizes data from a prospective cohort study of health in which both the food choices of several thousand individuals and their social ties with peers are examined. Comparing the relative social connectedness of individuals and their common food choices provides a new perspective on taste formation and maintenance and provides new evidence of how interpersonal mechanisms play a role in food choice and taste preferences. PMID:27226654

Measuring successful knowledge sharing among academia through social media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghazali, Saadiah; Sulaiman, Nor Intan Saniah; Zabidi, Nerda Zura; Omar, Mohd Faizal; Alias, Rose Alinda

2015-12-01

This paper aims to study the influence of social media on knowledge sharing among academia. Previously, many researches have been done to explore the importance emergence of social media for public use, but there are still limited studies on how this technological advancement affects the academia. For this study, Facebook is chosen as one of the online social networking tools as the medium of knowledge sharing. To begin with, this study is started with the identification of factors that encourage the academia to share their knowledge through social media. These factors are then categorized based on Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). After this knowledge has successfully shared, the level of successful knowledge sharing through Facebook is modeled using Fuzzy Logic. Fuzzy inputs for this study are the number of like, comment and share. Findings from this study indeed showed that there are many reasons encouraging academia to utilize social media for their work. Besides, this paper contributes new knowledge to fuzzy logic application as it is the first known research in measuring Facebook engagement for knowledge sharing purposes. In conclusion although there exist some barriers and limitations with the use of social media, academia are showing a positive shift in the application of these tools for work.

Health sector employment growth calls for improvements in labor productivity.

PubMed

Hofmarcher, Maria M; Festl, Eva; Bishop-Tarver, Leslie

2016-08-01

While rising costs of healthcare have put increased fiscal pressure on public finance, job growth in the health sector has had a stabilizing force on overall employment levels - not least in times of economic crises. In 2014 EU-15 countries employed 21 million people in the health and social care sector. Between 2000 and 2014 the share of employed persons in this sector rose from 9.5% to 12.5% of the total labor force in EU-15 countries. Over time labor input growth has shifted towards residential care activities and social work while labor in human health activities including hospitals and ambulatory care still comprises the major share. About half of the human health labor force works in hospital. Variation of health and social care employment is large even in countries with generally comparable institutional structures. While standard measures of productivity in health and social care are not yet comparable across countries, we argue that labor productivity of a growing health work force needs more attention. The long-term stability of the health system will require care delivery models that better utilize a growing health work force in concert with smart investments in digital infrastructure to support this transition. In light of this, more research is needed to explain variations in health and social care labor endowments, to identify effective policy measures of labor productivity enhancement including enhanced efforts to develop comparable productivity indicators in these areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determinants of Subjective Social Status and Health Among Latin American Women Immigrants in Spain: A Qualitative Approach.

PubMed

Sanchón-Macias, Ma Visitación; Bover-Bover, Andreu; Prieto-Salceda, Dolores; Paz-Zulueta, María; Torres, Blanca; Gastaldo, Denise

2016-04-01

This qualitative study was carried out to better understand factors that determine the subjective social status of Latin Americans in Spain. The study was conducted following a theoretical framework and forms part of broader study on subjective social status and health. Ten immigrant participants engaged in semi-structured interviews, from which data were collected. The study results show that socioeconomic aspects of the crisis and of policies adopted have shaped immigrant living conditions in Spain. Four major themes that emerged from the analysis were related to non-recognition of educational credentials, precarious working conditions, unemployment and loneliness. These results illustrate the outcomes of current policies on health and suggest a need for health professionals to orient practices toward social determinants, thus utilizing evaluations of subjective social status to reduce inequalities in health.

The Education of Hindu Priests in the Diaspora: Assessing the Value of Community of Practice Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verma, Michele

2010-01-01

The utility and limitations of Lave and Wenger's social theory of learning can be evaluated through specific case studies which enhance our understanding of how education proceeds in diverse contexts. Here I provide an ethnographic case study of the training of Caribbean-born Hindu "pandits" ("priests") living and working in…

Introducing Patchwork Assessment to a Social Psychology Module: The Utility of Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wesson, Caroline J.

2013-01-01

Patchwork text assessment offers an alternative to traditional forms of assessment that are often focused on single assessment outcomes. Embedded within patchwork text assessment is formative assessment whereby short pieces of work, or patches, are shared with staff or peers for feedback which students can reflect upon and use to amend their work…

Understanding Activist Leadership Effort in the Movement Opposing Drinking and Driving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorius, Cassandra R.; McCarthy, John D.

2011-01-01

Why do some social movement leaders work harder than others? And, how does gender affect the patterns we uncover? Utilizing historical case study evidence of local chapters in the emerging movement opposing drinking and driving we are able to develop and test theoretical expectations about predictors of weekly effort among MADD and RID leaders.…

Embodying the Faith: Religious Practice and the Making of a Muslim Moral Habitus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winchester, Daniel

2008-01-01

Despite a number of contemporary theoretical works in sociology and moral philosophy arguing that the project of modern selfhood is necessarily a deeply moral endeavor, there are few empirical studies examining the specific ways in which social actors construct moral selves and lives. Utilizing ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, this…

The Status That Troubled Me: Re-Examining Work with Black Boys through a Culturally Sustaining Pedagogical Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Latrise P.

2017-01-01

To understand how one participant "engage[s] in social action to solve problems," this research utilizes critical narrative analysis to illustrate how researchers may re-enter into critical conversations with participants to interrupt deficit discourses used when describing the lives of Black male youth. This article analyzes the…

The Impact of a Caregiver Health Education Program on Health Care Costs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toseland, Ronald W.; Smith, Tamara L.

2006-01-01

Objectives: This study examined health care cost outcomes resulting from a health education program (HEP), a social work intervention for spouse caregivers of frail older adults. Method: One-hundred five spouses were recruited and randomly assigned to HEP or usual care (UC). Health care utilization and cost data were collected from the HMO's…

Promoting Change within the Constraints of Conflict: Case Study of Sadaka Reut in Israel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Karen

2013-01-01

This article explores the approach to transformative education utilized by Sadaka Reut, a binational civil society organization in Israel that works with Jewish and Palestinian youth. I examine three central tools Sadaka Reut uses to achieve its goal of educating youth for social change: using personal experiences as the basis for discussion;…

Utilization of the Elderly in Child Welfare Services. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dannenberg, George; And Others

A study of the potential of using older people as aides in child welfare services involved interviews with 467 older people and 95 social work professionals in New Jersey. Focus was on relationships among individual differences such as attitudes and beliefs, potential areas of conflict between staff and the elderly volunteer, and what roles and…

Sometimes I Am Afraid: An Autoethnography of Resistance and Compliance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Averett, Paige; Soper, Danielle

2011-01-01

Utilizing a feminist autoethnographic stance and method, this article is based upon the dialogues produced by a student completing an assignment for a social work instructor. Various tensions are explored, including the role of autoethnography in both qualitative and feminist research and the role of fear in a woman's life. A critique of the role…

Employment services utilization and outcomes among substance abusing offenders participating in California's proposition 36 drug treatment initiative.

PubMed

Evans, Elizabeth; Hser, Yih-Ing; Huang, David

2010-10-01

California drug treatment programs may use funds to address barriers to work faced by Proposition 36 offenders, most of whom are not working at treatment entry, but employment services utilization and related behavioral outcomes have never been studied. This study examined primary data collected on 1,453 offenders by 30 programs during 2004 to explore the characteristics, employment services utilization, and outcomes of those who did and did not receive employment services while in drug treatment. One-year outcomes were mostly similar across groups, however, increases in the proportion of offenders employed, receiving income from employment and family or friends, and being paid for work were significantly greater among the received-employment-services group, and a greater proportion of this group also completed drug treatment. Employment services utilization was less likely for persons recruited from outpatient settings and more likely with greater severity of family/social problems and desire for services. Odds of employment one-year post-treatment entry were higher for those of Hispanic race/ethnicity (vs. White) and for those with treatment completion/longer retention but lower for those who were older, lived in specific counties, had greater employment problem severity at intake, and received other income-related services. Strategies for improving employment services utilization and outcomes among Proposition 36 offenders are discussed.

The child welfare system: through the eyes of public health nurses.

PubMed

Schneiderman, Janet U

2005-01-01

This qualitative descriptive study investigates how public health nurses working within the child welfare system view the organization and the organization's effect on their case management practice. Semistructured interviews were conducted utilizing the Bolman-Deal Organizational Model. This model identifies four frames of an organization: symbolic, human resources, political, and structural. A purposive sample of nine nurses and one social worker was selected to participate in comprehensive interviews. Data analysis identified two main themes. The first theme was the presence of organizational structural barriers to providing case management. The second theme was the lack of political influence by the nurses to change the structure of the organization; hence, their skills could be more completely utilized. Public health nurses who work in child welfare will need to systematically analyze their role within the organization and understand how to work in "host settings." Nursing educators need to prepare public health nurses to work in non-health care settings by teaching organizational analysis.

The Breivik controversy: politics, terrorism and psychiatry.

PubMed

Tietze, Tad

2014-08-01

To examine and analyse the controversy over psychiatric aspects of the case of Norwegian far right mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik. Because of a basic acceptance of methodological individualism and scientific positivism, mainstream psychiatry is currently ill suited to being broadly applied to the spheres of politics and political violence. Rather than jettison psychiatric insights in such cases, the choices facing the profession are either to accept the narrowness of its utility or to work towards a theoretical framework that sees the individual psyche as socially embedded rather than as socially constitutive, and psychiatric science itself as socially constructed and hence inescapably value-laden. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2014.

A feminist perspective on risk factor research and on the prevention of eating disorders.

PubMed

Piran, Niva

2010-01-01

This review utilizes a feminist lens to discuss risk factor research and prevention work in the field of eating disorders. The article suggests that feminist informed risk factor research needs to consider gender as it intersects with other social variables as a relevant higher level risk factor and examine its relationship to individual level risk factors such as the internalization of thinness or negative body image. The article also highlights the key elements of participatory approaches and systemic changes to feminist informed prevention work. Prevention work conducted to date suggests the relevance of these elements to achieving behavioral changes in prevention work.

Independent Coactors May Improve Performance and Lower Workload: Viewing Vigilance Under Social Facilitation.

PubMed

Claypoole, Victoria L; Szalma, James L

2018-04-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of an independent coactor on vigilance task performance. It was hypothesized that the presence of an independent coactor would improve performance in terms of the proportion of false alarms while also increasing perceived workload and stress. Vigilance, or the ability to maintain attention for extended periods, is of great interest to human factors psychologists. Substantial work has focused on improving vigilance task performance, typically through motivational interventions. Of interest to vigilance researchers is the application of social facilitation as a means of enhancing vigilance. Social facilitation seeks to explain how social presence may improve performance. A total of 100 participants completed a 24-min vigil either alone or in the presence of an independent (confederate) coactor. Participants completed measures of perceived workload and stress. The results indicated that performance (i.e., proportion of false alarms) was improved for those who completed the vigil in the presence of an independent coactor. Interestingly, perceived workload was actually lower for those who completed the vigil in the presence of an independent coactor, although perceived stress was not affected by the manipulation. Authors of future research should extend these findings to other forms of social facilitation and examine vigilance task performance in social contexts in order to determine the utility of social presence for improving vigilance. The use of coactors may be an avenue for organizations to consider utilizing to improve performance because of its relative cost-effectiveness and easy implementation.

The integration of two health systems: social stratification, work and health in East and West Germany.

PubMed

Lüschen, G; Niemann, S; Apelt, P

1997-03-01

This is an analysis of system integration, social stratification and work for health status and health care in East and West Germany. It is based on aggregate data and representative survey data of random samples of 2554 adults in both subsystems. Findings show that there were marked differences in life-expectancy prior to unification. The integration of the two systems, which occurred almost totally with regard to terms of West German health care organization, shows adjustment problems in the East for the public Health-Care-Funds and few if any for ambulatory care. The work situation has an impact on health, but there are no significant differences for East versus West. Social stratification variables show an influence on subjective health status for education (East) and for income, social status (West), while physician utilization (despite a preference of specialists by those with higher status) is not significantly determined by stratification variables in either East or West Germany. Beyond the central focus on work and stratification determinants a major finding pertains to a comparatively worse health situation for the aged and for women in what was the former East Germany. System models of Capitalism versus Socialism fit the results and recent history of the two systems to only a limited degree, as the West German corporate health system shows clear limits in following free market principles. The East German system, regardless of its centralized organization and move towards a socialist system, never fully abandoned the traditional model of German health care. Unlike the East German health system, that of West Germany, with its general expansion to 92% of the population, shows an increasing effect for social redistribution. The latter may be a reason why standard indicators of social stratification show less of an impact on health and health care than expected, while conditions at work clearly determine the health of people-the latter being the case in both the former East and West Germany.

A Qualitative Study of Underutilization of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program

PubMed Central

Olson, Kristin M.; Godwin, Noah C.; Wilkins, Sara Anne; Mugavero, Michael J.; Moneyham, Linda D.; Slater, Larry Z.; Raper, James L.

2014-01-01

In our previous work, we demonstrated underutilization of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) at an HIV clinic in Alabama. In order to understand barriers and facilitators to utilization of ADAP, we conducted focus groups of ADAP enrollees. Focus groups were stratified by sex, race, and historical medication possession ratio as a measure of program utilization. We grouped factors according to the social-ecological model. We found that multiple levels of influence, including patient and clinic-related factors, influenced utilization of antiretroviral medications. Patients introduced issues that illustrated high-priority needs for ADAP policy and implementation, suggesting that in order to improve ADAP utilization, the following issues must be addressed: patient transportation, ADAP medication refill schedules and procedures, mailing of medications, and the ADAP recertification process. These findings can inform a strategy of approaches to improve ADAP utilization, which may have widespread implications for ADAP programs across the United States. PMID:24503498

Economic principles motivating social attention in humans.

PubMed

Hayden, Benjamin Y; Parikh, Purak C; Deaner, Robert O; Platt, Michael L

2007-07-22

We know little about the processes by which we evaluate the opportunity to look at another person. We propose that behavioural economics provides a powerful approach to understanding this basic aspect of social attention. We hypothesized that the decision process culminating in attention to another person follows the same economic principles that govern choices about rewards such as food, drinks and money. Specifically, such rewards are discounted as a function of time, are tradable for other rewards, and reinforce work. Behavioural and neurobiological evidence suggests that looking at other people can also be described as rewarding, but to what extent these economic principles apply to social orienting remains unknown. Here, we show that the opportunity to view pictures of the opposite sex is discounted by delay to viewing, substitutes for money and reinforces work. The reward value of photos of the opposite sex varied with physical attractiveness and was greater in men, suggesting differential utility of acquiring visual information about the opposite sex in men and women. Together, these results demonstrate that choosing whom to look at follows a general set of economic principles, implicating shared neural mechanisms in both social and non-social decision making.

Confidentiality Considerations for Use of Social-Spatial Data on the Social Determinants of Health: Sexual and Reproductive Health Case Study

PubMed Central

Haley, Danielle F.; Matthews, Stephen A.; Cooper, Hannah LF; Haardörfer, Regine; Adimora, Adaora A.; Wingood, Gina M.; Kramer, Michael R.

2016-01-01

Understanding whether and how the places where people live, work, and play are associated with health behaviors and health is essential to understanding the social determinants of health. However, social-spatial data which link a person and their attributes to a geographic location (e.g., home address) create potential confidentiality risks. Despite the growing body of literature describing approaches to protect individual confidentiality when utilizing social-spatial data, peer-reviewed manuscripts displaying identifiable individual point data or quasi-identifiers (attributes associated with the individual or disease that narrow identification) in maps persist, suggesting that knowledge has not been effectively translated into public health research practices. Using sexual and reproductive health as a case study, we explore the extent to which maps appearing in recent peer-reviewed publications risk participant confidentiality. Our scoping review of sexual and reproductive health literature published and indexed in PubMed between January 1, 2013 and September 1, 2015 identified 45 manuscripts displaying participant data in maps as points or small-population geographic units, spanning 26 journals and representing studies conducted in 20 countries. Notably, 56% (13/23) of publications presenting point data on maps either did not describe approaches used to mask data or masked data inadequately. Furthermore, 18% (4/22) of publications displaying data using small-population geographic units included at least two quasi-identifiers. These findings highlight the need for heightened education for researchers, reviewers, and editorial teams. We aim to provide readers with a primer on key confidentiality considerations when utilizing linked social-spatial data for visualizing results. Given the widespread availability of place-based data and the ease of creating maps, it is critically important to raise awareness on when social-spatial data constitute protected health information, best practices for masking geographic identifiers, and methods of balancing disclosure risk and scientific utility. We conclude with recommendations to support the preservation of confidentiality when disseminating results. PMID:27542102

Confidentiality considerations for use of social-spatial data on the social determinants of health: Sexual and reproductive health case study.

PubMed

Haley, Danielle F; Matthews, Stephen A; Cooper, Hannah L F; Haardörfer, Regine; Adimora, Adaora A; Wingood, Gina M; Kramer, Michael R

2016-10-01

Understanding whether and how the places where people live, work, and play are associated with health behaviors and health is essential to understanding the social determinants of health. However, social-spatial data which link a person and their attributes to a geographic location (e.g., home address) create potential confidentiality risks. Despite the growing body of literature describing approaches to protect individual confidentiality when utilizing social-spatial data, peer-reviewed manuscripts displaying identifiable individual point data or quasi-identifiers (attributes associated with the individual or disease that narrow identification) in maps persist, suggesting that knowledge has not been effectively translated into public health research practices. Using sexual and reproductive health as a case study, we explore the extent to which maps appearing in recent peer-reviewed publications risk participant confidentiality. Our scoping review of sexual and reproductive health literature published and indexed in PubMed between January 1, 2013 and September 1, 2015 identified 45 manuscripts displaying participant data in maps as points or small-population geographic units, spanning 26 journals and representing studies conducted in 20 countries. Notably, 56% (13/23) of publications presenting point data on maps either did not describe approaches used to mask data or masked data inadequately. Furthermore, 18% (4/22) of publications displaying data using small-population geographic units included at least two quasi-identifiers. These findings highlight the need for heightened education for researchers, reviewers, and editorial teams. We aim to provide readers with a primer on key confidentiality considerations when utilizing linked social-spatial data for visualizing results. Given the widespread availability of place-based data and the ease of creating maps, it is critically important to raise awareness on when social-spatial data constitute protected health information, best practices for masking geographic identifiers, and methods of balancing disclosure risk and scientific utility. We conclude with recommendations to support the preservation of confidentiality when disseminating results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of organizational culture: Individual beliefs vs. social conformity

PubMed Central

Allan, Neil; Johansson, Anders

2017-01-01

The complex nature of organizational culture challenges our ability to infer its underlying dynamics from observational studies. Recent computational studies have adopted a distinctly different view, where plausible mechanisms are proposed to describe a wide range of social phenomena, including the onset and evolution of organizational culture. In this spirit, this work introduces an empirically-grounded, agent-based model which relaxes a set of assumptions that describes past work–(a) omittance of an individual’s strive for achieving cognitive coherence; (b) limited integration of important contextual factors—by utilizing networks of beliefs and incorporating social rank into the dynamics. As a result, we illustrate that: (i) an organization may appear to be increasingly coherent in terms of its organizational culture, yet be composed of individuals with reduced levels of coherence; (ii) the components of social conformity—peer-pressure and social rank—are influential at different aggregation levels. PMID:28665960

Suggestions for Utilizing the 2008 EPAS in CSWE-Accredited Baccalaureate and Masters Curriculums--Reflections from the Field, Part 1: The Explicit Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petracchi, Helen E.; Zastrow, Charles

2010-01-01

In April 2008, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) issued new guidelines for Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). The 2008 EPAS shift the focus of assessment from the evaluation of program objectives to assessment of educational outcomes and student achievement of practice competencies. Major accreditation challenges for…

Through the Looking-Glass: How Nineteenth Century Asylums Shaped School Architecture and Notions of Intellectual Abnormality Shaped Public Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roof, David J.

2017-01-01

This paper utilizes Henri Lefebvre's work to examine nineteenth century school architecture, in relation to asylums. The deployment of the asylums occurred in unison with the development of public schools. Based on archival research this paper seeks an examination of this interrelated development. The social/spatial arrangement of asylums and…

Evaluating Journal Quality: Is the H-Index a Better Measure than Impact Factors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge, David R.; Lacasse, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

Objectives: This study evaluates the utility of a new measure--the h-index--that may provide a more valid approach to evaluating journal quality in the social work profession. Method: H-index values are compared with Thomson ISI 5-year impact factors and expert opinion. Results: As hypothesized, the h-index correlates highly with ISI 5-year impact…

The CUNY Young Adult Program--Utilizing Social Networking to Foster Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cohort Student Communication during Workforce Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Alissa; Winkler, Christoph; Petersen, Saul

2010-01-01

The Center for Economic and Workforce Development (CEWD) at Kingsborough Community College (KCC) is currently working on a workforce development project that contains innovative teaching tools that proved successful in overcoming issues of academic isolation facing the student body. The CUNY Young Adult Program (CYAP) is a partnership of three…

Teaching with Tupac: Building a Solid Grounding in Theory across the Social Work Education Continuum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elkins, Jennifer; Miller, Shari; Briggs, Harold; Skinner, Sara

2015-01-01

This article describes a collaborative and emergent approach utilizing Tupac Shakur's "Brenda's Got a Baby" to leverage theory education. This song/video uses a fictionalized account of a pregnant 12-year-old African American girl to chronicle the ecological realities of life in the inner city (e.g., teen pregnancy, drug addiction and…

Educational Outcomes for Students with Special Needs: The Impact of Support and Resources on Teachers' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharpe, Traci Y.

2013-01-01

This article defines a theoretical framework for reviewing factors that affect a teacher's self-efficacy as they work to impact the educational outcomes for students with special needs. Bandura's Social-Cognitive Theory is utilized on the basis that one's belief in his ability to be effective has a direct impact on his effectiveness. This…

The Reliability, Validity and Practical Utility of Measuring Supports Using the I-CAN Instrument: Part II

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riches, Vivienne C.; Parmenter, Trevor R.; Llewellyn, Gwynnyth; Hindmarsh, Gabrielle; Chan, Jeff

2009-01-01

Background: There is an urgent need for developing reliable, valid and practical instruments that assess and classify the support needed by persons with disability to function in their chosen living, working and social environments. I-CAN is an instrument that addresses the frequency and level of support needed (not individual skills or deficits)…

What information strategy responding to social needs should be?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Kunihiko

With the contemporary social phenomena that people think much of diversity of value, they are concerned with differentiation from others. Consumers' tendency to seek unique goods is common to all, giving impetus to makers' attitude that they try to produce varieties of goods but small amount for each. Consequently, life cycle of goods has become smaller than ever, and rapid and creative information gathering and utilization have become essential when makers produce goods responding to consumers' need. The author discusses how information strategy should be worked in the comprehensive business activities, and how information should be located as the powerful management resource.

Back to basics: the role of health insurance in getting a physical exam.

PubMed

McBride, Duane C; Drumm, Rene D; Terry-McElrath, Yvonne; Chitwood, Dale D

2005-01-01

The social work profession has a long history of advocacy to improve the human condition, especially for groups of people at high risk of discrimination and marginalization. Social workers have been instrumental in identifying, assessing, treating, and preventing illicit drug use as part of this commitment to advocacy. One component of social work's endeavors on behalf of drug users and other populations- at-risk has been advocating for increased access to health care. This article examines the role that having health insurance plays in obtaining the most basic of all health care-getting a physical examination. Featuring a sample of 1,271 chronic and injecting street drug users and comparison group non-users, the analysis demonstrates that having health insurance enhances access and utilization of health care among this at-risk population. Subjects who had health insurance for even one month of the past twelve were twice as likely to participate in basic health care by having a physical exam.

Pitfalls, Potentials, and Ethics of Online Survey Research: LGBTQ and Other Marginalized and Hard-to-Access Youths.

PubMed

McInroy, Lauren B

2016-06-01

Online research methodologies may serve as an important mechanism for population-focused data collection in social work research. Online surveys have become increasingly prevalent in research inquiries with young people and have been acknowledged for their potential in investigating understudied and marginalized populations and subpopulations, permitting increased access to communities that tend to be less visible-and thus often less studied-in offline contexts. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) young people are a socially stigmatized, yet digitally active, youth population whose participation in online surveys has been previously addressed in the literature. Many of the opportunities and challenges of online survey research identified with LGBTQ youths may be highly relevant to other populations of marginalized and hard-to-access young people, who are likely present in significant numbers in the online environment (for example, ethnoracialized youths and low-income youths). In this article, the utility of online survey methods with marginalized young people is discussed, and recommendations for social work research are provided.

Nursing in general practice: organizational possibilities for decision latitude, created skill, social support and identity derived from role.

PubMed

Merrick, Eamon; Duffield, Christine; Baldwin, Richard; Fry, Margaret

2012-03-01

This article is a report of a study to describe the factors that support organizational opportunities for practice nurse decision-making and skill development for nurses employed in general practice in New South Wales, Australia. Corresponding to the availability of subsidies from the Australian universal health insurer (Medicare), there has been an increase in the number of nurses employed in general practice. Currently, there is no Australian evidence as to the organizational possibilities for these practice nurses to make decisions, develop their own skills and abilities, derive identity from their role or how their role is influenced by social support. Over a 8-month period in 2008 practice, nurses employed in general practice in the State of New South Wales were invited to complete a 26-item self-administered online questionnaire utilizing constructs from Karaseks (1998) Job Content Questionnaire (valid n = 160). Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that all scales demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency. Sequential regression models revealed that social support exerts a weak influence on decision latitude (R(2) = 0·07); the addition of self-identity through work significantly improved the predictive ability of the model (R(2) = 0·16). Social support and self-identity through work exerted a negative influence on created skill (R(2) = 0·347), whereas social support was effective in predicting self-identity through work (R(2) = 0·148).   Collegial and supervisory support in the work environment predicts organizational possibilities for practice nurse decision-making. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Effect of Spatial-Dependent Utility on Social Group Domination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, Nathaniel; Meyertholen, Andrew

2012-02-01

The mathematical modeling of social group competition has garnered much attention. We consider a model originated by Abrams and Strogatz [Nature 424, 900 (2003)] that predicts the extinction of one of two social groups. This model assigns a utility to each social group, which is constant over the entire society. We find by allowing this utility to vary over a society, through the introduction of a network or spatial dependence, this model may result in the coexistence of the two social groups.

[Social cooperatives in Italy].

PubMed

Villotti, P; Zaniboni, S; Fraccaroli, F

2014-06-01

This paper describes the role of social cooperatives in Italy as a type of economic, non-profit organization and their role in contributing to the economic and social growth of the country. The purpose of this paper is to learn more about the experience of the Italian social cooperatives in promoting the work integration process of disadvantaged workers, especially those suffering from mental disorders, from a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Social enterprise is the most popular and consolidated legal and organizational model for social enterprises in Italy, introduced by Law 381/91. Developed during the early 1980s, and formally recognized by law in the early 1990s, social cooperatives aim at pursuing the general interest of the community to promote the human needs and social inclusion of citizens. They are orientated towards aims that go beyond the interest of the business owners, the primary beneficiary of their activities is the community, or groups of disadvantaged people. In Italy, Law 381/91 distinguishes between two categories of social cooperatives, those producing goods of social utility, such as culture, welfare and educational services (A-type), and those providing economic activities for the integration of disadvantaged people into employment (B-type). The main purpose of B-type social cooperatives is to integrate disadvantaged people into the open labour market. This goal is reached after a period of training and working experience inside the firm, during which the staff works to improve both the social and professional abilities of disadvantaged people. During the years, B-type social co-ops acquired a particular relevance in the care of people with mental disorders by offering them with job opportunities. Having a job is central in the recovery process of people suffering from mental diseases, meaning that B-type social co-ops in Italy play an important rehabilitative and integrative role for this vulnerable population of workers. The recent literature has highlighted that difficulties with employment are a feature of mental disorders, with high unemployment rates and short job tenure. Yet, success in employment for this population can be expected when they are provided with adequate support and opportunities. B-type social cooperatives in Italy are found to be very useful in order to help this disadvantaged category of workers find and keep a job. The work environment is more flexible and allows a better integration with less stigma and better work accommodations compared to the open labour market and/or other public/private organizations. Results from B-type Italian social cooperatives studies show that mentally ill workers value the importance of working, are highly satisfied with their job, are motivated to continue working, are engaged in their job and willing to work in the competitive labour market. Also, studies show that environmental characteristics of the social cooperative, such as the implementation of work accommodations and the possibility to work in an environment that is highly supportive, have an impact on increasing the likelihood of being highly satisfied with the job, which in turn is positively related to job tenure. In sum, this article shed light on the historical background that led to the development of social cooperatives in Italy. Furthermore, the features of B-type co-ops that play a central role in facilitating the work integration of people with mental disorders are described in this paper. In general, Italian B-type social cooperatives are found to provide a meaningful work experience to people with mental disorders, that help them increase not only vocational outcomes, but also psycho-social outcomes, and generally to help them better integrate into society. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

The Use of Social Media and Mobile applications in content delivery for the MY NASA DATA and SCOOL Projects in support of Education and Outreach Initiatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, P. M.; Oostra, D.; Moore, S. W.; Crecelius, S. A.

2011-12-01

So you have a social media site for the project you are working on. Now what? How do you know if you are reaching your target audience? What are the demographics of those that you are reaching? These are just a few of the questions to ask when venturing into the social media world as a way to further your outreach opportunities. With this important information you will have the ability to make small changes "on the fly", or to switch focus to other Web 2.0 tools for the project. An important aspect to social media tools as an outreach strategy is the ease of development and implementation for use in reaching your targeted audience. They are also equally easy to remove from use. This allows a project to shift to a new method of communication should your metrics point you in that direction. The MY NASA DATA (MND) project enables K-12 teachers, students and citizen scientists to explore the large volumes of satellite data that NASA collects from space. With the large number of interactions that surround conference and outreach meetings, social media plays several important roles in the project. The main function of social media is to be an open channel for communication and discovery of the project. The other important role is as a vehicle to share new information, media and other useful educational tools. With a target age of middle school and older, the MY NASA DATA project is able to effectively utilize a wide variety of social media tools through proper monitoring of metrics and usage. Some of the social media tools utilized by the MY NASA DATA project include, Facebook, YouTube and the Observe Your World blog. Students' Clouds Observations On-Line (S'COOL) is a hands-on project, which supports NASA research on the Earth's climate. Students are engaged in identifying cloud-types and levels and sending that information to NASA. Since the topic of clouds is a popular one in many elementary curricula, the target age for the S'COOL project is younger than that of the MND project. This brings in the need for the proper selection of a social media tool that is age-appropriate for the students, should they choose to participate. As with the MND project, there has been proper utilization of social media through careful selection and monitoring of the associated metrics. The NASA CERES S'COOL project utilizes YouTube, Flickr, and is also included in the Observe Your World blog to reach out to current and perspective participants. Through the utilization of social media tools, the MY NASA DATA and S'COOL projects are able to keep the participating audiences involved and informed. In general, the use of Web 2.0 and mobile applications has allowed the projects to keep participants engaged in and up-to-date with current information. With the planned implementation of mobile applications to assist in content delivery and data submission, participants will have a mobile, easy to utilize source of scientific data and information. By monitoring current media tools metrics, we are able to monitor use and ingestion of information. The use of such tools and metrics allows us to better serve our target audience and shift focus, if needed, to the most up-to-date and popular social media tools.

Comparative Pessimism or Optimism: Depressed Mood, Risk-Taking, Social Utility and Desirability.

PubMed

Milhabet, Isabelle; Le Barbenchon, Emmanuelle; Cambon, Laurent; Molina, Guylaine

2015-03-05

Comparative optimism can be defined as a self-serving, asymmetric judgment of the future. It is often thought to be beneficial and socially accepted, whereas comparative pessimism is correlated with depression and socially rejected. Our goal was to examine the social acceptance of comparative optimism and the social rejection of comparative pessimism in two dimensions of social judgment, social desirability and social utility, considering the attributions of dysphoria and risk-taking potential (studies 2 and 3) on outlooks on the future. In three experiments, the participants assessed either one (study 1) or several (studies 2 and 3) fictional targets in two dimensions, social utility and social desirability. Targets exhibiting comparatively optimistic or pessimistic outlooks on the future were presented as non-depressed, depressed, or neither (control condition) (study 1); non-depressed or depressed (study 2); and non-depressed or in control condition (study 3). Two significant results were obtained: (1) social rejection of comparative pessimism in the social desirability dimension, which can be explained by its depressive feature; and (2) comparative optimism was socially accepted on the social utility dimension, which can be explained by the perception that comparatively optimistic individuals are potential risk-takers.

Utility loss and indirect costs after stroke in Sweden.

PubMed

Lindgren, Peter; Glader, Eva-Lotta; Jönsson, Bengt

2008-04-01

Currently little data exist on the development of quality of life over time in patients suffering from stroke, in particular using instruments that can be adapted in economic studies. The purpose of the study was to assess the utility loss and indirect costs following a stroke in Sweden. A cross-sectional mail survey. In collaboration with the National Stroke registry (RIKS-STROKE), a questionnaire consisting of the EuroQol-5D and questions regarding the present working status and the status prior to the stroke was mailed to patients below 76 years of age at six participating centres. The questionnaire was mailed to 393 patients in total, divided into groups with 3, 6, 9 or 12 months having passed since the stroke. The EuroQol-5D scores were converted to utility scores using the UK social tariff. Indirect costs were valued according to the average salary+employer contributions. A total of 275 questionnaires (70%) were returned. Utility scores were similar over time: 0.65, 0.75, 0.63, and 0.67 at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, respectively. Regression analyses revealed a tendency for lower utility scores among women, but no significant differences overall. Among patients in the working ages, a stroke caused 18.5 work weeks lost, corresponding to an indirect cost of 120,000 Swedish Kronor (SEK) (13,200euro, 95% confidence interval 82,541-160,050 SEK, 9080-17 605euro). Stroke causes a significant reduction in utility and causes high indirect costs. A substantial improvement was not noted over time, which is important to consider in economic models.

Commentary: The failure of social inclusion: an alternative approach through community development.

PubMed

Mandiberg, James M

2012-01-01

Mental health services have not resulted in broad-based inclusion of people with psychiatric disabilities. Rather, many maintain their community lives only through the support of formal mental health services, which is financially unsustainable given current fiscal realities. Fundamental assumptions about sources of support for everyday life need to be reassessed. The economic and social development of the mental health recovery community provides an alternative approach to helping people maintain successful community lives and shifts some of the supports from mental health providers to business infrastructure within the mental health recovery identity community. Some projects that have utilized this approach, such as business incubators and work integration social enterprises, are described, and community development that builds on concepts of recovery is discussed.

Pierre Bourdieu: Expanding the scope of nursing research and practice.

PubMed

Nairn, Stuart; Pinnock, David

2017-10-01

Bourdieu is an important thinker within the sociological tradition and has a philosophically sophisticated approach to theoretical knowledge and research practice. In this paper, we examine the implication of his work for nursing and the health sciences more broadly. We argue that his work is best described as a reflexive realist who provides a space for a nonpositivist approach to knowledge that does not fall into the trap of idealism or relativism. We emphasize that Bourdieu was not an abstract theorist, but only utilized theories to understand and explain the social world in all its empirical complexity. Theory is emphasized over method without denying the importance of method. We then provide a brief overview of some of his key concepts: habitus, field and capital. His work is a scientifically astute practice that has an emancipatory purpose, with particular resonance to the problems of nursing as a social practice. Some have criticized Bourdieu for undermining agency and we briefly address this issue, but argue that his conceptual framework helps us to understand what endures in social practice and why change is often problematic. In short, this paper argues that Bourdieu's work is a fruitful resource for critiquing existing nursing approaches that are preoccupied with agency over structure. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Stress-related psychosocial factors at work, fatigue, and risky driving behavior in bus rapid transport (BRT) drivers.

PubMed

Useche, Sergio A; Ortiz, Viviola Gómez; Cendales, Boris E

2017-07-01

There is consistent scientific evidence that professional drivers constitute an occupational group that is highly exposed to work related stressors. Furthermore, several recent studies associate work stress and fatigue with unsafe and counterproductive work behaviors. This study examines the association between stress-related work conditions of Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) drivers and risky driving behaviors; and examines whether fatigue is a mechanism that mediates the association between the two. A sample of 524 male Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operators were drawn from four transport companies in Bogotá, Colombia. The participants answered a survey which included an adapted version of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) for BRT operators, as well as the Effort-Reward Imbalance and Job Content Questionnaires, the Subjective Fatigue subscale of the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) and the Need for Recovery after Work Scale (NFR). Utilizing Structural Equation Models (SEM) it was found that risky driving behaviors in BRT operators could be predicted through job strain, effort-reward imbalance and social support at work. It was also found that fatigue and need for recovery fully mediate the associations between job strain and risky driving, and between social support and risky driving, but not the association between effort/reward imbalance (ERI) and risky driving. The results of this study suggest that a) stress related working conditions (Job Strain, Social Support and ERI) are relevant predictors of risky driving in BRT operators, and b) that fatigue is the mechanism which links another kind of stress related to working conditions (job strain and low social support) with risky driving. The mechanism by which ERI increases risky driving in BRT operators remains unexplained. This research suggests that in addition to the individual centered stress-reduction occupational programs, fatigue management interventions aimed to changing some working conditions may reduce risky driving behaviors and promote safety in the professional drivers' jobs and on the road. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eliciting Challenges on Social Connectedness among Filipino Nurse Returnees: A Cross-Sectional Mixed-Method Research.

PubMed

Cortez, Mary Jane L; Del Rosario, Christian V; Diño, Michael Joseph S

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional study utilized a nested concurrent design to determine the association of Filipino nurse returnees' length of stay since they returned and their social connectedness as well as the essence of communication from their perspective. The respondents, who are Filipino nurses (n = 107) who worked abroad and returned to the Philippines for good, were employed from June to July of 2015 via referrals from colleges and institutions in Metro Manila and Bulacan areas in the Philippines. The quantitative results revealed, in one hand, significant but weak correlation between the respondent's length of stay and social connectedness (r = 0.224, p = 0.021, α = 0.05). On the other hand, three themes were generated from the qualitative analysis, namely, (1) Taking-In, (2) Taking-Hold, and (3) Letting-Go. The Social Connection System (SCS) provides a visual depiction of the social connectedness of a person. This research is geared towards the understanding of the interesting phenomenon of migration and social coherence of Filipino professionals.

Social Utility versus Social Desirability of Students' Attributional Self-Presentation Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matteucci, Maria Cristina

2014-01-01

Research on impression management has shown that students can manage their social images by providing attributional self-presentation strategies (ASPSs). Based on the distinction between social desirability judgments and social utility judgments, two studies were conducted to examine the students' understanding of the impact of ASPSs both on…

Social settings and addiction relapse.

PubMed

Walton, M A; Reischl, T M; Ramanthan, C S

1995-01-01

Despite addiction theorists' acknowledgment of the impact of environmental factors on relapse, researchers have not adequately investigated these influences. Ninety-six substance users provided data regarding their perceived risk for relapse, exposure to substances, and involvement in reinforcing activities. These three setting attributes were assessed in their home, work, and community settings. Reuse was assessed 3 months later. When controlling for confounding variables, aspects of the home settings significantly distinguished abstainers from reusers; perceived risk for relapse was the strongest predictor of reuse. Exposure to substances and involvement in reinforcing activities were not robust reuse indicators. The work and community settings were not significant determinants of reuse. These findings offer some initial support for the utility of examining social settings to better understand addiction relapse and recovery. Identification of setting-based relapse determinants provides concrete targets for relapse prevention interventions.

Outcomes of a clinical partnership model for undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Newton, Jennifer M; Cross, Wendy M; White, Karin; Ockerby, Cherene; Billett, Stephen

2011-08-01

Over the last decade several innovative approaches to enhance students' transition to graduate nurse year have been implemented or piloted. This paper describes a study that investigated how the social practices of clinical partnership placement model underpin workplace learning for undergraduate students as they transitioned to graduate. A mixed method approach was utilized comprising individual interviews with students, observation of clinical workplaces across six different areas of nursing practice, student surveys of the clinical learning environment and participant workshops. Three themes were identified that influenced participants' preparedness for work and enhanced the transition into the workplace: 'organizational familiarity', 'continuity' and 'social participation'. A clinical partnership model offers a degree of work readiness for novices when commencing their professional practice role. It enables individuals to participate and engage in workplace activities which are a central component of their learning.

Enchanging at the Crossroads...Research and Practice. Program and Proceedings for the Annual Adult Education Research Conference (27th, Syracuse, New York, May 23-25, 1986).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landers, Keneston, Comp.

These proceedings contain 58 papers. Selected brief titles are: "Teaching Reading in Advanced English to Adult Chinese Students" (Bao); "Analyzing the Training of Trainers and Adult Educators" (Boshier); "Knowledge Utilization in Social Work Practice" (Baskett); "Adult Education in the U.K." (Bright); "Developing Media Literacy in Adults"…

Why Tu Youyou Makes Less Money Than Zhang Ziyi?

PubMed

Suo, Qinghui; Liu, Yang; Zhang, Daming

2017-08-01

Scientists normally earn less money than many other professions which require a similar amount of training and qualification. The economic theory of marginal utility and cost-benefit analysis can be applied to explain this phenomenon. Although scientists make less money than entertainment stars, the scientists do research work out of their interest and they also enjoy a much higher reputation and social status in some countries.

Translational Science at the National Institute of Mental Health: Can Social Work Take Its Rightful Place?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brekke, John S.; Ell, Kathleen; Palinkas, Lawrence A.

2007-01-01

Several recent national reports have noted that there is a 20-year gap between knowledge generated from our best clinical research and the utilization of that knowledge in our health and mental health care sectors. One solution to this dilemma has been the emergence of translational science. Translational science has become a top priority of the…

Recovering and Framing the George I. Sanchez Legacy of Chicana/o Student and Policy Advocacy: Utilizing Data for Social Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodríguez, Cristóbal

2014-01-01

Recovering and critically examining the pioneering scholarship and history of George I. Sanchez provides an interpretation toward a legacy of a Chicana/o student and policy advocacy framework for Chicana/o scholars to consider. The author of this work applies a critical policy theoretical analysis by Frank Fischer to develop a Chicana/o student…

The moderating role of social networks in the relationship between alcohol consumption and treatment utilization for alcohol-related problems

PubMed Central

Mowbray, Orion

2014-01-01

Many individuals wait until alcohol use becomes severe before treatment is sought. However, social networks, or the number of social groups an individual belongs to, may play a moderating role in this relationship. Logistic regression examined the interaction of alcohol consumption and social networks as a predictor of treatment utilization while adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables among 1,433 lifetime alcohol-dependent respondents from wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol Related Conditions (NESARC). Results showed that social networks moderate the relationship between alcohol consumption and treatment utilization such that for individuals with few network ties, the relationship between alcohol consumption and treatment utilization was diminished, compared to the relationship between alcohol consumption and treatment utilization for individuals with many network ties. Findings offer insight into how social networks, at times, can influence individuals to pursue treatment, while at other times, influence individuals to stay out of treatment, or seek treatment substitutes. PMID:24462223

Social inequalities in life expectancy and mortality during the transition period of economic crisis (1993–2010) in Korea

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Backgrounds This study examines social inequalities in life expectancy and mortality during the transition period of the Korean economic crisis (1993–2010) among Korean adults aged 40 and over. Methods Data from the census and the national death file from the Statistics Korea are employed to calculate life expectancy and age-specific-death-rates (ASDR) by age, gender, and educational attainment for five years: 1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010. Absolute and relative differences in life expectancy and Age-Specific Death Rates by educational attainment were utilized as proxy measures of social inequality. Results Clear educational gradient of life expectancy was observed at age 40 by both sexes and across five time periods (1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010). The gradient became notably worse in females between 1993 and 2010 compared to the trend in males. The educational gradient was also found for ASDR in all five years, but it was more pronounced in working age groups (40s and 50s) than in elderly groups. The relative disadvantage of ASDR among working age Korean adults, both males and females, became substantially worse over time. Conclusions Social inequalities in life expectancy and ASDR of the working age group across socioeconomic status over time were closely related to the widening of the social difference created by the macroeconomic crisis and the expansion of neo-liberalism in Korea. PMID:23171369

Developing an agenda to guide forest social science, economics, and utilization research.

Treesearch

Richard W. Haynes

2005-01-01

The USDA Forest Service has had a longstanding presence in utilization, economics, and social sciences research and development activities. The magnitude and diversity of these activities have changed as the questions and the people asking them have changed over the past century. These changes challenge the social science and utilization research community to develop...

Utilities and manufacturers: Pioneering partnerships and their lessons for the 21st century

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartsch, C.; DeVaul, D.

1994-12-31

Manufacturers who, in partnership with utilities, improved their production process through energy efficiency and waste minimization strategies are discussed. Frequently these investments changed the corporate culture and resulted in a commitment to continuous improvement that may ensure the industrialists adapt to a rapidly evolving marketplace. The Northeast-Midwest Institute`s work to record these case studies developed out of the observation that older manufacturing facilities too often are run until no longer competitive, then closed, and new plants are built somewhere else - increasingly overseas. Unemployment, poverty, and cycles of economic and social deterioration too often follow if a new economic basemore » cannot be created. At the same time, inefficient industrial plants tend to emit large quantities of waste materials; industry produces more than 600 million tons of hazardous wastes and approximately 13 billion tons of solid wastes each year. To help identify how to avoid such pitfalls, the Institute sought out manufacturers who modernized successfully. Case studies are presented that show that utilities often are instrumental in catalyzing change in their industrial partners. In fact, much can be gained from utilities and industries working together. Many manufacturers need technical and financial assistance to maintain peak productivity.« less

Use of social media across US hospitals: descriptive analysis of adoption and utilization.

PubMed

Griffis, Heather M; Kilaru, Austin S; Werner, Rachel M; Asch, David A; Hershey, John C; Hill, Shawndra; Ha, Yoonhee P; Sellers, Allison; Mahoney, Kevin; Merchant, Raina M

2014-11-27

Use of social media has become widespread across the United States. Although businesses have invested in social media to engage consumers and promote products, less is known about the extent to which hospitals are using social media to interact with patients and promote health. The aim was to investigate the relationship between hospital social media extent of adoption and utilization relative to hospital characteristics. We conducted a cross-sectional review of hospital-related activity on 4 social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Foursquare. All US hospitals were included that reported complete data for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey. We reviewed hospital social media webpages to determine the extent of adoption relative to hospital characteristics, including geographic region, urban designation, bed size, ownership type, and teaching status. Social media utilization was estimated from user activity specific to each social media platform, including number of Facebook likes, Twitter followers, Foursquare check-ins, and Yelp reviews. Adoption of social media varied across hospitals with 94.41% (3351/3371) having a Facebook page and 50.82% (1713/3371) having a Twitter account. A majority of hospitals had a Yelp page (99.14%, 3342/3371) and almost all hospitals had check-ins on Foursquare (99.41%, 3351/3371). Large, urban, private nonprofit, and teaching hospitals were more likely to have higher utilization of these accounts. Although most hospitals adopted at least one social media platform, utilization of social media varied according to several hospital characteristics. This preliminary investigation of social media adoption and utilization among US hospitals provides the framework for future studies investigating the effect of social media on patient outcomes, including links between social media use and the quality of hospital care and services.

Use of Social Media Across US Hospitals: Descriptive Analysis of Adoption and Utilization

PubMed Central

Griffis, Heather M; Kilaru, Austin S; Werner, Rachel M; Asch, David A; Hershey, John C; Hill, Shawndra; Ha, Yoonhee P; Sellers, Allison; Mahoney, Kevin

2014-01-01

Background Use of social media has become widespread across the United States. Although businesses have invested in social media to engage consumers and promote products, less is known about the extent to which hospitals are using social media to interact with patients and promote health. Objective The aim was to investigate the relationship between hospital social media extent of adoption and utilization relative to hospital characteristics. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional review of hospital-related activity on 4 social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Foursquare. All US hospitals were included that reported complete data for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey. We reviewed hospital social media webpages to determine the extent of adoption relative to hospital characteristics, including geographic region, urban designation, bed size, ownership type, and teaching status. Social media utilization was estimated from user activity specific to each social media platform, including number of Facebook likes, Twitter followers, Foursquare check-ins, and Yelp reviews. Results Adoption of social media varied across hospitals with 94.41% (3351/3371) having a Facebook page and 50.82% (1713/3371) having a Twitter account. A majority of hospitals had a Yelp page (99.14%, 3342/3371) and almost all hospitals had check-ins on Foursquare (99.41%, 3351/3371). Large, urban, private nonprofit, and teaching hospitals were more likely to have higher utilization of these accounts. Conclusions Although most hospitals adopted at least one social media platform, utilization of social media varied according to several hospital characteristics. This preliminary investigation of social media adoption and utilization among US hospitals provides the framework for future studies investigating the effect of social media on patient outcomes, including links between social media use and the quality of hospital care and services. PMID:25431831

Social Media in Pediatric Orthopaedics.

PubMed

Lander, Sarah T; Sanders, James O; Cook, Peter C; O'Malley, Natasha T

Internet searches and social media utilization in health care has exploded over the past 5 years, and patients utilize it to gain information on their health conditions and physicians. Social media has the potential to serve as a means for education, communication, and marketing in all health care specialties. Physicians are sometimes reluctant to engage because of concerns of privacy, litigation, and lack of experience with this modality. Many surgical subspecialties have capitalized on social media but no study to date has examined the specific footprint of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons in this realm. We aim to quantify the utilization of individual social media platforms by pediatric orthopaedic surgeons, and identify any differences between private and hospital-based physicians, but also regional differences. Using the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America Member Directory, each active member's social media presence was reviewed through an Internet search. Members were stratified on the basis of practice model and geographic location. Individual Internet searches, social media sites, and number of publications were reviewed for social media presence. Of 987 Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America members, 95% had a professional webpage, 14.8% a professional Facebook page, 2.2% a professional Twitter page, 36.8% a LinkedIn profile, 25.8% a ResearchGate profile, 33% at least 1 YouTube. Hospital-based physicians had a lower mean level of utilization of social media compared with their private practice peers, and a higher incidence of Pubmed publications. Private practice physicians had double the social media utilization. Regional differences reveal that practicing Pediatric Orthopaedists in the Northeast had increased utilization of ResearchGate and LinkedIn and the West had the lowest mean social media utilization levels. The rapid expansion of social media usage by patients and their family members is an undeniable force affecting the health care industry. The Internet and social media platforms provide all physicians with a means to educate patients, collaborate with colleagues, and promote their practice and areas of interest. Our survey indicates that pediatric orthopaedic surgeons may be underutilizing their potential social media presence. Level IV.

Accelerating the pace of progress.

PubMed

Chinery-hesse, M

1995-01-01

During the past 20 years, the proportion of women in paid employment has increased significantly. Yet women still do not have equal opportunity or receive equal treatment in the workplace. Under these conditions, society loses because it does not completely utilize all its human resources toward sustainable development. All levels of preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women, scheduled for September 1995 in Beijing, have allowed participants to review the current social status of women. Globalization of the economy, technological transformation, and restructuring of the labor market pose difficult problems and emerging challenges for women: feminization of poverty, increasing instability of women's work, continued inequality in the sharing of family responsibilities, and inadequacy of social infrastructure to allow women both to work and to attend to their family's needs. Working women's rights continue to be neglected. The International Labor Organization's (ILO) 75 years of experience suggest that a comprehensive integrated approach and participation of all relevant actors are needed to address gender inequality in the workplace. ILO has proposed such a strategy.

Literary Fiction as a Tool for Teaching Social Theory and Critical Consciousness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Christina D.

2010-01-01

In this paper, I discuss the possibilities that emerge from using literary fiction as a tool for teaching social theory and critical consciousness. Focusing on data from a social theory course I taught in fall 2007, along with my experiences teaching social theory, I evaluate the utility of utilizing literary fiction in the social theory…

We cannot staff for 'what ifs': the social organization of rural nurses' safeguarding work.

PubMed

MacKinnon, Karen

2012-09-01

Rural nurses play an important role in the provision of maternity care for Canadian women. This care is an important part of how rural nurses safeguard the patients who receive care in small rural hospitals. This study utilized institutional ethnography as an approach for describing rural nursing work and for exploring how nurses' work experiences are socially organized. Rural nurses advocated for safe healthcare environments by ensuring that skilled nurses were available for every shift, day and night, at their local hospital. Rural nurses noted that this work was particularly difficult for the provision of maternity care. This article explores two threads or cues to institutional organization that were identified in our interviews and observations; namely staffing and safety standards, and the need for flexibility in staffing in small rural hospitals. Rural nurses' concerns about ensuring that skilled nurses are available in small rural hospitals do not enter into current management discourses that focus on efficiency and cost savings or find a home within current discourses of patient safety 'competencies'. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Incorporating social impact on new product adoption in choice modeing: A case study in green vehicles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He, Lin; Wang, Mingxian; Chen, Wei

While discrete choice analysis is prevalent in capturing consumer preferences and describing their choice behaviors in product design, the traditional choice modeling approach assumes that each individual makes independent decisions, without considering the social impact. However, empirical studies show that choice is social - influenced by many factors beyond engineering performance of a product and consumer attributes. To alleviate this limitation, we propose a new choice modeling framework to capture the dynamic influence from social networks on consumer adoption of new products. By introducing social influence attributes into a choice utility function, social network simulation is integrated with the traditionalmore » discrete choice analysis in a three-stage process. Our study shows the need for considering social impact in forecasting new product adoption. Using hybrid electric vehicles as an example, our work illustrates the procedure of social network construction, social influence evaluation, and choice model estimation based on data from the National Household Travel Survey. Our study also demonstrates several interesting findings on the dynamic nature of new technology adoption and how social networks may influence hybrid electric vehicle adoption. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved« less

Utilizing Social Media to Increase Student Engagement: A Study of Kern County Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bynum, Steven Lance

2011-01-01

Social media has permeated almost every aspect of the lives of anyone who utilizes the internet. Teachers and students are no exception. Students are most likely to use social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. This research focuses on best practices related to augmenting school curriculum to utilize these tools to increase student…

Modeling and analyzing malware propagation in social networks with heterogeneous infection rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Peng; Liu, Jiayong; Fang, Yong; Liu, Liang; Liu, Luping

2018-10-01

With the rapid development of social networks, hackers begin to try to spread malware more widely by utilizing various kinds of social networks. Thus, studying malware epidemic dynamics in these networks is becoming a popular subject in the literature. Most of the previous works focus on the effects of factors, such as network topology and user behavior, on malware propagation. Some researchers try to analyze the heterogeneity of infection rates, but the common problem of their works is the factors they mentioned that could affect the heterogeneity are not comprehensive enough. In this paper, focusing on the effects of heterogeneous infection rates, we propose a novel model called HSID (heterogeneous-susceptible-infectious-dormant model) to characterize virus propagation in social networks, in which a connection factor is presented to evaluate the heterogeneous relationships between nodes, and a resistance factor is introduced to represent node's mutable resistant ability. We analyzed how key parameters in the two factors affect the heterogeneity and then performed simulations to explore the effects in three real-world social networks. The results indicate: heterogeneous relationship could lead to wider diffusion in directed network, and heterogeneous security awareness could lead to wider diffusion in both directed and undirected networks; heterogeneous relationship could restrain the outbreak of malware but heterogeneous initial security awareness would increase the probability; furthermore, the increasing resistibility along with infected times would lead to malware's disappearance in social networks.

Social Media, Big Data, and Mental Health: Current Advances and Ethical Implications.

PubMed

Conway, Mike; O'Connor, Daniel

2016-06-01

Mental health (including substance abuse) is the fifth greatest contributor to the global burden of disease, with an economic cost estimated to be US $2.5 trillion in 2010, and expected to double by 2030. Developing information systems to support and strengthen population-level mental health monitoring forms a core part of the World Health Organization's Comprehensive Action Plan 2013-2020. In this paper, we review recent work that utilizes social media "big data" in conjunction with associated technologies like natural language processing and machine learning to address pressing problems in population-level mental health surveillance and research, focusing both on technological advances and core ethical challenges.

Sociocultural Influences on Weight-Related Behaviors in African American Adolescents.

PubMed

Tate, Nutrena H; Davis, Jean E; Yarandi, Hossein N

2015-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the sociocultural factors related to weight behaviors in African American adolescents utilizing a social ecological approach. A descriptive correlational design included a sample of 145 African American adolescents. Perceived familial socialization, ethnic identity, physical activity, and eating behavior patterns were measured. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations, and multiple regression equations. Perceived maternal socialization was significantly related to adolescent eating behaviors and physical activity whereas perceived paternal socialization was significantly related only to their physical activity. The adolescents' ethnic identity was not significantly related to their eating behaviors or physical activity. Health care providers who work with adolescents and their families can use the initial findings from this study to encourage healthy weight-related behaviors while reducing the obesity epidemic within the African American adolescent population in a developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive manner. © The Author(s) 2014.

Characteristic of Adaptability - one of basic categories of the social aspect of sustainable housing construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orłowski, Z.; Radziejowska, A.; Orłowski, M.

2017-10-01

In the article the authors consider one of the basic aspects of sustainable construction regarding the social utility of a building. According to standard PN-EN 16309+A1:2014-12 during evaluating the social aspect should be assessed six categories: accessibility, adaptability, comfort and health, neighborhood, maintenance, safety and security. The authors present the evaluation criteria witch should be taken into account in the assessment of the second of them. Adaptability has been divided into three categories: The buidling’s ability to accomodate the change of user requirements, The buidling’s ability to accomodate technical changes, The buidling’s ability to accomodate the change of use. Each subcategory has been further elaborated by the criteria for which authors present proposal for the scale of assessments. The authors present a part of a work to construct a method for assessing the social characteristics of the residential buildings.

The impact of knowledge sharing through social media among academia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghazali, Saadiah; Sulaiman, Nor Intan Saniah; Zabidi, Nerda Zura; Omar, Mohd Faizal; Alias, Rose Alinda

2016-10-01

The world of research require researcher, academia and lecturers to share knowledge among them. With the invention of social media, knowledge sharing process has been more effective and easy. Previously, there were numerous researches done to investigate the effect of social media utilization for public used. There were also study that aimed to study social media effects in educatioanal sector but those study were centered around student's perspective. Less consideration is given towards academia's perspective. Therefore, this study is directed to explore other niche area on knowledge sharing environment where it will focused on the effects of social media on knowledge sharing among academia. Initially, literature review analysis was done to discover the potential factors that encourage academia to engage in social media. Ability to facilitate communication, idea generation and group establishment are the most cited reasons. Not only that, this paper will highlight the significance of performing this study. In conclusion, there is no doubt that social media do enhance and upgrading the knowledge sharing process thus assisting academia in their scholarly work.

Social curiosity and interpersonal perception: a judge x trait interaction.

PubMed

Hartung, Freda-Marie; Renner, Britta

2011-06-01

The present study examined the impact of social curiosity on the utilization of social information and the accuracy of personality judgments. In total, 182 individuals who never met each other before were asked to interact for 10 minutes and afterwards to evaluate the personality (Big Five) of their interaction partner. High socially curious judges were more accurate in evaluating the degree of Extraversion and Openness of their interaction partners. Interestingly, high and low curious judges differed significantly in the utilization of verbal and nonverbal cues displayed by their interaction partner. Specifically, high socially curious judges more often used valid cues for inferring Extraversion and Openness. No differences in interpersonal accuracy and cue utilization were found for Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. The results suggest that high socially curious individuals are more accurate in judging visible traits and that this higher accuracy is grounded in a more comprehensive utilization of valid cues.

Pattern Analysis in Social Networks with Dynamic Connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yu; Zhang, Yu

In this paper, we explore how decentralized local interactions of autonomous agents in a network relate to collective behaviors. Most existing work in this area models social network in which agent relations are fixed; instead, we focus on dynamic social networks where agents can rationally adjust their neighborhoods based on their individual interests. We propose a new connection evaluation rule called the Highest Weighted Reward (HWR) rule, with which agents dynamically choose their neighbors in order to maximize their own utilities based on the rewards from previous interactions. Our experiments show that in the 2-action pure coordination game, our system will stabilize to a clustering state where all relationships in the network are rewarded with the optimal payoff. Our experiments also reveal additional interesting patterns in the network.

Evaluation of Social Media Utilization by Latino Adolescents: Implications for Mobile Health Interventions

PubMed Central

Vyas, Amita; Turner, Monique; Glick, Sara; Wood, Susan

2015-01-01

Background Trends in social media use, including sending/receiving short message service (SMS) and social networking, are constantly changing, yet little is known about adolescent’s utilization and behaviors. This longitudinal study examines social media utilization among Latino youths, and differences by sex and acculturation. Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine Latino adolescents’ social media utilization and behavior over a 16-month period, and to assess whether changes in use differed by sex and acculturation. Methods This study included 555 Latino youths aged 13-19 who completed baseline and 16-month follow-up surveys. Prevalence of social media utilization and frequency, by sex and acculturation categories, was examined using generalized estimating equations. Results Women are more likely to use SMS, but men are significantly more likely to SMS a girl/boyfriend (P=.03). The use of Internet by men and women to research health information increased over time. Facebook use declined over time (P<.001), whereas use of YouTube (P=.03) and Instagram (P<.001) increased, especially among women and more US acculturated youths. Conclusion Social media is ubiquitous in Latino adolescents’ lives and may be a powerful mode for public health intervention delivery. PMID:26420553

Evaluation of Social Media Utilization by Latino Adolescents: Implications for Mobile Health Interventions.

PubMed

Landry, Megan; Vyas, Amita; Turner, Monique; Glick, Sara; Wood, Susan

2015-09-29

Trends in social media use, including sending/receiving short message service (SMS) and social networking, are constantly changing, yet little is known about adolescent's utilization and behaviors. This longitudinal study examines social media utilization among Latino youths, and differences by sex and acculturation. The purpose of this study was to examine Latino adolescents' social media utilization and behavior over a 16-month period, and to assess whether changes in use differed by sex and acculturation. This study included 555 Latino youths aged 13-19 who completed baseline and 16-month follow-up surveys. Prevalence of social media utilization and frequency, by sex and acculturation categories, was examined using generalized estimating equations. Women are more likely to use SMS, but men are significantly more likely to SMS a girl/boyfriend (P=.03). The use of Internet by men and women to research health information increased over time. Facebook use declined over time (P<.001), whereas use of YouTube (P=.03) and Instagram (P<.001) increased, especially among women and more US acculturated youths. Social media is ubiquitous in Latino adolescents' lives and may be a powerful mode for public health intervention delivery.

Suggestions for Utilizing the 2008 EPAS in CSWE-Accredited Baccalaureate and Masters Curriculums--Reflections from the Field, Part 2: The Implicit Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petracchi, Helen E.; Zastrow, Charles

2010-01-01

This article is Part 2 in a 2-part series discussing the new guidelines for Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) issued in April 2008 by the Council on Social Work Education. The 2008 EPAS shifted the focus of assessment for accreditation or reaffirmation from the evaluation of program objectives to assessment of educational…

Translations on Eastern Europe, Political, Sociological and Military Affairs, Number 1577.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-08-18

4 to 5 percent annually, and should increase the utilization of production funds by 10 percent. Unfinished production should be...whole organization of bourgeois society today." 4 In conformity with social existence itself, the workers class has become the centerpiece of the new ...higher level, of the new , socialist features among all workers. Precisely that way the working class always again lives up to its new and

Assessing the Utility of Work Team Theory in a Unified Command Environment at Catastrophic Incidents

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

between agencies that potentially affects command post (CP) interactions . All of the foregoing factors contribute to a turbulent management environment...requiring special strategy consideration with and IMT preparation. “Conflict refers to a process of social interaction involving a struggle over...from interactions . These schemas can be grouped as cultural norms perpetuated generationally from seasoned officers to raw recruits, and shared by

Stressful jobs and non-stressful jobs: a cluster analysis of office jobs.

PubMed

Carayon, P

1994-02-01

The purpose of the study was to determine if office jobs could be characterized by a small number of combinations of stressors that could be related to job-title information and self-report of psychological strain. Two-hundred-and-sixty-two office workers from three public service organizations provided data on nine job stressors and seven indicators of psychological strain. Using cluster analysis on the nine stressors, office jobs were classified into three clusters. The first cluster included jobs with high skill utilization, task clarity, job control and social support and low future ambiguity, but also high on job demands such as quantitative work-load, attention and work pressure. The second cluster included jobs with high demands and future ambiguity and low skill utilization, task clarity, job control and social support. The third cluster was intermediary between the first two clusters. The three clusters were related to job-title information. The second cluster was the highest on a range of psychological strain indicators, while the other two clusters were high on certain strain indicators but low on others. The study showed that office jobs could be characterized by a small number of combinations of stressors that were related to job-title information and psychological strain.

The impact of social media on the sexual and social wellness of adolescents.

PubMed

Cookingham, Lisa M; Ryan, Ginny L

2015-02-01

For most adolescents in the United States, the use of social media is an integral part of daily life. While the advent of the Internet has enhanced information dispersal and communication worldwide, it has also had a negative impact on the sexual and social wellness of many of its adolescent users. The objective of this review is to describe the role of social media in the evolution of social norms, to illustrate how online activity can negatively impact adolescent self-esteem and contribute to high-risk adolescent behaviors, to elucidate how this activity can result in real-world consequences with life-long results, and to provide guidance regarding social media use for those who care for adolescents. Although research is now aimed at use of social media for positive health and wellness interventions, much work needs to be done to determine the utility of these programs. Adolescent healthcare providers are important contributors to this new field of study and must resolve to stay informed and to engage this up-and-coming generation on the benefits and risks of social media use. Copyright © 2015 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health-Related Quality of Life Impairment and Indirect Cost of Crohn's Disease: A Self-Report Study in Poland.

PubMed

Holko, Przemysław; Kawalec, Paweł; Mossakowska, Małgorzata; Pilc, Andrzej

2016-01-01

Evidence on indirect cost of Crohn's disease (CD) is available but typically provides information on the loss of productivity at paid work of patients. In the present study, the quality of life and indirect costs of CD patients were assessed (overall and by disease severity). A self-report questionnaire-based study among adult Polish patients with CD was performed. We collected data on patients' characteristics, quality of life, loss of productivity, consumption of medical resources, and out-of-pocket expenses. The disease severity was determined using the patient's version of the Harvey-Bradshaw index. Productivity costs were assessed from the social perspective, using a human capital approach. The cost of absenteeism, presenteeism and permanent work disability was valuated using the gross domestic product per worker. The patients' productivity loss at unpaid work was measured by time inputs of others to assist patients. The productivity loss among informal caregivers and patients' productivity loss at unpaid work were valuated with the average wage in Poland. The results were adjusted for confounders. The responses from 200 patients (47% in remission) were analysed. The mean utility index was 0.839 (SD 0.171). The total indirect cost was estimated at €462.47 per patient per month (24.0%, absenteeism; 35.0%, work disability; 30.4%, presenteeism; 0.4%, productivity loss at unpaid work; and 10.4%, informal care). A significant correlation of the quality of life and productivity losses with disease severity was observed. Compared with active disease, the remission subgroup had a higher utility index by 16% (p<0.001) and lower indirect costs by 71% (p = 0.003) for absenteeism, 41% (p = 0.030) for presenteeism, 76% (p<0.001) for productivity loss at unpaid work, and 75% (p<0.001) for informal care. Our study revealed the social burden of CD and high dependency of indirect costs and quality of life on the severity of CD in Poland.

Integrating automatic and controlled processes into neurocognitive models of social cognition.

PubMed

Satpute, Ajay B; Lieberman, Matthew D

2006-03-24

Interest in the neural systems underlying social perception has expanded tremendously over the past few decades. However, gaps between behavioral literatures in social perception and neuroscience are still abundant. In this article, we apply the concept of dual-process models to neural systems in an effort to bridge the gap between many of these behavioral studies and neural systems underlying social perception. We describe and provide support for a neural division between reflexive and reflective systems. Reflexive systems correspond to automatic processes and include the amygdala, basal ganglia, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and lateral temporal cortex. Reflective systems correspond to controlled processes and include lateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and the hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe region. This framework is considered to be a working model rather than a finished product. Finally, the utility of this model and its application to other social cognitive domains such as Theory of Mind are discussed.

Considering lesbian identity from a social-psychological perspective: two different models of "being a lesbian".

PubMed

Tate, Charlotte Chuck

2012-01-01

One long-standing project within lesbian studies has been to develop a satisfactory working definition of "lesbian." This article proposes two new models of a definition using principles of social psychology. Each model (a) utilizes the premise that gender lacks a categorical essence and (b) separates behavioral adherence to cultural stereotypes of femininity and masculinity from one's gender self-categorization. From these premises, I generate and critique two internally coherent models of lesbian identity that are inclusive (to different degrees) of various gender identities. For each model, the potential inclusion of trans men, trans women, genderqueers, and lesbian-identified cisgender men is evaluated. The explanatory power of these models is twofold. One, the models can serve as theoretical perspectives for scholars who study the intersection of gender and sexual identity. Two, the models can also characterize the everyday experience of people who have tacit working definitions of lesbian identity.

When performance-approach goals predict academic achievement and when they do not: a social value approach.

PubMed

Dompnier, Benoît; Darnon, Céline; Butera, Fabrizio

2013-09-01

Research on achievement goal promotion at University has shown that performance-approach goals are perceived as a means to succeed at University (high social utility) but are not appreciated (low social desirability). We argue that such a paradox could explain why research has detected that performance-approach goals consistently predict academic grades. First-year psychology students answered a performance-approach goal scale with standard, social desirability and social utility instructions. Participants' grades were recorded at the end of the semester. Results showed that the relationship between performance-approach goals and grades was inhibited by the increase of these goals' social desirability and facilitated by the increase of their social utility, revealing that the predictive validity of performance-approach goals depends on social value. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Social reward and social punishment sensitivity in relation to dietary restraint and binge/purge symptoms.

PubMed

Fussner, Lauren M; Luebbe, Aaron M; Smith, April R

2018-08-01

Disordered eating symptoms are associated with disrupted sensitivity to reward and punishment, broadly assessed. However, it is unknown how eating pathology is related to sensitivity to social reward and social punishment specifically. Drawing on Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, the current study utilized a multi-method design to test whether disordered eating symptoms, specifically dietary restraint (DR) and binge/purge (BP), were similarly or uniquely related to sensitivity to social punishment and social reward. Female university students (N = 110, M = 18.66, SD = 0.89) completed self-report measures and a novel behavioral task measuring willingness to work for or to avoid social feedback. DR and BP symptoms were related to increased self-reported and behavioral sensitivity to social punishment, yet only when symptoms were tested in isolation. DR was associated with increased sensitivity to social reward across self-report and behavioral paradigms. BP symptoms were uniquely and positively related to self-reported sensitivity to social reward, but decreased behavioral sensitivity to social reward. Findings suggest that sensitivity to punishment may be a common factor related to DR and BP, whereas sensitivity to social reward may be a key factor differentiating disordered eating symptoms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pitfalls, Potentials, and Ethics of Online Survey Research: LGBTQ and Other Marginalized and Hard-to-Access Youths

PubMed Central

McInroy, Lauren B.

2016-01-01

Online research methodologies may serve as an important mechanism for population-focused data collection in social work research. Online surveys have become increasingly prevalent in research inquiries with young people and have been acknowledged for their potential in investigating understudied and marginalized populations and subpopulations, permitting increased access to communities that tend to be less visible—and thus often less studied—in offline contexts. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) young people are a socially stigmatized, yet digitally active, youth population whose participation in online surveys has been previously addressed in the literature. Many of the opportunities and challenges of online survey research identified with LGBTQ youths may be highly relevant to other populations of marginalized and hard-to-access young people, who are likely present in significant numbers in the online environment (for example, ethnoracialized youths and low-income youths). In this article, the utility of online survey methods with marginalized young people is discussed, and recommendations for social work research are provided. PMID:27257362

Workplace bullying among managers: a multifactorial perspective and understanding.

PubMed

Ariza-Montes, J Antonio; Muniz R, Noel M; Leal-Rodríguez, Antonio L; Leal-Millán, Antonio G

2014-03-04

The aim of this paper is to study certain factors that may be determinant in the emergence of workplace bullying among managers-employees with a recognized and privileged position to exercise power-adopting the individual perspective of the subject, the bullied manager. Individual, organizational, and contextual factors integrate the developed global model, and the methodology utilized to accomplish our research objectives is based on the binary logistic regression model. A sample population of 661 managers was obtained from the micro data file of the 5th European Working Conditions Survey-2010 (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) and utilized to conduct the present research. The results indicate that the chance for a manager to refer to him/herself as bullied increases among women that hold managerial positions and live with children under 15 at home, and among subjects that work at night, on a shift system, suffering from work stress, enjoying little satisfaction from their working conditions, and not perceiving opportunities for promotions in their organizations. The present work summarizes an array of outcomes and proposes, within the usual course of events, that workplace bullying could be reduced if job demands were limited and job resources were increased. The implications of these findings could assist directors/general directors in facilitating, to some extent, good social relationships among managers.

Quality of life among obese patients seeking weight loss surgery: the importance of obesity-related social stigma and functional status.

PubMed

Wee, Christina C; Davis, Roger B; Huskey, Karen W; Jones, Daniel B; Hamel, Mary B

2013-02-01

Obesity is a stigmatizing condition associated with adverse psychosocial consequences. The relative importance of weight stigma in reducing health utility or the value a person places on their current health state is unknown. We conducted a telephone survey of patients with obesity. All were seeking weight loss surgery at two bariatric centers (70 % response rate). We assessed patients' health utility (preference-based quality life measure) via a series of standard gamble scenarios assessing patients' willingness to risk death to lose various amounts of weight or achieve perfect health (range 0 to 1; 0 = death and 1 = most valued health/weight state). Multivariable models assessed associations among quality of life domains from the Short-form 36 (SF-36) and Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-lite (IWQOL-lite) and patients' health utility. Our study sample (n = 574) had a mean body mass index of 46.5 kg/m(2) and a mean health utility of 0.87, reflecting the group's average willingness to accept a 13 % risk of death to achieve their most desired health/weight state; utilities were highly variable, however, with 10 % reporting a utility of 1.00 and 27 % reporting a utility lower than 0.90. Among the IWQOL-lite subscales, Public Distress and Work Life were the only two subscales significantly associated with patients' utility after adjustment for sociodemographic factors. Among the SF-36 subscales, Role Physical, Physical Functioning, and Role Emotional were significantly associated with patients' utility. When the leading subscales on both IWQOL-lite and SF-36 were considered together, Role Physical, Public Distress, and to a lesser degree Role Emotional remained independently associated with patients' health utility. Patients seeking weight loss surgery report health utilities similar to those reported for people living with diabetes or with laryngeal cancer; however, utility values varied widely with more than a quarter of patients willing to accept more than a 10 % risk of death to achieve their most valued health/weight state. Interference with role functioning due to physical limitations and obesity-related social stigma were strong determinants of reduced health utility.

Social relationships and physician utilization among older adults-A systematic review.

PubMed

Bremer, Daniel; Inhestern, Laura; von dem Knesebeck, Olaf

2017-01-01

In older age health needs and demand for health services utilization increase. Individual's social relationships can play a decisive role regarding the utilization of outpatient health care services. This systematic review examines the associations of structural and functional dimensions of social relationships with outpatient health services use of older adults. The databases PubMed, CINAHL, SocINDEX, PsycINFO, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), Sociological Abstracts, and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) were searched in February 2016. The methodological and reporting quality of the articles was assessed and the results were synthesized descriptively and systematically. Out of 1.392 hits, 36 articles (35 studies) were included in the systematic review. The methodological and reporting quality of the included articles was reasonable. Various structural and functional characteristics of social relationships were associated with the use (yes/no) and the frequency of using outpatient care among older adults. The majority of the associations between structural dimensions of social relationships and the use of physicians were positive and moderate in strength. The associations between functional dimensions of social relationships and the probability of using physician services were inconsistent and varied in strength. For the most part, social relationship variables assigned to the structural dimension were positively and weakly to moderately associated with the frequency of physician visits. Functional aspects of social relationships also tended to have positive associations with the frequency of physician utilization. The associations were weak to moderate in strength. Measuring social relationships and their influence on health services use is a challenging methodological endeavor indicated by the inconclusive results. The results suggest that the outpatient care utilization behavior of older individuals being structurally and functionally integrated in social relationships is different to older adults being socially isolated or having no social support. All in all, the current status of quantitative data was insufficient. Future health services research should accentuate social ties in more detail, especially according to quality aspects of social relationships.

Occupational therapy compared with social work assessment for older people. An economic evaluation alongside the CAMELOT randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Flood, Chris; Mugford, Miranda; Stewart, Sandra; Harvey, Ian; Poland, Fiona; Lloyd-Smith, Walter

2005-01-01

To compare costs and outcome of occupational therapy-led assessment with social worker-led assessment of older people, in terms of their independence and quality of life. Cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a randomised controlled trial. The analysis took viewpoints of health services and patients. The primary outcome measure for cost-effectiveness was dependency using the Community Dependency Index (CDI). Secondary outcomes included utility scores based on the EuroQoL (EQ-5D). Resource use was measured for each patient, from clinical records and from patient carer interviews at 8 months. Unit costs of health and social care resources were derived from local sources and national datasets. Cost-effectiveness was analysed using cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. There were no differences between the two arms of the trial in terms of cost-effectiveness. There is an apparent increase in mean cost per case for the occupational therapy arm but this is not statistically significant (mean difference in cost per case 542 pounds, 95% CI 434-1,519 pounds). Mean total costs of care per participant were 4,379 pounds and 3,837 pounds for the occupational therapy and social work arms, respectively. At best the intervention would improve outcomes at a cost of 14,000 pounds per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). The probability of such an outcome was <50%. From a policy perspective, the lack of difference in clinical and cost-effectiveness means that either a social work or an occupational therapy service is successful in making care assessments that enable an older person to remain in their own home.

[Volunteer work and potential volunteer work among 55 to 70-year-olds in Germany].

PubMed

Micheel, Frank

2017-02-01

The aim of this article is to describe the potential with respect to volunteer work among 55 to 70-year-old persons along with a two-dimensional typology (actual volunteer work and intention of volunteering or expanding actual volunteer work) and to identify the influencing factors. Based on the dataset from the transitions and old age potential (TOP) study, a total of 4421 men and women born between 1942 and 1958 were included. A multinomial regression model showed the predictors for group affiliation along with an engagement-related typology (internal, utilized and external volunteer potential as well as definite non-volunteers). More than a half of the persons in the study sample could be classified as internal or external volunteer potential. Volunteers and potential volunteers revealed more similarities regarding resources and social factors than potential volunteers and definite non-volunteers. Potential volunteers were more active in other informal fields of activity (e.g. nursing or child care) than definite non-volunteers. With respect to volunteer work, definite non-volunteers showed various social disadvantages (in particular with respect to education and health) compared to (potential) volunteers. Other informal activities did not seem to be in major conflict with volunteer activities, e.g. nursing or child care, as long as they were carried out with moderate or low intensity.

Bourdieu's theory of practice and its potential in nursing research.

PubMed

Rhynas, Sarah J

2005-04-01

This paper seeks to consider the utility of Bourdieu's "Theory of Practice" in nursing, and considers specifically its use as a framework for research exploring nurses' conceptualizations of illness and the patients in their care. Bourdieu's work uses the concepts of field, capital and habitus to explain interactions within the social world. This paper describes these concepts and their relationship with nursing is discussed using dementia care as an example. The work of French scholar Pierre Bourdieu has contributed to debates throughout the social sciences, but has had relatively little attention in the nursing literature. Pierre Bourdieu's work developed against a backdrop of change in the academic world. The emergence of the social sciences and the debate around objective and subjective styles of research were influential in the development of his "Theory of Practice". The importance of the conceptualization process is discussed, and the considerable potential influence of conceptualization on patient care is highlighted. Reflexivity is a cornerstone of Bourdieu's work, and is an important feature of nursing research. Examples of health care research using his work as a framework are discussed, and some of the challenges of the approach are outlined. The use of Bourdieu's "Theory of Practice" as a research framework could allow nurse researchers to explore the interactions of nurses with the structures, agents and symbols of illness within the field of care. This work could enhance understanding of how nurses view and react to patients in their care, and promote the development of practice innovations and policy change. The theory may, therefore, have much to offer future nursing research.

Group dynamics for the acquisition of competences in Project Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taguas, E. V.; Aguilar, M. C.; Castillo, C.; Polo, M. J.; Pérez, R.

2012-04-01

The Bologna Process promotes European citizens' employability from teaching fields in the University which implies the design of activities addressed to the development of skills for the labor market and engagement of employers. This work has been conceived for improving the formation of Engineering Project Management through group dynamics focused on: 1) the use of the creativity for solving problems; 2) promoting leadership capacities and social skills in multidisciplinary/multicultural work groups; 3) the ethical, social and environmental compromise; 4) the continuous learning. Different types of activities were designed: short activities of 15-30 minutes where fragments of books or songs are presented and discussed and long activities (2 h) where groups of students take different roles for solving common problems and situations within the Engineering Projects context. An electronic book with the content of the dynamics and the material for the students has been carried out. A sample of 20 students of Electronic Engineering degree which had participated at least in two dynamics, evaluated the utility for improving their formation in Engineering Project Management with a mark of 8.2 (scale 0-10, standard deviation equal to 0.9). On the other hand, the teachers observed how this type of work, promotes the interdisciplinary training and the acquisition of social skills, usually not-included in the objectives of the subjects.

Online social networking amongst teens: friend or foe?

PubMed

O'Dea, Bridianne; Campbell, Andrew

2011-01-01

The impact of Internet communication on adolescent social development is of considerable importance to health professionals, parents and teachers. Online social networking and instant messaging programs are popular utilities amongst a generation of techno-savvy youth. Although these utilities provide varied methods of communication, their social benefits are still in question. This study examined the relationship between online social interaction, perceived social support, self-esteem and psychological distress amongst teens. A total of 400 participants (M(age) = 14.31 years) completed an online survey consisting of parametric and non-parametric measures. No significant relationship was found between online interaction and social support. Time spent interacting online was negatively correlated with self-esteem and psychological distress. While previous research has focused on young adults, this study examines the impact of online social networking on emerging teens. It highlights the need for continued caution in the acceptance of these utilities.

[Under registration of occupational accidents in São Paulo, Brazil, 1997].

PubMed

Binder, Maria Cecília Pereira; Cordeiro, Ricardo

2003-08-01

To estimate the number of occupational accidents that occurred in a certain municipality during a specific period of time as well as the extent of sub-registration. The study sample was comprised of 4.782 households within the municipality of Botucatu, São Paulo occupied by a total 17,219 inhabitants on the 1st of July, 1997. In each household, an adult inhabitant was interviewed in order to identify the occurrence of occupational accidents in the three months preceding the interview. When such occurrences were identified, the injured workers were interviewed. The Cochran formula was utilized to calculate the confidence interval. Seventy-six individuals confirmed that they had suffered occupational accidents during these three months. In 1997, there were approximately 1,810 occupational accidents in Botucatu, according to our estimates, and the incidence of work related injuries in the population was approximately 4.1% (CI 95% 3.0%-5.3%). Thirty-nine (51.3%, CI 95% 41.1%61.6%) of the above 76 workers were not covered by the Social Security System. Consequently, their injuries were not reported for there was no legally binding obligation to fill out and emit the official registration form - Comunicação de Acidente do Trabalho (CAT) [the work injury report]. Included among the latter are civil servants and informal sector workers, such as self-employed, casual workers and others. Although the remaining 37 workers (48.7%) were covered by the Social Security System and emission of the work injury report was obligatory, 20 of the cases (54.1% CI 95% 39.4%-68.7%) had not been registered. A greater proportion of cases of sub-registration were found among those workers employed in micro, small and medium sized businesses than among those working in large firms. Only 22.4% (CI 13.8%-30.9%) of the occupational accidents reported in this study were registered by the Social Security System. Research findings confirm that analyses based on the number of officially registered workplace accidents are limited. It highlights the importance of utilizing other sources of data, besides the registration form for occupational accidents used currently by the Social Security System, Comunicação de Acidente do Trabalho or CAT, in order to elaborate official statistics on occupational accidents.

Utility of Shared Versus Isolated Work Setting for Dynamic Team Decision-Making

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

model of group tasks, which distinguishus amonu eight task types based upon the dimensions of cooperation-coppetition an( conceptual -behavioral, is a...useful framwork for understanding group per- formance. IcGrath’s (1984) viewpoint, that (a) there are many types of existing and concocted groups which... conceptualization , like some other approaches (e.g., Social Impact Theory; for a current sum, ary, see Jackson, 1987), does not specify the actual processes

A General Review of Factors Related to the Health Care Delivery Process: A Working Bibliography.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-08-01

Brice, J. A., & Gonda, H. H. The impact of utilization on long- term patients. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 1971, 22, 341-344. Galvin, M. E...incongruence: Consequences for health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1975, 16, 198-212. Coburn, D., & Pope, C. R. Socioeconomic status and...American Journal of Public Health, 1977, 67, 946-953. Phillips, L. Socioeconomic factors and mental health. American Journal ot Orthopsychiatry, 1967

Social Actions Career Ladder and Utilization Field, AFSCs 734X0A/B, 736XA/B, 737X, 73499, and 73400.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-11-01

enlisted specialty was composed of three shreds: 734XOA - Social Actions Technician, Equal Opportunity; 734XOB- Social Actions Technician, Drug/Alcohol...and 734X0C - Social Actions Technician, Race Relations. On 30 April 1980, the Equal Opportunity and Race Relations specialties were merged to form...AFS 734X0A - Social Actions Technician, Equal Opportunity/Human Relations. The officer Social Actions utilization field was created on 31 January 1973

SupportNet for Frontline Behavioral Health Providers

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-30

social -cognitive theory perspective ( Bandura , 1997), the proposed website and integrated treatment would enhance the perceived social environmental...Objective 2: We will evaluate the utility of social cognitive theory as a framework for understanding the stress process for military mental health...healthcare providers. SupportNet, based on the theoretical framework of social cognitive theory , utilizes web-based support system with coaching to

Social Media, Big Data, and Mental Health: Current Advances and Ethical Implications

PubMed Central

Conway, Mike; O’Connor, Daniel

2016-01-01

Mental health (including substance abuse) is the fifth greatest contributor to the global burden of disease, with an economic cost estimated to be US $2.5 trillion in 2010, and expected to double by 2030. Developing information systems to support and strengthen population-level mental health monitoring forms a core part of the World Health Organization’s Comprehensive Action Plan 2013–2020. In this paper, we review recent work that utilizes social media “big data” in conjunction with associated technologies like natural language processing and machine learning to address pressing problems in population-level mental health surveillance and research, focusing both on technological advances and core ethical challenges. PMID:27042689

Estimation of health-care costs for work-related injuries in the Mexican Institute of Social Security.

PubMed

Carlos-Rivera, Fernando; Aguilar-Madrid, Guadalupe; Gómez-Montenegro, Pablo Anaya; Juárez-Pérez, Cuauhtémoc A; Sánchez-Román, Francisco Raúl; Durcudoy Montandon, Jaqueline E A; Borja-Aburto, Víctor Hugo

2009-03-01

Data on the economic consequences of occupational injuries is scarce in developing countries which prevents the recognition of their economic and social consequences. This study assess the direct heath care costs of work-related accidents in the Mexican Institute of Social Security, the largest health care institution in Latin America, which covered 12,735,856 workers and their families in 2005. We estimated the cost of treatment for 295,594 officially reported occupational injuries nation wide. A group of medical experts devised treatment algorithms to quantify resource utilization for occupational injuries to which unit costs were applied. Total costs were estimated as the product of the cost per illness and the severity weighted incidence of occupational accidents. Occupational injury rate was 2.9 per 100 workers. Average medical care cost per case was $2,059 USD. The total cost of the health care of officially recognized injured workers was $753,420,222 USD. If injury rate is corrected for underreporting, the cost for formal injured workers is 791,216,460. If the same costs are applied for informal workers, approximately half of the working population in Mexico, the cost of healthcare for occupational injuries is about 1% of the gross domestic product. Health care costs of occupational accidents are similar to the economic direct expenditures to compensate death and disability in the social security system in Mexico. However, indirect costs might be as important as direct costs.

Europe, women, and work: is the "adult worker" ideal achieved?

PubMed

Montanari, Ingalill

2009-01-01

Against the background of an overall increase in female labor force participation in Europe, this article presents a comparative analysis of the development of the extent and quality of women's participation in market work over the last 15 years in relation to selected sectoral and, with regard to the service sector, subsectoral sites in which women perform their market work. This is an explorative test of the utility of the theoretical perspective that focuses on the gendered division of total necessary work in society, production as well as reproduction, in order to explain gender inequality. Countries examined are the "old E.U." member states in various constellations. Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Labor Organization, European Social Survey, and Luxembourg Income Study are used.

[Relationships among job rotation perception and intention, job satisfaction and job performance: a study of Tainan area nurses].

PubMed

Pan, Yueh-Chiu; Huang, Pei-Wen; Lee, Jin-Chuan; Chang, Ching-Lu

2012-04-01

There have been major changes to the medical care system and heightened standards for quality in the nursing profession in recent decades. Multifunctional capabilities are closely related to individual working attitudes, and work satisfaction directly affects group performance. Hospital administrators increasingly expect to utilize nursing staffs flexibly in terms of working hours and shift rotation assignments. This study addresses the need to provide appropriate educational training to nurses and effectively delegate and utilize human resources in order to help nurses adapt to the rapidly changing medical environment. This study on nursing staff in Tainan area explored the relationships between job rotation, work performance and satisfaction. We used a questionnaire sampling method to survey nurses working in the Tainan area of southern Taiwan. Subjects were volunteers and a total 228 valid questionnaires (99.13%) were returned out of a total 230 sent. Both job satisfaction and performance correlated positively with job rotation perception and intention; Job satisfaction and job performance were positively related; Job satisfaction was found to affect work performance via job rotation perception and intention. This study found the hospital nursing staff rotation plan to be an effective management method that facilitates social evolution to increase positive perceptions of work rotation. Nursing staffs thus become more accepting of new positions that may enhance job satisfaction.

Gender and Relationship Status Interaction and Likelihood of Return to Work Post-Retirement.

PubMed

Settels, Jason; McMullin, Julie

2017-09-01

Population aging is an issue of mounting importance throughout the industrialized world. Concerns over labour force shortages have led to policies that prolong working life. Accordingly, present-day workforce participation patterns of older individuals are extensively varied. This study utilized the 2007 General Social Survey to examine factors associated with post-retirement paid work, focusing on the interaction between gender and relationship status, among Canadians aged 50 to 74 who had retired at least once. We find that although being in a relationship is associated with a higher likelihood of post-retirement work for men, the opposite is true for women. Our findings suggest that the gendered association between relationship status and post-retirement work results partly from the gendered associations between relationship status and one's motivation for learning and community involvement, career orientation, and sense of independence. Gendered meanings of relationship status are thus revealed through analysis of post-retirement work.

Exploring the role of co-worker social support on health care utilization and sickness absence

PubMed Central

Tamers, Sara L.; Beresford, Shirley A.A.; Thompson, Beti; Zheng, Yingye; Cheadle, Allen D.

2011-01-01

Objectives To explore the association of baseline co-worker social support with follow-up measures of health care use and sickness absence. Methods Data were obtained on 1,240 employees from 33 worksites, through Promoting Activity and Changes in Eating, a group randomized weight maintenance trial. Co-worker social support, health care utilization, and absenteeism were assessed via a self-reported questionnaire. Generalized Estimating Equations were employed using STATA version 10. Results Higher baseline co-worker social support was significantly associated with a greater number of doctors’ visits (p = 0.015). Co-worker social support was unrelated to number of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, or absenteeism. Conclusions The relationship between co-worker social support and health care utilization and absenteeism is complex and uncertain. Future studies should measure more specific outcomes, incorporate important mediating variables, and distill how social networks influence these outcomes. PMID:21685798

Implementing reverse mentoring to address social isolation among older adults.

PubMed

Breck, Bethany M; Dennis, Cory B; Leedahl, Skye N

2018-07-01

Reverse mentoring is a means to address the social work Grand Challenge of social isolation. Among older adults, reverse mentoring can improve social connection by increasing the digital competence of older adults so they can use technology for social benefit, and by facilitating intergenerational connections with young adult mentors. In this paper, reverse mentoring is examined within an intergenerational program that serves older adults and utilizes the native technological knowledge and skills of young adults who mentor older adult participants. Qualitative data were collected through young adult mentor logs of each session, and through open-ended questions on the post-surveys collected from older adults and young adult mentors. Qualitative analysis revealed three themes related to social connection: (1) an increased sense of self-efficacy for older adults as they build confidence in technological use, and for young adults as they develop leadership skills through mentoring, (2) the breaking down of age-related stereotypes, and (3) intergenerational engagement and connection. The findings demonstrate that reverse mentoring can be used in various settings to decrease the social isolation of older adults by developing intergenerational connections and increasing older adult usage of technology.

Understanding stigma in chronic health conditions: implications for nursing.

PubMed

Engebretson, Joan

2013-10-01

This article explores the social processes in stigmatization and the theoretical background on the impact in chronic illness. Review of literature from social sciences and applications to health issues. Understanding the social utility of stigmatization in preserving social cohesion and protecting the social order is an important function. However, this process can be harmful when applied to persons with chronic illness, such as HIV-AIDS, and psychiatric illness. These individuals often become shamed, ostracized, isolated, discredited, and socially and economically marginalized. Recent theoretical work on stigma has identified several issues and patient responses that may have implications in many other chronic conditions. Stigma is based on visible or nonvisible health conditions and can be both externally imposed or perceived in a process of self-stigma. Understanding stigma can aid clinicians in providing supportive help for patients with chronic illness. Stigma has been well researched in a few chronic illnesses; however, future studies in other conditions are much needed. Recognizing the underlying social factors has potential use in health-promoting behaviors. Sensitivity to stigma allows health professionals to critically reflect on ways the healthcare environment may add to stigma for their patients. ©2013 The Author(s) ©2013 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Utility of Social Modeling for Proliferation Assessment - Preliminary Assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coles, Garill A.; Gastelum, Zoe N.; Brothers, Alan J.

2009-06-01

This Preliminary Assessment draft report will present the results of a literature search and preliminary assessment of the body of research, analysis methods, models and data deemed to be relevant to the Utility of Social Modeling for Proliferation Assessment research. This report will provide: 1) a description of the problem space and the kinds of information pertinent to the problem space, 2) a discussion of key relevant or representative literature, 3) a discussion of models and modeling approaches judged to be potentially useful to the research, and 4) the next steps of this research that will be pursued based onmore » this preliminary assessment. This draft report represents a technical deliverable for the NA-22 Simulations, Algorithms, and Modeling (SAM) program. Specifically this draft report is the Task 1 deliverable for project PL09-UtilSocial-PD06, Utility of Social Modeling for Proliferation Assessment. This project investigates non-traditional use of social and cultural information to improve nuclear proliferation assessment, including nonproliferation assessment, proliferation resistance assessments, safeguards assessments and other related studies. These assessments often use and create technical information about the State’s posture towards proliferation, the vulnerability of a nuclear energy system to an undesired event, and the effectiveness of safeguards. This project will find and fuse social and technical information by explicitly considering the role of cultural, social and behavioral factors relevant to proliferation. The aim of this research is to describe and demonstrate if and how social science modeling has utility in proliferation assessment.« less

Initial evaluation of psychometric properties of a structured work task application for the Assessment of Work Performance in a constructed environment.

PubMed

Karlsson, Elin A; Liedberg, Gunilla M; Sandqvist, Jan L

2017-06-22

The Swedish Social Insurance Administration has developed a new assessment tool for sickness insurance. This study is a part of the initial evaluation of the application, called the Assessment of Work Performance, Structured Activities, and focuses on evaluation of the psychometric properties of social validity, content validity, and utility. This was a qualitative study using semi-structured telephone interviews with occupational therapists. A convenience sample was used and participants who fulfilled inclusion criteria (n = 15) were interviewed. Data were analyzed using content analysis with a directed approach. The results indicate that the application provides valuable information and that it is socially valid. Assessors found work tasks suitable for a diverse group of clients and reported that clients accepted the assessments. Improvements were suggested, for example, expanding the application with more work tasks. The instrument has benefits; however, further development is desired. The use of a constructed environment in assessments may be a necessary option to supplement a real environment. But depending on organizational factors such as time and other resources, the participants had different opportunities to do so. Further evaluations regarding ecological validity are essential to ensure that assessments are fair and realistic when using constructed environments. Implications for rehabilitation This study indicates that assessment in a constructed environment can provide a secure and protected context for clients being assessed. Psychometric evaluations are a never-ending process and this assessment instrument needs further development. However, this initial evaluation provides guidance in development of the instrument but also what studies to give priority to. It is important to evaluate social validity in order to ensure that clients and assessors perceive assessment methods fair and meaningful. In this study, participants found the work tasks appropriate and usable when assessing their clients but client's perspective must also be included in following studies. This assessment instrument is the only activity-based assessment instrument within the Swedish Social Security Insurance. Psychometric evaluations are important since it affects so many individuals in Sweden.

Social cost considerations and legal constraints in implementing modular integrated utility systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lede, N. W.; Dixon, H. W.; King, O.; Hill, D. K.

1974-01-01

Social costs associated with the design, demonstration, and implementation of the Modular Integrated Utility System are considered including the social climate of communities, leadership patterns, conflicts and cleavages, specific developmental values, MIUS utility goal assessment, and the suitability of certian alternative options for use in a program of implementation. General considerations are discussed in the field of socio-technological planning. These include guidelines for understanding the conflict and diversity; some relevant goal choices and ideas useful to planners of the MIUS facility.

SOCIAL, HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF TUBERCULOSIS.

PubMed

Mason, Paul H; Roy, Anupom; Spillane, Jayden; Singh, Puneet

2016-03-01

Tuberculosis (TB) researchers and clinicians, by virtue of the social disease they study, are drawn into an engagement with ways of understanding illness that extend beyond the strictly biomedical model. Primers on social science concepts directly relevant to TB, however, are lacking. The particularities of TB disease mean that certain social science concepts are more relevant than others. Concepts such as structural violence can seem complicated and off-putting. Other concepts, such as gender, can seem so familiar that they are left relatively unexplored. An intimate familiarity with the social dimensions of disease is valuable, particularly for infectious diseases, because the social model is an important complement to the biomedical model. This review article offers an important introduction to a selection of concepts directly relevant to TB from health sociology, medical anthropology and social cognitive theory. The article has pedagogical utility and also serves as a useful refresher for those researchers already engaged in this genre of work. The conceptual tools of health sociology, medical anthropology and social cognitive theory offer insightful ways to examine the social, historical and cultural dimensions of public health. By recognizing cultural experience as a central force shaping human interactions with the world, TB researchers and clinicians develop a more nuanced consideration of how health, illness and medical treatment are understood, interpreted and confronted.

Social capital, outpatient care utilization and choice between different levels of health facilities in rural and urban areas of Bhutan.

PubMed

Herberholz, Chantal; Phuntsho, Sonam

2018-06-18

This study examines the factors that explain outpatient care utilization and the choice between different levels of health facilities in Bhutan, focusing on individual social capital, given Bhutan's geography of remote and sparsely populated areas. The more isolated the living, the more important individual social capital may become. Standard factors proposed by the Andersen model of healthcare utilization serve as control variables. Data for 2526 households from the 2012 Bhutan Living Standards Survey, which contains a social capital module covering structural, cognitive and output dimensions of social capital, are used. The results from the logistic regression analysis show that individual social capital is positively related with the probability of seeking treatment when ill or injured. Informal social contacts and perceived help and support are most important in rural areas, whereas specific trust matters in urban areas. The explanatory power of the model using a subset of the data for urban areas only, however, is very low as most predisposing and enabling factors are insignificant, which is not surprising though in view of better access to health facilities in urban areas and the fact that healthcare is provided free of charge in Bhutan. Multinomial regression results further show that structural and output dimensions of social capital influence the likelihood of seeking care at secondary or tertiary care facilities relative to primary care facilities. Moreover, economic status and place of residence are significantly associated with healthcare utilization and choice of health facility. The findings with respect to social capital suggest that strategizing and organizing social capital may help improve healthcare utilization in Bhutan. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health, Social, and Economic Outcomes Experienced by Families as a Result of Receiving Assistance from a Community-Based Diaper Bank.

PubMed

Massengale, Kelley E C; Erausquin, Jennifer Toller; Old, Michelle

2017-10-01

Objectives This paper aims to describe low-income recipients of a community-based diaper bank and the multiple daily challenges they face. Our paper seeks to document the health, social, and financial outcomes recipients experienced after receiving assistance. Methods We surveyed families (n = 150) about their experiences receiving diapers from a diaper bank in the southeastern United States. Additionally, we conducted short, focused interviews with families (n = 15) about outcomes after receiving diapers. Results Families experience regularly a range of challenges meeting basic needs. These difficulties include high unmet needs for transportation, food, and nonfood essentials such as personal hygiene items. Families experiencing the greatest difficulty in paying utility or medical bills were significantly more likely to have a high level of diaper need compared to families facing these challenges less often (AORs ranging from 3.40 to 9.39). As a result of receiving diapers, families reported positive health, social, and economic outcomes. Families reported positive changes in parental mood; improved child health and happiness; increased opportunities for childcare, work, and school attendance; and the ability to divert household finances toward other basic needs, including utilities and medical care. Conclusions for Practice The monetary value of the supplemental provision of diapers is a small investment in affected families' economic, social, and health outcomes. The positive effects continue far longer than the diapers provided. We demonstrate the social value of such an operation, and recommend the expansion of federal, state, and local safety net programs to help low-income families secure a steady supply of diapers.

Transgender identity and health care: implications for psychosocial and physical evaluation.

PubMed

Alegria, Christine Aramburu

2011-04-01

The purpose of this article is to educate nurse practitioners (NPs) regarding: (a) the definition and range of transgenderism, (b) social influences on transgender persons, and (c) health care for transgender persons. Data sources include review of the literature in the areas of gender, gender identity, marginalized populations, and gender transition. Personal communication was also utilized. Transgender persons remain marginalized and may remain closeted and at risk for negative psychosocial consequences. For those that do come out, other issues present, including the navigation of gender transition and psychosocial and physical changes that may be positive and/or negative. Examples of positive effects may include satisfaction of living authentically and decrease in depression. Negative effects may include social discrimination and loss of relationships. To provide holistic care, NPs need to be aware of transgender lives in social context and of their healthcare needs. Suggestions for cultivating a supportive healthcare environment include the usage of sensitive language and an appropriate health history and physical examination. Further, to help rectify the knowledge deficit regarding transgender care among healthcare providers, NP educators and preceptors may utilize this article as a resource in their work with students. ©2011 The Author(s) Journal compilation ©2011 American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Social relationships and physician utilization among older adults—A systematic review

PubMed Central

Inhestern, Laura; von dem Knesebeck, Olaf

2017-01-01

Background In older age health needs and demand for health services utilization increase. Individual’s social relationships can play a decisive role regarding the utilization of outpatient health care services. This systematic review examines the associations of structural and functional dimensions of social relationships with outpatient health services use of older adults. Methods The databases PubMed, CINAHL, SocINDEX, PsycINFO, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), Sociological Abstracts, and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) were searched in February 2016. The methodological and reporting quality of the articles was assessed and the results were synthesized descriptively and systematically. Results Out of 1.392 hits, 36 articles (35 studies) were included in the systematic review. The methodological and reporting quality of the included articles was reasonable. Various structural and functional characteristics of social relationships were associated with the use (yes/no) and the frequency of using outpatient care among older adults. The majority of the associations between structural dimensions of social relationships and the use of physicians were positive and moderate in strength. The associations between functional dimensions of social relationships and the probability of using physician services were inconsistent and varied in strength. For the most part, social relationship variables assigned to the structural dimension were positively and weakly to moderately associated with the frequency of physician visits. Functional aspects of social relationships also tended to have positive associations with the frequency of physician utilization. The associations were weak to moderate in strength. Conclusions Measuring social relationships and their influence on health services use is a challenging methodological endeavor indicated by the inconclusive results. The results suggest that the outpatient care utilization behavior of older individuals being structurally and functionally integrated in social relationships is different to older adults being socially isolated or having no social support. All in all, the current status of quantitative data was insufficient. Future health services research should accentuate social ties in more detail, especially according to quality aspects of social relationships. PMID:28957429

Maori responsiveness in health and medical research: key issues for researchers (part 1).

PubMed

Sporle, Andrew; Koea, Jonathan

2004-08-06

Application for contestable government-research funding and ethical approval requires researchers to outline how their intended research project contributes to Maori development or advancement. When formulating their research proposals, the key issues for researchers are research utility, defining Maori, informed consent, confidentiality, issues with human tissues and genetic material, participant remuneration and recognition (koha), intellectual property, and involvement of local Maori health or social services. The most common Maori responsiveness issues in research applications can be readily approached by researchers who address straightforward methodological concerns, by working through precedents established by peers and colleagues, as well as by working with end-users of their research.

The Development and Implementation of Career Information and Guidance Systems to Enhance Recruitment and Retention of ROTC Cadets for Army Careers

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-07-01

relations, variety, working conditions, cultural identity, physical prowess, and economic security. The measures of reliability were computed for the VS: 1...Prowess, Ability Utilization, and Physical Activity and the lowest scale scores on Cultural Identity, Social Relations, and Prestige. Those with neutral...and Cultural Identity and the lowest scale scores on Physical Prowess, Advancement, and Risk. Table 14 Highest and Lowest Rated Value Scale Dimensions

Stress, Social Support, and Burnout Among Long-Term Care Nursing Staff.

PubMed

Woodhead, Erin L; Northrop, Lynn; Edelstein, Barry

2016-01-01

Long-term care nursing staff are subject to considerable occupational stress and report high levels of burnout, yet little is known about how stress and social support are associated with burnout in this population. The present study utilized the job demands-resources model of burnout to examine relations between job demands (occupational and personal stress), job resources (sources and functions of social support), and burnout in a sample of nursing staff at a long-term care facility (N = 250). Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that job demands (greater occupational stress) were associated with more emotional exhaustion, more depersonalization, and less personal accomplishment. Job resources (support from supervisors and friends or family members, reassurance of worth, opportunity for nurturing) were associated with less emotional exhaustion and higher levels of personal accomplishment. Interventions to reduce burnout that include a focus on stress and social support outside of work may be particularly beneficial for long-term care staff. © The Author(s) 2014.

The reverse of social anxiety is not always the opposite: the reverse-scored items of the social interaction anxiety scale do not belong.

PubMed

Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Woods, Carol M; Heimberg, Richard G

2007-06-01

Although well-used and empirically supported, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) has a questionable factor structure and includes reverse-scored items with questionable utility. Here, using samples of undergraduates and a sample of clients with social anxiety disorder, we extend previous work that opened the question of whether the reverse-scored items belong on the scale. First, we successfully confirmed the factor structure obtained in previous samples. Second, we found the reverse-scored items to show consistently weaker relationships with a variety of comparison measures. Third, we demonstrated that removing the reverse-scored questions generally helps rather than hinders the psychometric performance of the SIAS total score. Fourth, we found that the reverse-scored items show a strong relationship with the normal personality characteristic of extraversion, suggesting that the reverse-scored items may primarily assess extraversion. Given the above results, we suggest investigators consider performing data analyses using only the straightforwardly worded items of the SIAS.

A Model-Free Scheme for Meme Ranking in Social Media.

PubMed

He, Saike; Zheng, Xiaolong; Zeng, Daniel

2016-01-01

The prevalence of social media has greatly catalyzed the dissemination and proliferation of online memes (e.g., ideas, topics, melodies, tags, etc.). However, this information abundance is exceeding the capability of online users to consume it. Ranking memes based on their popularities could promote online advertisement and content distribution. Despite such importance, few existing work can solve this problem well. They are either daunted by unpractical assumptions or incapability of characterizing dynamic information. As such, in this paper, we elaborate a model-free scheme to rank online memes in the context of social media. This scheme is capable to characterize the nonlinear interactions of online users, which mark the process of meme diffusion. Empirical studies on two large-scale, real-world datasets (one in English and one in Chinese) demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed scheme. In addition, due to its fine-grained modeling of user dynamics, this ranking scheme can also be utilized to explain meme popularity through the lens of social influence.

A Model-Free Scheme for Meme Ranking in Social Media

PubMed Central

He, Saike; Zheng, Xiaolong; Zeng, Daniel

2015-01-01

The prevalence of social media has greatly catalyzed the dissemination and proliferation of online memes (e.g., ideas, topics, melodies, tags, etc.). However, this information abundance is exceeding the capability of online users to consume it. Ranking memes based on their popularities could promote online advertisement and content distribution. Despite such importance, few existing work can solve this problem well. They are either daunted by unpractical assumptions or incapability of characterizing dynamic information. As such, in this paper, we elaborate a model-free scheme to rank online memes in the context of social media. This scheme is capable to characterize the nonlinear interactions of online users, which mark the process of meme diffusion. Empirical studies on two large-scale, real-world datasets (one in English and one in Chinese) demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed scheme. In addition, due to its fine-grained modeling of user dynamics, this ranking scheme can also be utilized to explain meme popularity through the lens of social influence. PMID:26823638

[Health system sustainability from a network perspective: a proposal to optimize healthy habits and social support].

PubMed

Marqués Sánchez, Pilar; Fernández Peña, Rosario; Cabrera León, Andrés; Muñoz Doyague, María F; Llopis Cañameras, Jaime; Arias Ramos, Natalia

2013-01-01

The search of new health management formulas focused to give wide services is one of the priorities of our present health policies. Those formulas examine the optimization of the links between the main actors involved in public health, ie, users, professionals, local socio-political and corporate agents. This paper is aimed to introduce the Social Network Analysis as a method for analyzing, measuring and interpreting those connections. The knowledge of people's relationships (what is called social networks) in the field of public health is becoming increasingly important at an international level. In fact, countries such as UK, Netherlands, Italy, Australia and U.S. are looking formulas to apply this knowledge to their health departments. With this work we show the utility of the ARS on topics related to sustainability of the health system, particularly those related with health habits and social support, topics included in the 2020 health strategies that underline the importance of the collaborative aspects in networks.

Associations of psychosocial working conditions and working time characteristics with somatic complaints in German resident physicians.

PubMed

Fischer, Nina; Degen, Christiane; Li, Jian; Loerbroks, Adrian; Müller, Andreas; Angerer, Peter

2016-05-01

Somatic complaints (SC) are highly prevalent in working populations and cause suffering and extensive health-care utilization. Adverse psychosocial working conditions as conceptualized in the Job Demand-Control-Support Model (JDC-S) and adverse working time characteristics (WTC) are potential risk factors. This combination is particularly common in hospital physicians. This study examines associations of JDC-S and WTC with SC in resident physicians from Germany. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 405 physicians at the end of residency training. SC were measured using the Giessen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-24) containing the sub-categories exhaustion, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular complaints. Data on working conditions were collected by a self-report method for work analysis in hospitals (TAA-KH-S) and by questions on WTC (i.e., working hours). Multivariable stepwise regression analyses were applied. Workload showed the most pronounced relationship with all sub-categories of SC except gastrointestinal complaints. Job autonomy was not significantly related to any SC sub-category. Social support at work was inversely associated with all SC sub-categories except for cardiovascular complaints. Free weekends were associated with reduced SC except for exhaustion. Shift work was related to an increased SC total score and musculoskeletal complaints. Working hours showed no association with SC. In resident physicians, high workload and shift work are associated with increased SC, while social support at work and free weekends are associated with decreased SC. These insights may inform the development of preventive measures to improve the health of this professional group. Prospective studies are needed though to corroborate our findings.

The race to save lives: demonstrating the use of social media for search and rescue operations.

PubMed

Simon, Tomer; Adini, Bruria; El-Hadid, Mohammed; Goldberg, Avishay; Aharonson-Daniel, Limor

2014-11-06

Utilizing social media in an emergency can enhance abilities to locate and evacuate casualties more rapidly and effectively, and can contribute towards saving lives following a disaster, through better coordination and collaboration between search and rescue teams. An exercise was conducted in order to test a standard operating procedure (SOP) designed to leverage social media use in response to an earthquake, and study whether social media can improve joint Israeli-Jordanian search and rescue operations following a regional earthquake. First responders from both Jordan and Israel were divided into two mixed groups of eight people each, representing joint (Israeli-Jordanian) EMS teams. Simulated patients were dispersed throughout the Ben-Gurion University Campus. The first search and rescue team used conventional methods, while the second team also used social media channels (Facebook and Twitter) to leverage search and rescue operations. Eighteen EMS and medical professionals from Israel and Jordan, which are members of the Emergency Response Development and Strategy Forum working group, participated in the exercise. The social media team found significantly more mock casualties, 21 out of 22 (95.45%) while the no-media team found only 19 out of 22 (86.36%). Fourteen patients (63.63%) were found by the social media team earlier than the no-media team. The differences between the two groups were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U-test, and evacuation proved to be significantly quicker in the group that had access to social media. The differences between the three injury severities groups' extraction times in each group were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test for variance. Injury severity influenced the evacuation times in the social media team but no such difference was noted in the no-media team. Utilizing social media in an emergency situation enables to locate and evacuate casualties more rapidly and effectively. Social media can contribute towards saving lives during a disaster, in national and bi-national circumstances. Due to the small numbers in the groups, this finding requires further verification on a larger study cohort.

Preventive care utilization: Association with individual- and workgroup-level policy and practice perceptions.

PubMed

Sabbath, Erika L; Sparer, Emily H; Boden, Leslie I; Wagner, Gregory R; Hashimoto, Dean M; Hopcia, Karen; Sorensen, Glorian

2018-06-01

Preventive medical care may reduce downstream medical costs and reduce population burden of disease. However, although social, demographic, and geographic determinants of preventive care have been studied, there is little information about how the workplace affects preventive care utilization. This study examines how four types of organizational policies and practices (OPPs) are associated with individual workers' preventive care utilization. We used data collected in 2012 from 838 hospital patient care workers, grouped in 84 patient care units at two hospitals in Boston. Via survey, we assessed individuals' perceptions of four types of OPPs on their work units. We linked the survey data to a database containing detailed information on medical expenditures. Using multilevel models, we tested whether individual-level perceptions, workgroup-average perceptions, and their combination were associated with individual workers' preventive care utilization (measured by number of preventive care encounters over a two-year period). Adjusting for worker characteristics, higher individual-level perceptions of workplace flexibility were associated with greater preventive care utilization. Higher average unit-level perceptions of people-oriented culture, ergonomic practices, and flexibility were associated with greater preventive care utilization. Overall, we find that workplace policies and practices supporting flexibility, ergonomics, and people-oriented culture are associated with positive preventive care-seeking behavior among workers, with some policies and practices operating at the individual level and some at the group level. Improving the work environment could impact employers' health-related expenditures and improve workers' health-related quality of life. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Media and Total Joint Arthroplasty: An Analysis of Patient Utilization on Instagram.

PubMed

Ramkumar, Prem N; Navarro, Sergio M; Haeberle, Heather S; Chughtai, Morad; Flynn, Megan E; Mont, Michael A

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the nature of shared content of total joint arthroplasty patients on Instagram. Specifically, we evaluated social media posts for: (1) perspective and timing; (2) tone; (3) focus (activities of daily living [ADLs], rehabilitation, return-to-work); and (4) the comparison between hip and knee arthroplasties. A search of the public Instagram domain was performed over a 6-month period. Total hip and knee arthroplasties (THA and TKA) were selected for the analysis using the following terms: "#totalhipreplacement," "#totalkneereplacement," and associated terms. 1287 individual public posts of human subjects were shared during the period. A categorical scoring system was utilized for media format (photo or video), time (preoperative, perioperative, or postoperative) period, tone (positive or negative), return-to-work, ADLs, rehabilitation, surgical site, radiograph image, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction. Ninety-one percent of the posts were shared during the postoperative period. Ninety-three percent of posts had a positive tone. Thirty-four percent of posts focused on both ADLs and 33.8% on rehabilitation. TKA patients shared more about their surgical site (14.5% vs 3.3%, P < .001) and rehabilitation (58.9% vs 8.8%, P < .001) than THA patients, whereas THA patients shared more about ADLs than TKA patients (60.5% vs 7.6%, P < .001). When sharing their experience on Instagram, arthroplasty patients did so with a positive tone, starting a week after surgery. TKA posts focused more on rehabilitation and wound healing than THA patients, whereas THA patients shared more posts on ADLs. The analysis of social media posts provides insight into what matters to patients after total joint arthroplasty. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vigour and dedication in nursing professionals: towards a better understanding of work engagement.

PubMed

Jenaro, Cristina; Flores, Noelia; Orgaz, Maria Begoña; Cruz, Maribel

2011-04-01

This paper analyses the association between nurses' individual characteristics, job features and work engagement. Current shortage of nurses and turnover justify more research efforts on job satisfaction. Closely associated with job satisfaction is work engagement, a construct which is composed of vigour, dedication and absorption, and requires more empirical evidence supporting its relevance. Most of the studies focus on organizational features, while reducing the relevance of individual characteristics. Survey data for this descriptive, correlational study were collected over a 7-month period (2006-2007) from a convenience sample of 412 Nurses. Measures utilized were the Work Engagement Survey, the General Health Questionnaire, and an ad hoc survey. Concerning psychiatric morbidity, 49% nurses met criteria for somatic symptoms, 65.5% met criteria for anxiety and insomnia, 4.6% met criteria for social dysfunction and 10% met criteria for severe depression. There were no effects for length of service or professional category. Nurse managers scored significantly higher in several job stressors compared with other groups. Concerning engagement, 33% of the nurses experienced high dedication, 20.4% experienced high vigour and 36.7% experienced high absorption. Predictors of vigour and dedication were satisfaction with job position, higher quality of working life, lower social dysfunction and lower stress associated with patient care. Strategies to promote work engagement should be implemented. More attention should be paid to job environments to guarantee job satisfaction. Organizational strategies to reduce the stress associated with patients' care, and initiatives to improve social and communication skills are also required for nurses to experience vigour and dedication. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Workplace Bullying among Managers: A Multifactorial Perspective and Understanding

PubMed Central

Ariza-Montes, J. Antonio; Muniz R., Noel M.; Leal-Rodríguez, Antonio L.; Leal-Millán, Antonio G.

2014-01-01

The aim of this paper is to study certain factors that may be determinant in the emergence of workplace bullying among managers—employees with a recognized and privileged position to exercise power—adopting the individual perspective of the subject, the bullied manager. Individual, organizational, and contextual factors integrate the developed global model, and the methodology utilized to accomplish our research objectives is based on the binary logistic regression model. A sample population of 661 managers was obtained from the micro data file of the 5th European Working Conditions Survey-2010 (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) and utilized to conduct the present research. The results indicate that the chance for a manager to refer to him/herself as bullied increases among women that hold managerial positions and live with children under 15 at home, and among subjects that work at night, on a shift system, suffering from work stress, enjoying little satisfaction from their working conditions, and not perceiving opportunities for promotions in their organizations. The present work summarizes an array of outcomes and proposes, within the usual course of events, that workplace bullying could be reduced if job demands were limited and job resources were increased. The implications of these findings could assist directors/general directors in facilitating, to some extent, good social relationships among managers. PMID:24599041

The Utilization of Social Media in the Hearing Aid Community.

PubMed

Choudhury, Moumita; Dinger, Zoë; Fichera, Elena

2017-03-01

This study investigated the utilization of social media by the hearing aid (HA) community. The purpose of this survey was to analyze the participation of HA community in the social media websites. A systematic survey of online HA-related social media sources was conducted. Such sources were identified using appropriate search terms. Social media participation was quantified on the basis of posts and "likes." Five hundred fifty-seven social media sources were identified, including 174 Twitter accounts, 172 YouTube videos, 91 Facebook pages, 20 Facebook groups, 71 blogs, and 29 forums. Twitter and YouTube platforms showed the highest level of activity among social media users. The HA-related community used social media sources for advice and support, information sharing, and service-related information. HA users, other individuals, and organizations interested in HAs leave their digital footprint on a wide variety of social media sources. The community connects, offers support, and shares information on a variety of HA-related issues. The HA community is as active in social media utilization as other groups, such as the cochlear implant community, even though the patterns of their social media use are different because of their unique needs.

Clustering social cues to determine social signals: developing learning algorithms using the "n-most likely states" approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Best, Andrew; Kapalo, Katelynn A.; Warta, Samantha F.; Fiore, Stephen M.

2016-05-01

Human-robot teaming largely relies on the ability of machines to respond and relate to human social signals. Prior work in Social Signal Processing has drawn a distinction between social cues (discrete, observable features) and social signals (underlying meaning). For machines to attribute meaning to behavior, they must first understand some probabilistic relationship between the cues presented and the signal conveyed. Using data derived from a study in which participants identified a set of salient social signals in a simulated scenario and indicated the cues related to the perceived signals, we detail a learning algorithm, which clusters social cue observations and defines an "N-Most Likely States" set for each cluster. Since multiple signals may be co-present in a given simulation and a set of social cues often maps to multiple social signals, the "N-Most Likely States" approach provides a dramatic improvement over typical linear classifiers. We find that the target social signal appears in a "3 most-likely signals" set with up to 85% probability. This results in increased speed and accuracy on large amounts of data, which is critical for modeling social cognition mechanisms in robots to facilitate more natural human-robot interaction. These results also demonstrate the utility of such an approach in deployed scenarios where robots need to communicate with human teammates quickly and efficiently. In this paper, we detail our algorithm, comparative results, and offer potential applications for robot social signal detection and machine-aided human social signal detection.

Power with Social Media: A Nursing Perspective.

PubMed

Milton, Constance L

2016-04-01

Power is an emanating force typically associated with personal relationships. With the expanding capacities and utilization of social media, power with media is an emerging ethical concern to the discipline of nursing. The author here discusses potential ethical meanings and implications of power with social media while utilizing technology in future nurse practice and education. © The Author(s) 2016.

Program Development and Outcomes Assessment of Social Emotional Curriculum Utilized with High School Special Education Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedam, Allison

2012-01-01

The present study will assess the effectiveness of a social emotional learning curriculum implemented in a Midwestern high school with special education students. The specific social emotional curriculum utilized at this particular school was organized and delivered by the school psychologists at the high school, based on the Strong Teens…

Staff happiness and work satisfaction in a tertiary psychiatric centre.

PubMed

Baruch, Y; Swartz, M; Sirkis, S; Mirecki, I; Barak, Y

2013-09-01

Mental health professionals are at a high risk of burnout. Positive psychology outcomes of staff in acute in-patient psychiatric wards are poorly researched and unclear. To quantify the satisfaction with life and work-life satisfaction of mental health staff at a large university-affiliated tertiary psychiatric centre. We utilized the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Work-Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (WLSQ). Two hundred and nine out of 450 staff members (46%) participated; mean age 48.2 + 9.9 years; 63% were male. On average the participants had been practising their speciality for 21.1 + 9.8 years (range: 2-48). The mean total SWLS scores differed significantly between professions (P < 0.05). The highest levels of happiness were reported by psychologists and social workers, followed by the administrative staff, the psychiatrists and finally the nursing staff. Staff scored the highest for work as a 'calling' followed by work as a 'career' and the lowest rating for work as a 'job'. The mean total WLSQ score differed between professions, (P < 0.01). The highest levels of work as a calling were reported by psychiatrists (mean 2.87 of possible 5.0), followed by psychologists and social workers, nursing staff and finally administrative staff. Satisfaction with life and work orientation do not correlate among mental health professionals. Although highly motivated and perceiving psychiatry as a 'calling' psychiatrists score low on levels of satisfaction with life. Improving staff happiness may contribute to increase in moral and counter burnout.

Buffering effects of job resources on the association of overtime work hours with psychological distress in Japanese white-collar workers.

PubMed

Hino, Ayako; Inoue, Akiomi; Kawakami, Norito; Tsuno, Kanami; Tomioka, Kimiko; Nakanishi, Mayuko; Mafune, Kosuke; Hiro, Hisanori

2015-07-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the buffering effects of job resources, utilizing the job demands-control (or demand-control-support) and effort-reward imbalance models (i.e., job control, workplace social support, and extrinsic reward), on the association of overtime work hours with psychological distress in Japanese employees. A total of 1,198 participants (valid response rate = 93.7 %) from five branches of a manufacturing company in Japan completed a self-administered questionnaire comprising the scales assessing job resources, psychological distress, and demographic characteristics. We obtained the information on working hours in the most recent month from the personnel records of the surveyed company. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted. In a series of analyses, interaction term of overtime work hours with each job resource was included in the model. Significant interaction effect of overtime work hours with job control was observed. Among the low job control group, the long overtime (80 h or more) subgroup had a significantly higher prevalence odds ratio of psychological distress compared to the short overtime (44 h or less) subgroup. No significant association of overtime work hours with psychological distress was found among the high job control group. On the other hand, there was no significant interaction effect of overtime work hours with workplace social support or extrinsic reward. The present findings suggest that high job control has an effect on reducing psychological distress in relation to overtime work hours in Japanese employees.

Online and Social Media Data As an Imperfect Continuous Panel Survey

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

There is a large body of research on utilizing online activity as a survey of political opinion to predict real world election outcomes. There is considerably less work, however, on using this data to understand topic-specific interest and opinion amongst the general population and specific demographic subgroups, as currently measured by relatively expensive surveys. Here we investigate this possibility by studying a full census of all Twitter activity during the 2012 election cycle along with the comprehensive search history of a large panel of Internet users during the same period, highlighting the challenges in interpreting online and social media activity as the results of a survey. As noted in existing work, the online population is a non-representative sample of the offline world (e.g., the U.S. voting population). We extend this work to show how demographic skew and user participation is non-stationary and difficult to predict over time. In addition, the nature of user contributions varies substantially around important events. Furthermore, we note subtle problems in mapping what people are sharing or consuming online to specific sentiment or opinion measures around a particular topic. We provide a framework, built around considering this data as an imperfect continuous panel survey, for addressing these issues so that meaningful insight about public interest and opinion can be reliably extracted from online and social media data. PMID:26730933

Online and Social Media Data As an Imperfect Continuous Panel Survey.

PubMed

Diaz, Fernando; Gamon, Michael; Hofman, Jake M; Kıcıman, Emre; Rothschild, David

2016-01-01

There is a large body of research on utilizing online activity as a survey of political opinion to predict real world election outcomes. There is considerably less work, however, on using this data to understand topic-specific interest and opinion amongst the general population and specific demographic subgroups, as currently measured by relatively expensive surveys. Here we investigate this possibility by studying a full census of all Twitter activity during the 2012 election cycle along with the comprehensive search history of a large panel of Internet users during the same period, highlighting the challenges in interpreting online and social media activity as the results of a survey. As noted in existing work, the online population is a non-representative sample of the offline world (e.g., the U.S. voting population). We extend this work to show how demographic skew and user participation is non-stationary and difficult to predict over time. In addition, the nature of user contributions varies substantially around important events. Furthermore, we note subtle problems in mapping what people are sharing or consuming online to specific sentiment or opinion measures around a particular topic. We provide a framework, built around considering this data as an imperfect continuous panel survey, for addressing these issues so that meaningful insight about public interest and opinion can be reliably extracted from online and social media data.

Expert Game experiment predicts emergence of trust in professional communication networks.

PubMed

Bendtsen, Kristian Moss; Uekermann, Florian; Haerter, Jan O

2016-10-25

Strong social capital is increasingly recognized as an organizational advantage. Better knowledge sharing and reduced transaction costs increase work efficiency. To mimic the formation of the associated communication network, we propose the Expert Game, where each individual must find a specific expert and receive her help. Participants act in an impersonal environment and under time constraints that provide short-term incentives for noncooperative behavior. Despite these constraints, we observe cooperation between individuals and the self-organization of a sustained trust network, which facilitates efficient communication channels with increased information flow. We build a behavioral model that explains the experimental dynamics. Analysis of the model reveals an exploitation protection mechanism and measurable social capital, which quantitatively describe the economic utility of trust.

The Study on Neuro-IE Management Software in Manufacturing Enterprises. -The Application of Video Analysis Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bian, Jun; Fu, Huijian; Shang, Qian; Zhou, Xiangyang; Ma, Qingguo

This paper analyzes the outstanding problems in current industrial production by reviewing the three stages of the Industrial Engineering Development. Based on investigations and interviews in enterprises, we propose the new idea of applying "computer video analysis technology" to new industrial engineering management software, and add "loose-coefficient" of the working station to this software in order to arrange scientific and humanistic production. Meanwhile, we suggest utilizing Biofeedback Technology to promote further research on "the rules of workers' physiological, psychological and emotional changes in production". This new kind of combination will push forward industrial engineering theories and benefit enterprises in progressing towards flexible social production, thus it will be of great theory innovation value, social significance and application value.

The Preventable Admissions Care Team (PACT): A Social Work-Led Model of Transitional Care.

PubMed

Basso Lipani, Maria; Holster, Kathleen; Bussey, Sarah

2015-10-01

In 2010, the Preventable Admissions Care Team (PACT), a social work-led transitional care model, was developed at Mount Sinai to reduce 30-day readmissions among high-risk patients. PACT begins with a comprehensive bedside assessment to identify the psychosocial drivers of readmission. In partnership with the patient and family, a patient-centered action plan is developed and carried out through phone calls, accompaniments, navigations and home visits, as needed, in the first 30 days following discharge. 620 patients were enrolled during the pilot from September 2010-August 2012. Outcomes demonstrated a 43% reduction in inpatient utilization and a 54% reduction in emergency department visits among enrollees. In addition, 93% of patients had a follow-up appointment within 7-10 days of discharge and 90% of patients attended the appointment. The success of PACT has led to additional funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Community-based Care Transitions Program and several managed care companies seeking population health management interventions for high risk members.

Preventing Unintentional Injuries in the Home Using the Health Impact Pyramid

PubMed Central

Mack, Karin A.; Liller, Karen D.; Baldwin, Grant; Sleet, David

2015-01-01

Injuries continue to be the leading cause of death for the first four decades of life. These injuries result from a confluence of behavioral, physical, structural, environmental, and social factors. Taken together, these illustrate the importance of taking a broad and multileveled approach to injury prevention. Using examples from fall, fire, scald, and poisoning-related injuries, this article illustrates the utility of an approach that incorporates a social–environmental perspective in identifying and selecting interventions to improve the health and safety of individuals. Injury prevention efforts to prevent home injuries benefit from multilevel modifications of behavior, public policy, laws and enforcement, the environment, consumer products and engineering standards, as demonstrated with Frieden’s Health Impact Pyramid. A greater understanding, however, is needed to explain the associations between tiers. While interventions that include modifications of the social environment are being field-tested, much more work needs to be done in measuring social–environmental change and in evaluating these programs to disentangle what works best. PMID:25829110

A qualitative study of the impact of the UK 'bedroom tax'.

PubMed

Moffatt, S; Lawson, S; Patterson, R; Holding, E; Dennison, A; Sowden, S; Brown, J

2016-06-01

The implementation of the 'Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy' in April 2013, commonly known as the 'bedroom tax', affects an estimated 660 000 working age social housing tenants in the UK, reducing weekly incomes by £12-£22. This study aimed to examine the impact of this tax on health and wellbeing in a North East England community in which 68.5% of residents live in social housing. Qualitative study using interviews and a focus group with 38 social housing tenants and 12 service providers. Income reduction affected purchasing power for essentials, particularly food and utilities. Participants recounted negative impacts on mental health, family relationships and community networks. The hardship and debt that people experienced adversely affected their social relationships and ability to carry out normal social roles. Residents and service providers highlighted negative impacts on the neighbourhood, as well as added pressure on already strained local services. The bedroom tax has increased poverty and had broad-ranging adverse effects on health, wellbeing and social relationships within this community. These findings strengthen the arguments for revoking this tax. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.

A qualitative study of the impact of the UK ‘bedroom tax’

PubMed Central

Moffatt, S.; Lawson, S.; Patterson, R.; Holding, E.; Dennison, A.; Sowden, S.; Brown, J.

2016-01-01

Background The implementation of the ‘Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy’ in April 2013, commonly known as the ‘bedroom tax’, affects an estimated 660 000 working age social housing tenants in the UK, reducing weekly incomes by £12–£22. This study aimed to examine the impact of this tax on health and wellbeing in a North East England community in which 68.5% of residents live in social housing. Methods Qualitative study using interviews and a focus group with 38 social housing tenants and 12 service providers. Results Income reduction affected purchasing power for essentials, particularly food and utilities. Participants recounted negative impacts on mental health, family relationships and community networks. The hardship and debt that people experienced adversely affected their social relationships and ability to carry out normal social roles. Residents and service providers highlighted negative impacts on the neighbourhood, as well as added pressure on already strained local services. Conclusions The bedroom tax has increased poverty and had broad-ranging adverse effects on health, wellbeing and social relationships within this community. These findings strengthen the arguments for revoking this tax. PMID:25774056

Reminiscence through the Lens of Social Media

PubMed Central

Thomas, Lisa; Briggs, Pam

2016-01-01

Reminiscence is used to support and create new social bonds and give meaning to life. Originally perceived as a preoccupation of the aged, we now recognize that reminiscence has value throughout the lifespan. Increasingly, social media can be used to both support and prompt reminiscence, with Facebook’s Lookback or Year in Review as recent examples. This work takes prompted reminiscence further, asking what forms and functions of reminiscence are supported by social media. Utilizing the online service MySocialBook, we invited participants to curate content from their personal Facebook account to then be transformed into a printed book. We used that book as a prompt for discussion of the reminiscence function of the curated material, using Westerhof and Bohlmeijer’s (2014) reminiscence framework as a starting point. We conclude that this framework is valuable in understanding the role of social media in reminiscence, but note that earlier models, such as Webster’s Reminiscence Functions Scale, are also relevant. We contribute to the reminiscence debate by adding a technological lens to the process of life review, whilst concurring with other researchers in this field that a robust conceptual framework is lacking, particularly when considering the forms of reminiscence that are most salient for younger people. PMID:27378971

Do We Really Need to Catch Them All? A New User-Guided Social Media Crawling Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erlandsson, Fredrik; Bródka, Piotr; Boldt, Martin; Johnson, Henric

2017-12-01

With the growing use of popular social media services like Facebook and Twitter it is challenging to collect all content from the networks without access to the core infrastructure or paying for it. Thus, if all content cannot be collected one must consider which data are of most importance. In this work we present a novel User-guided Social Media Crawling method (USMC) that is able to collect data from social media, utilizing the wisdom of the crowd to decide the order in which user generated content should be collected to cover as many user interactions as possible. USMC is validated by crawling 160 public Facebook pages, containing content from 368 million users including 1.3 billion interactions, and it is compared with two other crawling methods. The results show that it is possible to cover approximately 75% of the interactions on a Facebook page by sampling just 20% of its posts, and at the same time reduce the crawling time by 53%. In addition, the social network constructed from the 20% sample contains more than 75% of the users and edges compared to the social network created from all posts, and it has similar degree distribution.

"Honk against homophobia": rethinking relations between media and sexual minorities.

PubMed

Venzo, Paul; Hess, Kristy

2013-01-01

The theory of "symbolic annihilation" or "symbolic violence" has been used in academic literature to describe the way in which sexual minorities have been ignored, trivialized, or condemned by the media. This article aims to de-center research from issues of media representation to consider the capacity for minority groups to proactively use new media and its various avenues for interactivity, social networking, and feedback to fight social exclusion. This work suggests that new media has become a space in which the nominally marginal in society may acquire "social artillery"-a term used to describe how sexual minorities utilize their expanding and more readily accessible social connections in digital space to combat instances of homophobia. The research draws on the results of an inquiry into the relation between media and a regional youth social justice group in Australia tackling homophobia. The research demonstrates that the group is becoming increasingly adept and comfortable with using a cross-section of media platforms to fulfill their own objectives, rather than seeing themselves as passive subjects of media representation. This article argues that this sets an example for other socially excluded groups looking to renegotiate their relation with the media in regional areas.

Indigenous People in a Landscape of Risk: Teaching Social Work Students about Socially Just Social Work Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Hilary; Congress, Elaine

2009-01-01

The need for social justice in social work practice is particularly apparent in work with indigenous populations. In spite of the social work profession's commitment to social justice, social workers have often done significant harm in their work with indigenous peoples. Social work educators are ideally positioned to close this gap between social…

Health-Related Quality of Life Impairment and Indirect Cost of Crohn’s Disease: A Self-Report Study in Poland

PubMed Central

Kawalec, Paweł; Mossakowska, Małgorzata; Pilc, Andrzej

2016-01-01

Background and Aims Evidence on indirect cost of Crohn’s disease (CD) is available but typically provides information on the loss of productivity at paid work of patients. In the present study, the quality of life and indirect costs of CD patients were assessed (overall and by disease severity). Methods A self-report questionnaire-based study among adult Polish patients with CD was performed. We collected data on patients’ characteristics, quality of life, loss of productivity, consumption of medical resources, and out-of-pocket expenses. The disease severity was determined using the patient’s version of the Harvey-Bradshaw index. Productivity costs were assessed from the social perspective, using a human capital approach. The cost of absenteeism, presenteeism and permanent work disability was valuated using the gross domestic product per worker. The patients’ productivity loss at unpaid work was measured by time inputs of others to assist patients. The productivity loss among informal caregivers and patients’ productivity loss at unpaid work were valuated with the average wage in Poland. The results were adjusted for confounders. Results The responses from 200 patients (47% in remission) were analysed. The mean utility index was 0.839 (SD 0.171). The total indirect cost was estimated at €462.47 per patient per month (24.0%, absenteeism; 35.0%, work disability; 30.4%, presenteeism; 0.4%, productivity loss at unpaid work; and 10.4%, informal care). A significant correlation of the quality of life and productivity losses with disease severity was observed. Compared with active disease, the remission subgroup had a higher utility index by 16% (p<0.001) and lower indirect costs by 71% (p = 0.003) for absenteeism, 41% (p = 0.030) for presenteeism, 76% (p<0.001) for productivity loss at unpaid work, and 75% (p<0.001) for informal care. Conclusions Our study revealed the social burden of CD and high dependency of indirect costs and quality of life on the severity of CD in Poland. PMID:27992531

Bellwether Social Studies Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daetz, Denney

1985-01-01

Describes and reviews commercially-available computer software for social studies (SS). They are: "Jury Trial II" (utilizes artificial intelligence); "Africa" (utilizes creative graphics to teaching SS facts; "Revolutions: Past, Present and Future"; "The Other Side" (examines world peace using values…

Scale Refinement and Initial Evaluation of a Behavioral Health Function Measurement Tool for Work Disability Evaluation

PubMed Central

Marfeo, Elizabeth E.; Ni, Pengsheng; Bogusz, Kara; Meterko, Mark; McDonough, Christine M.; Chan, Leighton; Rasch, Elizabeth K.; Brandt, Diane E.; Jette, Alan M.

2014-01-01

Objectives To use item response theory (IRT) data simulations to construct and perform initial psychometric testing of a newly developed instrument, the Social Security Administration Behavioral Health Function (SSA-BH) instrument, that aims to assess behavioral health functioning relevant to the context of work. Design Cross-sectional survey followed by item response theory (IRT) calibration data simulations Setting Community Participants A sample of individuals applying for SSA disability benefits, claimants (N=1015), and a normative comparative sample of US adults (N=1000) Interventions None. Main Outcome Measure Social Security Administration Behavioral Health Function (SSA-BH) measurement instrument Results Item response theory analyses supported the unidimensionality of four SSA-BH scales: Mood and Emotions (35 items), Self-Efficacy (23 items), Social Interactions (6 items), and Behavioral Control (15 items). All SSA-BH scales demonstrated strong psychometric properties including reliability, accuracy, and breadth of coverage. High correlations of the simulated 5- or 10- item CATs with the full item bank indicated robust ability of the CAT approach to comprehensively characterize behavioral health function along four distinct dimensions. Conclusions Initial testing and evaluation of the SSA-BH instrument demonstrated good accuracy, reliability, and content coverage along all four scales. Behavioral function profiles of SSA claimants were generated and compared to age and sex matched norms along four scales: Mood and Emotions, Behavioral Control, Social Interactions, and Self-Efficacy. Utilizing the CAT based approach offers the ability to collect standardized, comprehensive functional information about claimants in an efficient way, which may prove useful in the context of the SSA’s work disability programs. PMID:23542404

Transforming maternal and newborn health social norms and practices to increase utilization of health services in rural Bangladesh: a qualitative review.

PubMed

Taleb, Fahmida; Perkins, Janet; Ali, Nabeel Ashraf; Capello, Cecilia; Ali, Muzahid; Santarelli, Carlo; Hoque, Dewan Md Emdadul

2015-03-29

Since 2008, Participatory Action for Rural Development Innovation (PARI) Development Trust, with the support of Enfants du Monde, has been implementing a maternal and newborn health (MNH) program based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) framework for Working with Individuals, Families and Communities (IFC) to improve MNH in Netrokona district, Bangladesh. This program aims to empower women and families and increase utilization of quality health services, thereby helping women realize their rights related to maternal health. Birth preparedness and complication readiness and working with traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to exercise a new role in MNH and have formed key interventions of this program. The purpose of this study was to explore how the program has contributed to changing social norms and practices surrounding MNH at midpoint. This study relied primarily on qualitative data collection. Two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with women who were pregnant or had recently given birth and one FGD with each of the following groups: husbands, family members, TBAs, and health workers. In-depth interviews were conducted with women who were pregnant or had recently given birth, family members of these women, health care providers, TBAs and community health workers in selected intervention areas. Since implementation of interventions informants report an increase in planning for birth and complications and a shift in preference toward skilled care at birth. However, women still prefer to receive services at home. TBAs report encouraging women to access skilled care for both routine and emergency services. While community members' understanding of rights related to maternal health remains limited, they report increased women's participation in household decision- making processes, an important indicator of the realization of rights. Results suggest that community-level interventions aiming to affect change in social norms and practices surrounding MNH can influence knowledge and practices even after a short period of time. Further evaluations will be required to quantify the degree to which these changes are having an impact on health services utilization.

Characteristics of nurses who use social media.

PubMed

Kung, Ying Mai; Oh, Sanghee

2014-02-01

Social media are changing the ways people communicate and influencing their approaches to meeting their healthcare needs. The Institute of Medicine recommends utilization of information technologies to improve the delivery of patient-centered care. Little is known about how nurses have adopted the use of social media, however. The researchers conducted an online survey to provide a preliminary review of the characteristics of nurses who do and do not use social media. Also, nurses' preferences for using six different types of social media were analyzed and reported. Nurses from 43 states participated in this study, and the sample represented mostly advanced practice nurses who utilized the Internet regularly and confidently. About 94% of the participants indicated that they use social media, whereas fewer than 1% of the participants reported that they do not know how to use social media. Among those who use social media, social networking sites (90.33%) and podcasts (76.24%) were the most popular, followed by social question and asking sites (37.86%), blogs (31.85%), Twitter (19.06%), and SlideShare (9.92%). Social media can be a powerful tool to reach an intended audience quickly and globally. More research is needed to understand how nurses utilize social media to improve the delivery of patient-centered care.

Religious social capital: Its measurement and utility in the study of the social determinants of health

PubMed Central

Maselko, Joanna; Hughes, Cayce; Cheney, Rose

2014-01-01

As a social determinant of health, religiosity remains not well understood, despite the prevalence of religious activity and prominence of religious institutions in most societies. This paper introduces a working measure of Religious Social Capital and presents preliminary associations with neighborhood social capital and urban stressors. Religious social capital is defined as the social resources available to individuals and groups through their social connections with a religious community. Domains covered include group membership, social integration, values/norms, bonding/bridging trust as well as social support. Cross-sectional data come from a convenience sample of 104 community dwelling adults residing in a single urban neighborhood in a large US city, who also provided information on neighborhood social capital, and experiences of urban stressors. Results suggest that religious social capital is a valid construct that can be reliably measured. All indicators of religious social capital were higher among those who frequently attended religious services, with the exception of bridging trust (trust of people from different religious groups). A weak, inverse, association was also observed between religious and neighborhood social capital levels. Levels of religious social capital were correlated with higher levels of reported urban stressors, while neighborhood social capital was correlated with lower urban stressor levels. A significant percent of the sample was unaffiliated with a religious tradition and these individuals were more likely to be male, young and more highly educated. Social capital is a promising construct to help elucidate the influence of religion on population health. PMID:21802182

The Utility of Vulnerability and Social Capital Theories in Studying the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Elderly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durant, Thomas J., Jr.

2011-01-01

The definition of a disaster is followed by an explanation of vulnerability and social capital theories. The importance of using a sound theoretical framework and the utility and efficacy of vulnerability and social capital theories in studying the impact of natural disasters on the elderly population are emphasized and discussed. The conclusion…

Exploring the differences in general practitioner and health care specialist utilization according to education, occupation, income and social networks across Europe: findings from the European social survey (2014) special module on the social determinants of health.

PubMed

Fjær, Erlend L; Balaj, Mirza; Stornes, Per; Todd, Adam; McNamara, Courtney L; Eikemo, Terje A

2017-02-01

Low socioeconomic position (SEP) tends to be linked to higher use of general practitioners (GPs), while the use of health care specialists is more common in higher SEPs. Despite extensive literature in this area, previous studies have, however, only studied health care use by income or education. The aim of this study is, therefore, to examine inequalities in GP and health care specialist use by four social markers that may be linked to health care utilization (educational level, occupational status, level of financial strain and size and frequency of social networks) across 20 European countries and Israel. Logistic regression models were employed using data from the seventh round of the European Social Survey; this study focused upon people aged 25–75 years, across 21 countries. Health care utilization was measured according to self-reported use of GP or specialist care within 12 months. Analyses tested four social markers: income (financial strain), occupational status, education and social networks. We observed a cross-national tendency that countries with higher or equal probability of GP utilization by lower SEP groups had a more consistent probability of specialist use among high SEP groups. Moreover, countries with inequalities in GP use in favour of high SEP groups had comparable levels of inequalities in specialist care utilization. This was the case for three social markers (education, occupational class and social networks), while the pattern was less pronounced for income (financial strain). There are significant inequalities associated with GP and specialist health care use across Europe—with higher SEP groups more likely to use health care specialists, compared with lower SEP groups. In the context of health care specialist use, education and occupation appear to be particularly important factors. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Work activity in the process of recovery - an interpretive phenomenological analysis of the experiences of people with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis.

PubMed

Pańczak, Anna; Pietkiewicz, Igor

2016-01-01

Having the opportunity to work has been found meaningful for individuals suffering from severe mental illness, in order to boost their self-esteem, provide a sense of control over their lives and of belonging to a community. There are no studies in Polish literature on the process of recovery from schizophrenia with reference to work activity. The objective of this research was to explore personal experiences of people employed in Vocational Development Centers. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult patients. Their transcripts were subject to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Having the opportunity to work was significant for participants because it mobilized them and encouraged self-care. G oing to work helped them overcome social isolation by meeting people with similar difficulties and those who did not suffer from mental illness. Financial gratification enables a sense of independence and the ability to develop skills to plan and control their budget. This study finds that patients who lost their jobs due to mental illness should be encouraged to utilize rehabilitation institutions to help them undertake work activity and use previously acquired qualifications or develop new skills. Access to appropriate psychological support should be provided during vocation reorientation and adaptation into new work environments. This helps patients regain a sense of control and purpose, and cope with losing valued social roles. We also highlight the need for further studies into challenges in the workplace and the strategies patients use to cope with them.

Health status, activity limitations, and disability in work and housework among Latinos and non-Latinos with arthritis: an analysis of national data.

PubMed

Abraído-Lanza, Ana F; White, Kellee; Armbrister, Adria N; Link, Bruce G

2006-06-15

To document disparities in health status, activity limitations, and disability in work and housework between Latinos and non-Latino whites with arthritis. We examined whether sociodemographic factors (age, income, and education) account for the disparities between the ethnic groups, and whether comorbid conditions, disease duration, health care utilization, and functional abilities predict health status, activity limitations, and work and housework disability after controlling for sociodemographic variables. We analyzed data from the Condition file of the 1994 National Health Interview Survey on Disability, Phase I. The risk of worse health, activity limitations, and work and housework disability was >2 times greater among Latinos compared with non-Latino whites. In the regression models accounting for potential confounders, Latino ethnicity remained significantly associated with poorer health status, but not activity limitations or disability in work or housekeeping. Of the socioeconomic status variables, education had a significant protective effect on work disability and health status. Comorbid conditions and health care utilization increased the likelihood of worse health, activity limitations, and work disability. Limitations in physical function were associated with poorer health and disability in work and homemaking. Social status differences between Latinos and non-Latinos may account for disparities in activity limitations and disability in work and housework. Education may provide various health benefits, including access to a range of occupations that do not require physical demands. The findings help to address the great gap in knowledge concerning factors related to the health and disability status of Latinos with arthritis.

Time-course of attention biases in social phobia.

PubMed

Schofield, Casey A; Inhoff, Albrecht W; Coles, Meredith E

2013-10-01

Theoretical models of social phobia implicate preferential attention to social threat in the maintenance of anxiety symptoms, though there has been limited work characterizing the nature of these biases over time. The current study utilized eye-movement data to examine the time-course of visual attention over 1500ms trials of a probe detection task. Nineteen participants with a primary diagnosis of social phobia based on DSM-IV criteria and 20 non-clinical controls completed this task with angry, fearful, and happy face trials. Overt visual attention to the emotional and neutral faces was measured in 50ms segments across the trial. Over time, participants with social phobia attend less to emotional faces and specifically less to happy faces compared to controls. Further, attention to emotional relative to neutral expressions did not vary notably by emotion for participants with social phobia, but control participants showed a pattern after 1000ms in which over time they preferentially attended to happy expressions and avoided negative expressions. Findings highlight the importance of considering attention biases to positive stimuli as well as the pattern of attention between groups. These results suggest that attention "bias" in social phobia may be driven by a relative lack of the biases seen in non-anxious participants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Discussion of the Roles of Medical Social Workers in the Response to the Explosion Incident at Formosa Fun Coast].

PubMed

Yueh, Hsin-Tien; Sung, Hsien-Yi; Wu, Chia-Feng

2016-02-01

Medical social workers apply the theories of "person in the environment" (PIE) and "ecological perspective" as practical foundations. Furthermore, they emphasize the people, the environment, and the interactions between these two. When burn patients from the explosion at Formosa Fun Coast were sent to hospitals, social workers not only provided care and assessed the impact on burn patients but also assisted in supporting the family members of these patients. This article discusses the various roles of social workers within different systems. In the individual system, we use Eric Erickson's theory of psychosocial development to evaluate the patient's crisis and the tasks of social workers. Secondly, in the systems of family, school, and work, we assess the relationships between a patient, his/her significant others, and caregivers as well as the interactions among sub-systems in the family. In the community and cultural systems, we focus on the social resources that may be utilized by the burn patients after discharge. Moreover, we add a time frame to examine our major tasks, including the initial stage, the middle stage, and the preparation-for-discharge stage. We explore the roles of social workers, the applicable theories, and the goals for each stage.

Social Insects: A Model System for Network Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charbonneau, Daniel; Blonder, Benjamin; Dornhaus, Anna

Social insect colonies (ants, bees, wasps, and termites) show sophisticated collective problem-solving in the face of variable constraints. Individuals exchange information and materials such as food. The resulting network structure and dynamics can inform us about the mechanisms by which the insects achieve particular collective behaviors and these can be transposed to man-made and social networks. We discuss how network analysis can answer important questions about social insects, such as how effective task allocation or information flow is realized. We put forward the idea that network analysis methods are under-utilized in social insect research, and that they can provide novel ways to view the complexity of collective behavior, particularly if network dynamics are taken into account. To illustrate this, we present an example of network tasks performed by ant workers, linked by instances of workers switching from one task to another. We show how temporal network analysis can propose and test new hypotheses on mechanisms of task allocation, and how adding temporal elements to static networks can drastically change results. We discuss the benefits of using social insects as models for complex systems in general. There are multiple opportunities emergent technologies and analysis methods in facilitating research on social insect network. The potential for interdisciplinary work could significantly advance diverse fields such as behavioral ecology, computer sciences, and engineering.

Roles of Social Movement Organizations for Securing Workers' Safety in Korea: A Case Study of Abolition of the 30-Minute Delivery Guarantee Program in Pizza Delivery Service.

PubMed

Park, Ji-Eun; Kim, Myoung-Hee

2016-07-01

Many restaurants in Korea maintain quick-delivery service programs to satisfy customers. This service allows delivery workers limited time to deliver, which frequently put them in danger. Most of the workers are young, work part-time, and are rarely organized into trade unions. In this article, through a case study of the social movement to abolish the 30-minute delivery guarantee program of pizza companies in Korea, we argue that social movements involving social movement organizations (SMOs) and individual citizens could serve as a means to rectify this problem. We show how the SMOs developed and expanded the movement using a framing perspective and how the general public became involved through social media. Data was collected via online searching. Interview scripts from key players of SMOs and unofficial documents they provided were also reviewed. Three SMOs primarily led the movement, successfully forming a frame that emphasized social responsibility. SMOs also utilized social media to link their standing frame with unmobilized citizens and to expand the movement. We identified contributing factors and limitations of the movement and drew lessons that could be applied to other sectors where workers are in vulnerable positions. © The Author(s) 2016.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zarate, M.A.; Slotnick, J.; Ramos, M.

The development and implementation of a solid waste management program served to build local capacity in San Mateo Ixtatan between 2002 and 2003 as part of a public health action plan. The program was developed and implemented in two phases: (1) the identification and education of a working team from the community; and (2) the completion of a solid waste classification and quantification study. Social capital and the water cycle were two public health approaches utilized to build a sustainable program. The activities accomplished gained support from the community and municipal authorities. A description of the tasks completed and findingsmore » of the solid waste classification and quantification performed by a local working group are presented in this paper.« less

The academic quilting bee.

PubMed

Mayer, Anita P; Files, Julia A; Ko, Marcia G; Blair, Janis E

2009-03-01

In medicine, the challenges faced by female faculty members who are attempting to achieve academic advancement have been well described. Various strategies have been proposed to increase academic productivity to aid the promotion of women in medicine. We propose an innovative collaboration strategy that encourages completion of an academic writing project. This strategy acknowledges the challenges inherent in achieving work-life balance and utilizes a collaborative work style with a group of peer physicians. The model is designed to encourage the completion and collation of independently prepared sections of an academic paper within a setting that emphasizes social networking and collaboration. This approach has many similarities to the construction of a quilt during a "quilting bee."

Nuclear accident at Three Mile Island: its effect on a local community

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Behler, G.T. Jr.

1987-01-01

This dissertation consists of a longitudinal case study of the extent to which the structure of community power in Riverside, (a pseudonym) Pennsylvania (the largest community located within five miles of the Three Mile Island nuclear facility) changed as a result of the March, 1979 accident. The investigation centers around testing a basic working hypothesis. Simply stated, this working hypothesis argues that Riverside's power structure has become more pluralistic in response to the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. An additional corollary to this working hypothesis is also tested. This corollary asserts that many of Riverside's community power actors have becomemore » much more cosmopolitan in their political-action tactics and problem-solving orientations as a results of the TMI crisis. The aforementioned working hypothesis and associated corollary are tested via the combined utilization of three different techniques for measuring the distribution of social power. The findings of the study clearly demonstrate the existence of increased pluralism, politicization, and cosmopolitanism within Riverside since March of 1979. Furthermore, these research results, and the entire dissertation itself, contribute to a number of subfields within the discipline of sociology. In particular,contributions are noted for the subfields of community power, social movements, and disaster research.« less

Strategies in disability management. Corporate disability management programs implemented at the work site.

PubMed

Kalina, C M

1999-10-30

Managers are challenged to demonstrate all programs as economically essential to the business, generating an appreciable return on investment. Further challenge exists to blend and integrate clinical and business objectives in program development. Disability management programs must be viewed as economically essential to the financial success of the business to assure management support for clinical interventions and return-to-work strategies essential for a successful program. This paper discusses a disability management program integrating clinical and business goals and objectives in return-to-work strategies to effect positive clinical, social-cultural, and business results. Clinical, educational, social, and economic challenges in the development, implementation, and continued management of a disability program at a large corporation with multiple global work sites are defined. Continued discussion addresses the effective clinical interventions and educational strategies utilized successfully within the workplace environment in response to each defined challenge. A multiple disciplinary team approach, clinical and business outcome measures, and quality assurance indicators are discussed as major program components. This article discusses a successful program approach focusing on business process and methodology. These parameters are used to link resources to strategy, developing a product for implementing and managing a program demonstrating economic value added through effective clinical medical case management.

Applying theories to better understand socio-political challenges in implementing evidence-based work disability prevention strategies.

PubMed

Ståhl, Christian; Costa-Black, Katia; Loisel, Patrick

2018-04-01

This article explores and applies theories for analyzing socio-political aspects of implementation of work disability prevention (WDP) strategies. For the analysis, theories from political science are explained and discussed in relation to case examples from three jurisdictions (Sweden, Brazil and Québec). Implementation of WDP strategies may be studied through a conceptual framework that targets: (1) the institutional system in which policy-makers and other stakeholders reside; (2) the ambiguity and conflicts regarding what to do and how to do it; (3) the bounded rationality, path dependency and social systems of different stakeholders; and (4) coalitions formed by different stakeholders and power relations between them. In the case examples, the design of social insurance systems, the access to and infrastructure of healthcare systems, labor market policies, employers' level of responsibility, the regulatory environment, and the general knowledge of WDP issues among stakeholders played different roles in the implementation of policies based on scientific evidence. Future research may involve participatory approaches focusing on building coalitions and communities of practice with policy-makers and stakeholders, in order to build trust, facilitate cooperation, and to better promote evidence utilization. Implications for Rehabilitation Implementation of work disability prevention policies are subject to contextual influences from the socio-political setting and from relationships between stakeholders Stakeholders involved in implementing strategies are bound to act based on their interests and previous courses of action To promote research uptake on the policy level, stakeholders and researchers need to engage in collaboration and translational activities Political stakeholders at the government and community levels need to be more directly involved as partners in the production and utilization of evidence.

Utilization of Electronic Information Resources by Undergraduate Students of University of Ibadan: A Case Study of Social Sciences and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owolabi, Sola; Idowu, Oluwafemi A.; Okocha, Foluke; Ogundare, Atinuke Omotayo

2016-01-01

The study evaluated utilization of electronic information resources by undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a study population of 1872 undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan, from which a…

From Anticipatory Corpse to Posthuman God.

PubMed

Bishop, Jeffrey P

2016-12-01

The essays in this issue of JMP are devoted to critical engagement of my book, The Anticipatory Corpse The essays, for the most part, accept the main thrust of my critique of medicine. The main thrust of the criticism is whether the scope of the critique is too totalizing, and whether the proposed remedy is sufficient. I greatly appreciate these interventions because they allow me this occasion to respond and clarify, and to even further extend the argument of my book. In this response essay, I maintain that the regnant social imaginary of medicine is the regnant social imaginary of our time. It is grounded in a specific ontotheology: where ontology is a power ontology; where material is malleable to the open-ended organization of power and dependent only on working out the efficient mechanisms of its enactment; where ethically it is oriented only to the immanent telos of utility maximization in the short run, and ultimately to some posthuman future in the long run. This ontotheology originates in the anticipatory corpse and is ordered toward some god-like posthuman being. The entire ontotheology finds enactment through the political economy of neoliberalism. This social imaginary constantly works to insulate itself from other social imaginaries through the use of its institutional power, through marginalization, circumscription, or absorption. The modern social imaginary of neoliberal societies marginalizes and politically isolates other social imaginaries, or transforms them into something acceptable to the neoliberal imaginary. Yet, these other social imaginaries could influence the larger social imaginary in novel ways, sometimes through withdrawal and sometimes through challenges. These other practices-again, usually practices ordered according to different ontological and teleological purposes-might serve as a source of renewal and transformation, but only if the practitioners of these other social imaginaries understand the ontotheological powers that they are up against. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Nutrition and inequalities. A note on sociological approaches.

PubMed

Murcott, Anne

2002-09-01

This article provides an overview of three approaches taken to illuminate the sociological contribution to the field of nutrition and inequalities, in the hope of prompting future researchers to pursue the lines of enquiry suggested. Under the heading of inequalities in food use, the paper first exemplifies the utility of 'political arithmetic', possibly the sociological approach best known in public health. This includes socio-economic patterning in food purchases as well as disadvantage in access, where studies of poverty represent a longstanding focus. A rural/urban dimension has, however, been left dormant. A second approach is illustrated by work on public understandings of nutrition, encompassing primarily small-scale studies of beliefs about nutrition, which emphasise the plurality of lay definitions of diet and health. Lacking are studies which build on this work to uncover the relation to health inequalities. Third to be introduced is sociological work on the social distribution of taste, which illuminates the potential for examining enduring, shared ideas of styles in eating embedded in forms of the social organisation of the home that is associated with different socio-economic levels. The paper ends with comment on practical implications for public health practice and policy designed to reduce inequalities in nutrition.

Military Social Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work Education

PubMed Central

Wooten, Nikki R.

2015-01-01

Military social work is a specialized field of practice spanning the micro-macro continuum and requiring advanced social work knowledge and skills. The complex behavioral health problems and service needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans highlight the need for highly trained social work professionals who can provide militarily-relevant and culturally-responsive evidence-informed services. Responding to the military behavioral health workforce and service needs of recently returned veterans presents both opportunities and challenges for military social work education. This article discusses the rationale for a military social work specialization, the need for military social work education, and opportunities and challenges for social work education. An integrated model of intellectual capital is proposed to guide strategic planning for future military social work education. PMID:26089628

Collaboration Across Worldviews: Managers and Scientists on Hawai'i Island Utilize Knowledge Coproduction to Facilitate Climate Change Adaptation.

PubMed

Laursen, Scott; Puniwai, Noelani; Genz, Ayesha S; Nash, Sarah A B; Canale, Lisa K; Ziegler-Chong, Sharon

2018-05-30

Complex socio-ecological issues, such as climate change have historically been addressed through technical problem solving methods. Yet today, climate science approaches are increasingly accounting for the roles of diverse social perceptions, experiences, cultural norms, and worldviews. In support of this shift, we developed a research program on Hawai'i Island that utilizes knowledge coproduction to integrate the diverse worldviews of natural and cultural resource managers, policy professionals, and researchers within actionable science products. Through their work, local field managers regularly experience discrete land and waterscapes. Additionally, in highly interconnected rural communities, such as Hawai'i Island, managers often participate in the social norms and values of communities that utilize these ecosystems. Such local manager networks offer powerful frameworks within which to co-develop and implement actionable science. We interviewed a diverse set of local managers with the aim of incorporating their perspectives into the development of a collaborative climate change research agenda that builds upon existing professional networks utilized by managers and scientists while developing new research products. We report our manager needs assessment, the development process of our climate change program, our interactive forums, and our ongoing research products. Our needs assessment showed that the managers' primary source of information were other professional colleagues, and our in-person forums informed us that local managers are very interested in interacting with a wider range of networks to build upon their management capacities. Our initial programmatic progress suggests that co-created research products and in-person forums strengthen the capacities of local managers to adapt to change.

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK IN WISCONSIN, A DESCRIPTION OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK, GUIDELINES FOR A SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM. SOCIAL WORK IN OUR SCHOOLS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

STAPLES, RICHARD M., COMP.

THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK DEVELOPMENT, PRACTICE, AND BASIC PRINCIPLES, THE ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS IS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF--(1) THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS, (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS, AND (3) EXISTING SCHOOL PROGRAMS. REFERRAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE COVERED. THE MANY ROLES OF THE…

Utilizing Online Connectivity to Combat Reduced Federal Spending

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayall, T.

2013-12-01

With a diminishing grant pool and increasing competition for federal funding, utilizing free online resources to collaborate with other scientists, share information and insights, and promote your research is critical to success. As budgets tighten, efficient use of both time and money is becoming more and more important. Tools such as Mendeley, ResearchGate, and Science Exchange enable scientists to promote their own work while gaining valuable connections and collaborations. Additionally, scientists can build their online presence to increase visibility for potential funding. Through intelligent use of these online tools, scientists can increase their chances of funding and minimize wasted time and resources. For this session, I will examine how to adapt to the changing landscape of federal funding through the effective use of social media and online tools.

Machine Learning Based Classifier for Falsehood Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallikarjun, H. M.; Manimegalai, P., Dr.; Suresh, H. N., Dr.

2017-08-01

The investigation of physiological techniques for Falsehood identification tests utilizing the enthusiastic aggravations started as a part of mid 1900s. The need of Falsehood recognition has been a piece of our general public from hundreds of years back. Different requirements drifted over the general public raising the need to create trick evidence philosophies for Falsehood identification. The established similar addressing tests have been having a tendency to gather uncertain results against which new hearty strategies are being explored upon for acquiring more productive Falsehood discovery set up. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-obtrusive strategy to quantify the action of mind through the anodes appended to the scalp of a subject. Electroencephalogram is a record of the electric signs produced by the synchronous activity of mind cells over a timeframe. The fundamental goal is to accumulate and distinguish the important information through this action which can be acclimatized for giving surmising to Falsehood discovery in future analysis. This work proposes a strategy for Falsehood discovery utilizing EEG database recorded on irregular people of various age gatherings and social organizations. The factual investigation is directed utilizing MATLAB v-14. It is a superior dialect for specialized registering which spares a considerable measure of time with streamlined investigation systems. In this work center is made on Falsehood Classification by Support Vector Machine (SVM). 72 Samples are set up by making inquiries from standard poll with a Wright and wrong replies in a diverse era from the individual in wearable head unit. 52 samples are trained and 20 are tested. By utilizing Bluetooth based Neurosky’s Mindwave kit, brain waves are recorded and qualities are arranged appropriately. In this work confusion matrix is derived by matlab programs and accuracy of 56.25 % is achieved.

Improving therapeutic outcomes in autism spectrum disorders: Enhancing social communication and sensory processing through the use of interactive robots.

PubMed

Sartorato, Felippe; Przybylowski, Leon; Sarko, Diana K

2017-07-01

For children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), social robots are increasingly utilized as therapeutic tools in order to enhance social skills and communication. Robots have been shown to generate a number of social and behavioral benefits in children with ASD including heightened engagement, increased attention, and decreased social anxiety. Although social robots appear to be effective social reinforcement tools in assistive therapies, the perceptual mechanism underlying these benefits remains unknown. To date, social robot studies have primarily relied on expertise in fields such as engineering and clinical psychology, with measures of social robot efficacy principally limited to qualitative observational assessments of children's interactions with robots. In this review, we examine a range of socially interactive robots that currently have the most widespread use as well as the utility of these robots and their therapeutic effects. In addition, given that social interactions rely on audiovisual communication, we discuss how enhanced sensory processing and integration of robotic social cues may underlie the perceptual and behavioral benefits that social robots confer. Although overall multisensory processing (including audiovisual integration) is impaired in individuals with ASD, social robot interactions may provide therapeutic benefits by allowing audiovisual social cues to be experienced through a simplified version of a human interaction. By applying systems neuroscience tools to identify, analyze, and extend the multisensory perceptual substrates that may underlie the therapeutic benefits of social robots, future studies have the potential to strengthen the clinical utility of social robots for individuals with ASD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictors of Healthcare Service Utilization for Mental Health Reasons

PubMed Central

Fleury, Marie-Josée; Ngamini Ngui, André; Bamvita, Jean-Marie; Grenier, Guy; Caron, Jean

2014-01-01

This study was designed to identify: (1) predictors of 12-month healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons, framed by the Andersen model, among a population cohort in an epidemiological catchment area; and (2) correlates associated with healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons among individuals with and without mental disorders respectively. Analyses comprised univariate, bivariate, and multiple regression analyses. Being male, having poor quality of life, possessing better self-perception of physical health, and suffering from major depressive episodes, panic disorder, social phobia, and emotional problems predicted healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons. Among individuals with mental disorders, needs factors (psychological distress, impulsiveness, emotional problems, victim of violence, and aggressive behavior) and visits to healthcare professionals were associated with healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons. Among individuals without mental disorders, healthcare service utilization for mental health reasons is strongly associated with enabling factors such as social support, income, environmental variables, and self-perception of the neighborhood. Interventions facilitating social cohesion and social solidarity in neighborhood settings may reduce the need to seek help among individuals without mental disorders. Furthermore, in their capacity as frontline professionals, general practitioners should be more sensitive in preventing, detecting, and treating mental disorders in routine primary care. PMID:25321874

Could the employment-based targeting approach serve Egypt in moving towards a social health insurance model?

PubMed

Shawky, S

2010-06-01

The current health insurance system in Egypt targets the productive population through an employment-based scheme bounded by a cost ceiling and focusing on curative care. Egypt Social Contract Survey data from 2005 were used to evaluate the impact of the employment-based scheme on health system accessibility and financing. Only 22.8% of the population in the productive age range (19-59 years) benefited from any health insurance scheme. The employment-based scheme covered 39.3% of the working population and was skewed towards urban areas, older people, females and the wealthier. It did not increase service utilization, but reduced out-of-pocket expenditure. Egypt should blend all health insurance schemes and adopt an innovative approach to reach universal coverage.

Political Violence and Child Adjustment: Longitudinal Tests of Sectarian Antisocial Behavior, Family Conflict and Insecurity as Explanatory Pathways

PubMed Central

Cummings, E. Mark; Merrilees, Christine E.; Schermerhorn, Alice C.; Goeke-Morey, Marcie C.; Shirlow, Peter; Cairns, Ed

2011-01-01

Understanding the impact of political violence on child maladjustment is a matter of international concern. Recent research has advanced a social ecological explanation for relations between political violence and child adjustment. However, conclusions are qualified by the lack of longitudinal tests. Towards examining pathways longitudinally, mothers and their adolescents (M = 12.33, SD =1.78, at time 1) from two-parent families in Catholic and Protestant working class neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland, completed measures assessing multiple levels of a social ecological model. Utilizing autoregressive controls, a three-wave longitudinal model test (T1, n = 299; T2, n = 248; T3, n = 197) supported a specific pathway linking sectarian community violence, family conflict, children’s insecurity about family relationships, and adjustment problems. PMID:22313052

Reciprocity in computer-human interaction: source-based, norm-based, and affect-based explanations.

PubMed

Lee, Seungcheol Austin; Liang, Yuhua Jake

2015-04-01

Individuals often apply social rules when they interact with computers, and this is known as the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) effect. Following previous work, one approach to understand the mechanism responsible for CASA is to utilize computer agents and have the agents attempt to gain human compliance (e.g., completing a pattern recognition task). The current study focuses on three key factors frequently cited to influence traditional notions of compliance: evaluations toward the source (competence and warmth), normative influence (reciprocity), and affective influence (mood). Structural equation modeling assessed the effects of these factors on human compliance with computer request. The final model shows that norm-based influence (reciprocity) increased the likelihood of compliance, while evaluations toward the computer agent did not significantly influence compliance.

Familism, family ethnic socialization, and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' educational adjustment.

PubMed

Bravo, Diamond Y; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J; Guimond, Amy B; Updegraff, Kimberly A; Jahromi, Laudan B

2014-07-01

The current longitudinal study examined how familism values and family ethnic socialization impacted Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' (N = 205) educational adjustment (i.e., educational expectations, educational utility), and whether these associations were moderated by adolescent mothers' ethnic centrality. Findings indicated that adolescent mothers' reports of familism values and family ethnic socialization were positively associated with their beliefs about educational utility, but not educational expectations. Ethnic centrality moderated the association between adolescent mothers' familism values and educational utility, such that adolescent mothers' endorsement of familism values during pregnancy were associated with significant increases in educational utility after their transition to parenthood, but only when adolescents reported high levels of ethnic centrality. Moreover, ethnic centrality was positively associated with adolescent mothers' educational expectations. Results highlight the importance of familism, ethnic socialization, and ethnic centrality for promoting Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' educational outcomes. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding adolescent mothers' educational adjustment in the context of family and culture.

Familism, Family Ethnic Socialization, and Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers’ Educational Adjustment

PubMed Central

Bravo, Diamond Y.; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.; Guimond, Amy B.; Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Jahromi, Laudan B.

2016-01-01

The current longitudinal study examined how familism values and family ethnic socialization impacted Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ (N = 205) educational adjustment (i.e., educational expectations, educational utility), and whether these associations were moderated by adolescent mothers’ ethnic centrality. Findings indicated that adolescent mothers’ reports of familism values and family ethnic socialization were positively associated with their beliefs about educational utility, but not educational expectations. Ethnic centrality moderated the association between adolescent mothers’ familism values and educational utility, such that adolescent mothers’ endorsement of familism values during pregnancy were associated with significant increases in educational utility after their transition to parenthood, but only when adolescents reported high levels of ethnic centrality. Moreover, ethnic centrality was positively associated with adolescent mothers’ educational expectations. Results highlight the importance of familism, ethnic socialization, and ethnic centrality for promoting Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ educational outcomes. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding adolescent mothers’ educational adjustment in the context of family and culture. PMID:25045950

Ahmad al-Damanhūrī (1689-1778) and the utility of expertise in early modern Ottoman Egypt.

PubMed

Murphy, Jane H

2010-01-01

Eighteenth-century Arabic manuscripts in the "uncommon sciences"--a range of mathematical, astronomical, astrological, medical, and divinatory practices-number in the thousands. In light of the economic and social upheaval over the eighteenth century this sustained production must be understood from perspectives of both intellectual and social history. Ahmad al-Damanhūrī's writings and his rise from rural orphan to head of al-Azhar Mosque suggest the role and value of expertise in the uncommon sciences, particularly as these fields brought religious scholars and ruling military elites into close relations. Precisely because the uncommon sciences bridged these two social classes, this expertise was important for individuals' social and intellectual formation. Recognizing the significance of the uncommon sciences for the history of this period offers a new reading of the work of the chronicler 'Abd al-Rahmān al-Jabartī, who used language and exemplars from the uncommon sciences to reflect on the proper and just relationship between expertise (embodied by the religious scholarly class) and the emerging state.

ISABEL Triggering Sustainable Biogas Energy Communities through Social Innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumgarten, Wibke; Piedra Garcia, Diego

2017-04-01

The Horizon 2020 funding project ISABEL (Triggering Sustainable Biogas Energy Communities through Social Innovation) is all about promoting, supporting and developing community biogas in Europe. The project is set on providing all the framework conditions for biogas communities to shape, develop and thrive. It works on all angles to pave the way for the transition from traditional supply chains to community ownership and take full advantage of the ample societal benefits of regional community-driven biogas systems, fuelled and inspired by Social Innovation principles. The biogas communities emerge in three targeted ISABEL regions, Baden-Württemberg in Germany, Central and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Greece and Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Humber in UK. To realize this vision ISABEL is employing its "5E strategy" with the following objectives: Educate: Re-position biogas energy by re-branding it as a "public good". Engage: Enable the development of regional Biogas Communities. Empower: Utilize the created momentum through Social Innovation and Public Participation Evaluate: Assess the local interventions and drafting lessons and guidelines Expand: Maximise impact through transfer and replication

Mobile phones and social structures: an exploration of a closed user group in rural Ghana

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background In the Millennium Villages Project site of Bonsaaso, Ghana, the Health Team is using a mobile phone closed user group to place calls amongst one another at no cost. Methods In order to determine the utilization and acceptability of the closed user group amongst users, social network analysis and qualitative methods were used. Key informants were identified and interviewed. The key informants also kept prospective call journals. Billing statements and de-identified call data from the closed user group were used to generate data for analyzing the social structure revealed by the network traffic. Results The majority of communication within the closed user group was personal and not for professional purposes. The members of the CUG felt that the group improved their efficiency at work. Conclusions The methods used present an interesting way to investigate the social structure surrounding communication via mobile phones. In addition, the benefits identified from the exploration of this closed user group make a case for supporting mobile phone closed user groups amongst professional groups. PMID:24007331

Parameterization of Keeling's network generation algorithm.

PubMed

Badham, Jennifer; Abbass, Hussein; Stocker, Rob

2008-09-01

Simulation is increasingly being used to examine epidemic behaviour and assess potential management options. The utility of the simulations rely on the ability to replicate those aspects of the social structure that are relevant to epidemic transmission. One approach is to generate networks with desired social properties. Recent research by Keeling and his colleagues has generated simulated networks with a range of properties, and examined the impact of these properties on epidemic processes occurring over the network. However, published work has included only limited analysis of the algorithm itself and the way in which the network properties are related to the algorithm parameters. This paper identifies some relationships between the algorithm parameters and selected network properties (mean degree, degree variation, clustering coefficient and assortativity). Our approach enables users of the algorithm to efficiently generate a network with given properties, thereby allowing realistic social networks to be used as the basis of epidemic simulations. Alternatively, the algorithm could be used to generate social networks with a range of property values, enabling analysis of the impact of these properties on epidemic behaviour.

Estimation of the prevalence of adverse drug reactions from social media.

PubMed

Nguyen, Thin; Larsen, Mark E; O'Dea, Bridianne; Phung, Dinh; Venkatesh, Svetha; Christensen, Helen

2017-06-01

This work aims to estimate the degree of adverse drug reactions (ADR) for psychiatric medications from social media, including Twitter, Reddit, and LiveJournal. Advances in lightning-fast cluster computing was employed to process large scale data, consisting of 6.4 terabytes of data containing 3.8 billion records from all the media. Rates of ADR were quantified using the SIDER database of drugs and side-effects, and an estimated ADR rate was based on the prevalence of discussion in the social media corpora. Agreement between these measures for a sample of ten popular psychiatric drugs was evaluated using the Pearson correlation coefficient, r, with values between 0.08 and 0.50. Word2vec, a novel neural learning framework, was utilized to improve the coverage of variants of ADR terms in the unstructured text by identifying syntactically or semantically similar terms. Improved correlation coefficients, between 0.29 and 0.59, demonstrates the capability of advanced techniques in machine learning to aid in the discovery of meaningful patterns from medical data, and social media data, at scale. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Setting culture apart: distinguishing culture from behavior and social structure in safety and injury research.

PubMed

Myers, Douglas J; Nyce, James M; Dekker, Sidney W A

2014-07-01

The concept of culture is now widely used by those who conduct research on safety and work-related injury outcomes. We argue that as the term has been applied by an increasingly diverse set of disciplines, its scope has broadened beyond how it was defined and intended for use by sociologists and anthropologists. As a result, this more inclusive concept has lost some of its precision and analytic power. We suggest that the utility of this "new" understanding of culture could be improved if researchers more clearly delineated the ideological - the socially constructed abstract systems of meaning, norms, beliefs and values (which we refer to as culture) - from concrete behaviors, social relations and other properties of workplaces (e.g., organizational structures) and of society itself. This may help researchers investigate how culture and social structures can affect safety and injury outcomes with increased analytic rigor. In addition, maintaining an analytical distinction between culture and other social factors can help intervention efforts better understand the target of the intervention and therefore may improve chances of both scientific and instrumental success. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A post-hoc analysis of music therapy services for residents in nursing homes receiving hospice care.

PubMed

Hilliard, Russell E

2004-01-01

This study analyzed the use of music therapy for residents in nursing homes receiving hospice care. An ex-post facto design was utilized to evaluate participants' length of life on the hospice program, time of death in relation to last visit by the social worker and music therapist, the number of sessions and total number of minutes spent in direct care by the social worker and music therapist, and care plan needs treated by the nurse, social worker, and music therapist. A total of 80 participants' medical records were randomly selected for this study. All participants were in nursing homes, 40 of whom had been referred to music therapy. Results showed no significant differences on the time of death in relation to last visit by hospice professional, but there were significant differences in the length of life for those receiving music therapy. Females in this study lived significantly longer than males. Participants received significantly more music therapy sessions than social work sessions, and music therapists spent significantly more time in direct care with participants than did social workers. Care plan needs were analyzed graphically and indicate that music therapists meet important needs of participants.

GABAergic modulation of human social interaction in a prisoner’s dilemma model via acute administration of alprazolam

PubMed Central

Lane, Scott D.; Gowin, Joshua L.

2010-01-01

Recent work in neuroeconomics has utilized game theory paradigms to examine neural systems that subserve human social interaction and decision making. Attempts to modify social interaction through pharmacological manipulation have been less common. Here we show dose-dependent modification of human social behavior in a prisoner’s dilemma (PD) model following acute administration of the GABA-A modulating benzodiazepine alprazolam. Nine healthy adults received doses of placebo, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg alprazolam in a counterbalanced within-subject design, while completing multiple test blocks per day on an iterated PD game. During test blocks in which peak subjective effects of alprazolam were reported, cooperative choices were significantly decreased as a function of dose. Consistent with previous reports showing that high acute doses of GABA-modulating drugs are associated with violence and other antisocial behavior, our data suggest that at sufficiently high doses, alprazolam can decrease cooperation. These behavioral changes may be facilitated by changes in inhibitory control facilitated by GABA. Game theory paradigms may prove useful in behavioral pharmacology studies seeking to measure social interaction, and may help inform the emerging field of neuroeconomics. PMID:19667972

Response to unfairness across the suicide risk spectrum.

PubMed

Carbajal, Jessica M; Gamboa, Jorge L; Moore, Jordan; Smith, Favrin; Ann Eads, Lou; Clothier, Jeffrey L; Cáceda, Ricardo

2017-12-01

Suicidal behavior is frequently triggered by social crises, such as familial, romantic, social or work-related conflict. A variety of cognitive and social functioning impairments has been associated with suicidal thoughts and acts. One of the precipitating and perpetuating factors of social conflict is the desire for retribution after a perceived offense, even at one's own detriment. We utilized the Ultimatum Game-a behavioral economic task which examines the behavioral response to perceived unfairness-in order to characterize the response to unfairness across the acute suicide risk spectrum. We examined five groups of adult individuals of both genders (n = 204): High- and Low-Lethality recent Suicide Attempters, Suicidal Ideators, Non-Suicidal Depressed Patients; and Healthy Controls. We also measured demographic and clinical variables. Even though all depressed groups showed similar rejection rates in the Ultimatum Game, there was a higher likelihood of rejecting offers in the low stakes condition in all acutely suicidal groups compared with healthy controls. Stake size, offer, education, and gender of the proposer were significantly associated with rejection rates. Acutely suicidal patients may be more vulnerable to adverse interpersonal interactions. Further characterization of social behavior may provide targets for secondary and tertiary prevention for high-risk individuals. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A systematic review of nurse-related social network analysis studies.

PubMed

Benton, D C; Pérez-Raya, F; Fernández-Fernández, M P; González-Jurado, M A

2015-09-01

Nurses frequently work as part of both uni- and multidisciplinary teams. Communication between team members is critical in the delivery of quality care. Social network analysis is increasingly being used to explore such communication. To explore the use of social network analysis involving nurses either as subjects of the study or as researchers. Standard systematic review procedures were applied to identify nurse-related studies that utilize social network analysis. A comparative thematic approach to synthesis was used. Both published and grey literature written in English, Spanish and Portuguese between January 1965 and December 2013 were identified via a structured search of CINAHL, SciELO and PubMed. In addition, Google and Yahoo search engines were used to identify additional grey literature using the same search strategy. Forty-three primary studies were identified with literature from North America dominating the published work. So far it would appear that no author or group of authors have developed a programme of research in the nursing field using the social network analysis approach although several authors may be in the process of doing so. The dominance of literature from North America may be viewed as problematic as the underlying structures and themes may be an artefact of cultural communication norms from this region. The use of social network analysis in relation to nursing and by nurse researchers has increased rapidly over the past two decades. The lack of longitudinal studies and the absence of replication across multiple sites should be seen as an opportunity for further research. This analytical approach is relatively new in the field of nursing but does show considerable promise in offering insights into the way information flows between individuals, teams, institutions and other structures. An understanding of these structures provides a means of improving communication. © 2014 International Council of Nurses.

Military Social Work as an Exemplar in Teaching Social Work Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daley, James G.; Carlson, Joan; Evans, Pinkie

2015-01-01

This article is for social work educators unfamiliar with military social work and receptive to a number of exemplars to enhance teaching strategies within their courses. Because examples of military social work are directly tied to the Council on Social Work Education competencies, this article offers a number of suggested teaching strategies…

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare: History and Grand Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barth, Richard P.; Gilmore, Grover C.; Flynn, Marilyn S.; Fraser, Mark W.; Brekke, John S.

2014-01-01

Conceptualized by social work deans and actualized with the support of major social work organizations, the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare was established in 2009. This article describes the historical context and creation of the Academy, whose objectives include recognizing outstanding social work scholars and practitioners;…

Community, Collective or Movement? Evaluating Theoretical Perspectives on Network Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spitzer, W.

2015-12-01

Since 2007, the New England Aquarium has led a national effort to increase the capacity of informal science venues to effectively communicate about climate change. We are now leading the NSF-funded National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI), partnering with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, FrameWorks Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and National Aquarium, with evaluation conducted by the New Knowledge Organization, Pennsylvania State University, and Ohio State University. NNOCCI enables teams of informal science interpreters across the country to serve as "communication strategists" - beyond merely conveying information they can influence public perceptions, given their high level of commitment, knowledge, public trust, social networks, and visitor contact. We provide in-depth training as well as an alumni network for ongoing learning, implementation support, leadership development, and coalition building. Our goals are to achieve a systemic national impact, embed our work within multiple ongoing regional and national climate change education networks, and leave an enduring legacy. What is the most useful theoretical model for conceptualizing the work of the NNOCCI community? This presentation will examine the pros and cons of three perspectives -- community of practice, collective impact, and social movements. The community of practice approach emphasizes use of common tools, support for practice, social learning, and organic development of leadership. A collective impact model focuses on defining common outcomes, aligning activities toward a common goal, structured collaboration. A social movement emphasizes building group identity and creating a sense of group efficacy. This presentation will address how these models compare in terms of their utility in program planning and evaluation, their fit with the unique characteristics of the NNOCCI community, and their relevance to our program goals.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION AS APPLIED TO EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SCHMUCK, RICHARD

THREE PROBLEM AREAS ARE EXPLORED IN THIS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH UTILIZATION IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION--(1) INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, (2) PSYCHOLOGICAL LINKAGES BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATOR'S SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND HIS ACTIONS, AND (3) THE LACK OF CONNECTION BETWEEN…

An Ethnographic Study of the Social Context of Migrant Health in the United States

PubMed Central

Holmes, Seth M

2006-01-01

Background Migrant workers in the United States have extremely poor health. This paper aims to identify ways in which the social context of migrant farm workers affects their health and health care. Methods and Findings This qualitative study employs participant observation and interviews on farms and in clinics throughout 15 months of migration with a group of indigenous Triqui Mexicans in the western US and Mexico. Study participants include more than 130 farm workers and 30 clinicians. Data are analyzed utilizing grounded theory, accompanied by theories of structural violence, symbolic violence, and the clinical gaze. The study reveals that farm working and housing conditions are organized according to ethnicity and citizenship. This hierarchy determines health disparities, with undocumented indigenous Mexicans having the worst health. Yet, each group is understood to deserve its place in the hierarchy, migrant farm workers often being blamed for their own sicknesses. Conclusions Structural racism and anti-immigrant practices determine the poor working conditions, living conditions, and health of migrant workers. Subtle racism serves to reduce awareness of this social context for all involved, including clinicians. The paper concludes with strategies toward improving migrant health in four areas: health disparities research, clinical interactions with migrant laborers, medical education, and policy making. PMID:17076567

[Psychosocial Stress, Stress Perception and Stress Management of Students of Social Work: a Quantitative Study].

PubMed

Kriener, C; Schwertfeger, A; Deimel, D; Köhler, T

2018-02-01

In this quantitative study, data on 746 students of social work were collected regarding their current sense of stress, experience of psychosocial drain as well as their use of specific coping strategies. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS) were used. The results show that one out of 3 students suffer from a lot of to extreme stress. One-fourth of the students report feeling overworked and socially overburdened. More than half of the students are exposed to psychosocial drain as a consequence of past events in their biography (e. g. death or mental illness of a close relative). Despite these obvious burdens, only one-fourth made use of professional aid or counseling. Students who are primarily using functional coping strategies have a lower sensibility to stress and feel less overworked than students primarily using dysfunctional coping strategies. In the university setting, the theoretically and empirically sound knowledge based on this report can be used profitably: The increasing implementation of seminars on coping with stress at universities itself suggests that learning and utilizing functional coping strategies can contribute to a reduction of stress and strain among students. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A trans-disciplinary approach to the evaluation of social determinants of health in a Hispanic population.

PubMed

Dulin, Michael F; Tapp, Hazel; Smith, Heather A; de Hernandez, Brisa Urquieta; Coffman, Maren J; Ludden, Tom; Sorensen, Janni; Furuseth, Owen J

2012-09-11

Individual and community health are adversely impacted by disparities in health outcomes among disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. Understanding the underlying causes for variations in health outcomes is an essential step towards developing effective interventions to ameliorate inequalities and subsequently improve overall community health. Working at the neighborhood scale, this study examines multiple social determinates that can cause health disparities including low neighborhood wealth, weak social networks, inadequate public infrastructure, the presence of hazardous materials in or near a neighborhood, and the lack of access to primary care services. The goal of this research is to develop innovative and replicable strategies to improve community health in disadvantaged communities such as newly arrived Hispanic immigrants. This project is taking place within a primary care practice-based research network (PBRN) using key principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR). Associations between social determinants and rates of hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) use, and ED use for primary care treatable or preventable conditions are being examined. Geospatial models are in development using both hospital and community level data to identify local areas where interventions to improve disparities would have the greatest impact. The developed associations between social determinants and health outcomes as well as the geospatial models will be validated using community surveys and qualitative methods. A rapidly growing and underserved Hispanic immigrant population will be the target of an intervention informed by the research process to impact utilization of primary care services and designed, deployed, and evaluated using the geospatial tools and qualitative research findings. The purpose of this intervention will be to reduce health disparities by improving access to, and utilization of, primary care and preventative services. The results of this study will demonstrate the importance of several novel approaches to ameliorating health disparities, including the use of CBPR, the effectiveness of community-based interventions to influence health outcomes by leveraging social networks, and the importance of primary care access in ameliorating health disparities.

The impact bias in self and others: Affective and empathic forecasting in individuals with social anxiety.

PubMed

Arditte Hall, Kimberly A; Joormann, Jutta; Siemer, Matthias; Timpano, Kiara R

2018-07-01

People tend to overestimate the intensity and duration of affect (i.e., impact bias) when making predictions about their own and others' responding, termed affective and empathic forecasting, respectively. Research links impact biases to clinical symptoms of affective disorders, but little work has been done to examine how social anxiety is related to affective and empathic forecasting biases. The current investigation included two studies examining these associations in independent samples of young adults with dimensionally distributed social anxiety symptoms. Study 1 (N = 100) examined the associations between social anxiety and affective and empathic forecasts in response to a series of novel hypothetical vignettes in which a second-person narrator (i.e., the self) elicited anger, disgust, or happiness from another person (i.e., the other). Study 2 utilized an innovative experimental paradigm involving N = 68 participant dyads. Overall, results supported the existence of affective and empathic forecasting biases. Further, symptoms of social anxiety were associated with the tendency to overestimate one's own and others' negative affect and underestimate others' positive affect. Such forecasting biases may help to explain the avoidance that is characteristic of individuals with social anxiety and could represent a fruitful target of cognitive behavioral intervention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A fashion model with social interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakayama, Shoichiro; Nakamura, Yasuyuki

2004-06-01

In general, it is difficult to investigate social phenomena mathematically or quantitatively due to non-linear interactions. Statistical physics can provide powerful methods for studying social phenomena with interactions, and could be very useful for them. In this study, we take a focus on fashion as a social phenomenon with interaction. The social interaction considered here are “bandwagon effect” and “snob effect.” In the bandwagon effect, the correlation between one's behavior and others is positive. People feel fashion weary or boring when it is overly popular. This is the snob effect. It is assumed that the fashion phenomenon is formed by the aggregation of individual's binary choice, that is, the fashion is adopted or not. We formulate the fashion phenomenon as the logit model, which is based on the random utility theory in social science, especially economics. The model derived here basically has the similarity with the pioneering model by Weidlich (Phys. Rep. 204 (1991) 1), which was derived from the master equation, the Langevin equation, or the Fokker-Planck equation. This study seems to give the behavioral or behaviormetrical foundation to his model. As a result of dynamical analysis, it is found that in the case that both the bandwagon effect and the snob effect work, periodic or chaotic behavior of fashion occurs under certain conditions.

[Social pain].

PubMed

Shimoyama, Naohito; Shimoyama, Megumi

2011-09-01

This chapter focuses on what social pain is and how it should be managed. In order to understand social pain in a cancer patient, it is necessary to recognize the change in the patient's daily life after the diagnosis of cancer. Because the degree of suffering and the relationships with family members and the people he or she worked with differ from patient to patient, it is important to note that the context of social pain is different in each patient. Five points shown below are essential in managing social pain. 1. Economical suffering may be alleviated by utilization of the social security system while taking into account each patient's standard of living. 2. Burdens on family members should be lessened, such as by not having them stay at the patient's bedside every day and letting them go home occasionally. 3. The normal patterns of communication, support, and conflict in the family should be identified, and the extent to which they have been disrupted by the illness should be assessed. 4. It is important to understand the ethnic, cultural, and religious background of the patient and the potential impact of their influence on the individual and the illness. 5. Practical or emotional unfinished business that the patient has needs to be identified, and efforts should be made to support fulfillment.

Fair opportunities, social productivity and wellbeing in disability: Towards a theoretical foundation.

PubMed

Siegrist, Johannes; Fekete, Christine

2016-06-13

Theory-based approaches provide explanations of the impact of components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) classification on outcomes such as health and wellbeing. Here, one such approach is proposed, focusing on social participation and its association with wellbeing. In addition to elaborating a theoretical approach, a narrative review of research on labour market participation of persons with severe disability, spinal cord injury, is conducted to illustrate the utility of the proposed approach. Availability and good quality of productive activities, in particular paid work, are expected to improve wellbeing by strengthening favourable experiences of personal control and social recognition. As these opportunities are restricted among persons with disabilities, conditions that enable full social participation need to be strengthened. Research identified several such conditions at the individual (e.g. coping, social support, educational skills) and the contextual socio-political level (e.g. quality of care, medical and vocational rehabilitation), although their potential of improving wellbeing has not yet been sufficiently explored. In conclusion, supplementing the established ICF classification by theory-based approaches may advance explanations of adverse effects of reduced functioning and wellbeing in disability. This new knowledge can guide the development of interventions to improve participation in general and social productivity in particular.

The Science of Social Work and Its Relationship to Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anastas, Jeane W.

2014-01-01

As John Brekke has observed, social work does not use the word "science" to define itself, suggesting a need to articulate a science of social work. This article discusses the science of social work and its relationship to social work practice in the United States, arguing that a "rapprochement" between practice and science…

Social media in plastic surgery practices: emerging trends in North America.

PubMed

Wheeler, Chad K; Said, Hakim; Prucz, Roni; Rodrich, Rod J; Mathes, David W

2011-05-01

Social media is a common term for web-based applications that offer a way to disseminate information to a targeted audience in real time. In the current market, many businesses are utilizing it to communicate with clients. Although the field of plastic surgery is constantly changing in response to innovative technologies introduced into the specialty, the utilization of social media in plastic surgery practices is currently unclear. The authors evaluate the current attitudes and practices of aesthetic surgeons to emerging social media technology and compare these to attitudes about more traditional modes of communication. A 19-question web-based survey was disseminated by e-mail to all board-certified or board-eligible American plastic surgeons (n = 4817). Respondents were asked to answer questions on three topics: (1) their use of social media in their personal and professional lives, (2) their various forms of practice marketing, and (3) their demographic information. There were 1000 responses (20.8%). Results showed that 28.2% of respondents used social media in their practice, while 46.7% used it in their personal life. Most plastic surgeons managed their social media themselves or through a staff member. The majority of respondents who used social media in their practice claimed that their efforts were directed toward patient referrals. The typical plastic surgery practice that used social media was a solo practice in a large city with a focus on cosmetic surgery. Local competition of plastic surgeons did not correlate with social media use. Most plastic surgeons (88%) advertised, but the form of marketing varied. The most common forms included websites, print, and search engine optimization, but other modalities, such as television, radio, and billboards, were still utilized. Social media represents a new avenue that many plastic surgeons are utilizing, although with trepidation. As social media becomes commonplace in society, its role in plastic surgery practice development and communication will become more prominent and defined.

Return-to-Work Within a Complex and Dynamic Organizational Work Disability System.

PubMed

Jetha, Arif; Pransky, Glenn; Fish, Jon; Hettinger, Lawrence J

2016-09-01

Background Return-to-work (RTW) within a complex organizational system can be associated with suboptimal outcomes. Purpose To apply a sociotechnical systems perspective to investigate complexity in RTW; to utilize system dynamics modeling (SDM) to examine how feedback relationships between individual, psychosocial, and organizational factors make up the work disability system and influence RTW. Methods SDMs were developed within two companies. Thirty stakeholders including senior managers, and frontline supervisors and workers participated in model building sessions. Participants were asked questions that elicited information about the structure of the work disability system and were translated into feedback loops. To parameterize the model, participants were asked to estimate the shape and magnitude of the relationship between key model components. Data from published literature were also accessed to supplement participant estimates. Data were entered into a model created in the software program Vensim. Simulations were conducted to examine how financial incentives and light duty work disability-related policies, utilized by the participating companies, influenced RTW likelihood and preparedness. Results The SDMs were multidimensional, including individual attitudinal characteristics, health factors, and organizational components. Among the causal pathways uncovered, psychosocial components including workplace social support, supervisor and co-worker pressure, and supervisor-frontline worker communication impacted RTW likelihood and preparedness. Interestingly, SDM simulations showed that work disability-related policies in both companies resulted in a diminishing or opposing impact on RTW preparedness and likelihood. Conclusion SDM provides a novel systems view of RTW. Policy and psychosocial component relationships within the system have important implications for RTW, and may contribute to unanticipated outcomes.

Social Work Experience and Development in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sibin, Wang

2013-01-01

This article presents the experience and limitations of government-run social work and the nonprofessional nature of social work, and suggests that the rapid development of social work and its professionalization are the inevitable results of the reform in the system. The author maintains that under market socialism, social work requires the…

An examination of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale in a non-referred sample of adolescents.

PubMed

Anderson, Emily R; Jordan, Judith A; Smith, Ashley J; Inderbitzen-Nolan, Heidi M

2009-12-01

Social phobia is prevalent during adolescence and is associated with negative outcomes. Two self-report instruments are empirically validated to specifically assess social phobia symptomatology in youth: the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children is a broad-band measure of anxiety containing a scale assessing the social phobia construct. The present study investigated the MASC Social Anxiety Scale in relation to other well-established measures of social phobia and depression in a non-referred sample of adolescents. Results support the convergent validity of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale and provide some support for its discriminant validity, suggesting its utility in the initial assessment of social phobia. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROCs) calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale. Binary logistic regression analyses determined the predictive utility of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale. Implications for assessment are discussed.

Exploring the Incremental Validity of Nonverbal Social Aggression: The Utility of Peer Nominations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blake, Jamilia J.; Kim, Eun Sook; Lease, A. Michele

2011-01-01

This study examined the construct validity of nonverbal social aggression and the relation of nonverbal social aggression to dimensions of children's social status. Peer nominations of verbal social, nonverbal social, direct veral, and physical aggression, as well as social dominance, perceived popularity, and social acceptance, were collected…

Diagnostic Utility of the Social Skills Improvement System Performance Screening Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krach, S. Kathleen; McCreery, Michael P.; Wang, Ye; Mohammadiamin, Houra; Cirks, Christen K.

2017-01-01

Researchers investigated the diagnostic utility of the Social Skills Improvement System: Performance Screening Guide (SSIS-PSG). Correlational, regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and conditional probability analyses were run to compare ratings on the SSIS-PSG subscales of Prosocial Behavior, Reading Skills, and Math Skills, to…

Proposal for a university-community-hospice partnership to address organizational barriers to cultural competence.

PubMed

Reese, Dona J

2011-02-01

Models of culturally competent hospice services have been developed, but they are not generally being used. This article describes a participatory action research project which is addressing organizational barriers to cultural competence through a university-community-hospice partnership. The intervention plan is to develop a connection with the African American community, increasing community knowledge, and hospice staff cultural competence through a social work student field placement. It is hoped that, if successful, this model will be replicated to address the problem of African American utilization and access to hospice.

A Replication and Extension of the PEERS® for Young Adults Social Skills Intervention: Examining Effects on Social Skills and Social Anxiety in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

McVey, Alana J.; Dolan, Bridget K.; Willar, Kirsten S.; Pleiss, Sheryl; Karst, Jeffrey S.; Casnar, Christina L.; Caiozzo, Christina; Vogt, Elisabeth M.; Gordon, Nakia S.; Van Hecke, Amy Vaughan

2017-01-01

Young adults with ASD experience difficulties with social skills, empathy, loneliness, and social anxiety. One intervention, PEERS®for Young Adults, shows promise in addressing these challenges. The present study replicated and extended the original study by recruiting a larger sample (N = 56), employing a gold standard ASD assessment tool, and examining changes in social anxiety utilizing a randomized controlled trial design. Results indicated improvements in social responsiveness (SSIS-RS SS, p = .006 and CPB, p = .005; SRS, p = .004), PEERS® knowledge (TYASSK, p = .001), empathy (EQ, p = .044), direct interactions (QSQ-YA, p = .059), and social anxiety (LSAS-SR, p = .019). Results have important implications for the utility of the intervention for individuals with ASD. PMID:27628940

Neural Correlates of Social Influence on Risk Taking and Substance Use in Adolescents.

PubMed

Telzer, Eva H; Rogers, Christina R; Van Hoorn, Jorien

2017-09-01

Adolescents often engage in elevated levels of risk taking that gives rise to substance use. Family and peers constitute the primary contextual risk factors for adolescent substance use. This report reviews how families and peers influence adolescent neurocognitive development to inform their risk taking and subsequent substance use. Developmental neuroscience using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified regions of the brain involved in social cognition, cognitive control, and reward processing that are integrally linked to social influence on adolescent risk taking. These neural mechanisms play a role in how peer and family influence (e.g., physical presence, relationship quality, rejection) translates into adolescent substance use. Peers and families can independently, and in tandem, contribute to adolescent substance use, for better or for worse. We propose that future work utilize fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms involved in different aspects of peer and family influence, and how these contexts uniquely and interactively influence adolescent substance use initiation and escalation across development.

Supportive Non-Parental Adults and Adolescent Psychosocial Functioning: Using Social Support as a Theoretical Framework

PubMed Central

Sterrett, E. M.; Jones, D. J.; McKee, L. G.; Kincaid, C.

2014-01-01

Supportive Non-Parental Adults (SNPAs), or non-parental adults who provide social support to youth, are present in the lives of many adolescents; yet to date, a guiding framework for organizing the existing literature on the provision of support provided by multiple types of SNPAS, such as teachers, natural mentors, and extended family members, as well as to inform future research efforts, is lacking. The aim of the current paper is to utilize the well-established lens of social support to integrate, across this broad range of literatures, recent findings regarding associations between SNPAs and four indices of adolescent psychosocial adjustment: academic functioning, self-esteem, and behavioral and emotional problems. Beyond offering an integrative framework for understanding the link between SNPAs and adolescent functioning, the issues reviewed here have potentially far-reaching consequences for adolescents and their families, as well as the professionals working with adolescents and their families in the health care, school, and community settings. PMID:21384233

Training Psychiatry Residents in Professionalism in the Digital World.

PubMed

John, Nadyah Janine; Shelton, P G; Lang, Michael C; Ingersoll, Jennifer

2017-06-01

Professionalism is an abstract concept which makes it difficult to define, assess and teach. An additional layer of complexity is added when discussing professionalism in the context of digital technology, the internet and social media - the digital world. Current physicians-in-training (residents and fellows) are digital natives having been raised in a digital, media saturated world. Consequently, their use of digital technology and social media has been unconstrained - a reflection of it being integral to their social construct and identity. Cultivating the professional identity and therefore professionalism is the charge of residency training programs. Residents have shown negative and hostile attitudes to formalized professionalism curricula in training. Approaches to these curricula need to consider the learning style of Millennials and incorporate more active learning techniques that utilize technology. Reviewing landmark position papers, guidelines and scholarly work can therefore be augmented with use of vignettes and technology that are available to residency training programs for use with their Millennial learners.

Social media: the key to health information access for 18- to 30-year-old college students.

PubMed

Prybutok, Gayle; Ryan, Sherry

2015-04-01

This work examines where 18- to 30-year-old college students seek health information on the Internet and how they determine site and message credibility. Using a qualitative methodology, five focus groups were conducted with 18- to 30-year-old college students, and transcripts were analyzed with MaxQDA text analysis software. The study revealed that 18- to 30-year-old college students have Internet health information source preferences, reasons for seeking health information on the Internet, and message design factors that improve their perception of site and message credibility. We conclude that the Internet and social media show great promise as effective health communication channels for 18- to 30-year-old college students and confirm that preferred Internet/social media sites can be utilized by health educators to present important risk management/disease prevention information to 18- to 30-year-old college students. In addition, message design factors can lend credibility to both sites and the health information delivered there.

The Effects of Caregiving Resources on Perceived Health among Caregivers.

PubMed

Hong, Michin; Harrington, Donna

2016-08-01

This study examined how various types of resources influence perceived health of caregivers. Guided by the conservation of resources theory, a caregiver health model was built and tested using structural equation modeling. The caregiver health model consisted of caregiving situations (functional limitations and cognitive impairments of older adults and caregiving time), resources (financial resources, mastery, social support, family harmony, and service utilization), caregiver burden, and perceived health of caregivers. The sample included 1,837 unpaid informal caregivers drawn from the 2004 National Long-Term Caregiver Survey. The model fit indices indicated that the first structural model did not fit well; however, the revised model yielded an excellent model fit. More stressful caregiving situations were associated with fewer resources and higher burden, whereas greater resources were associated with lower burden and better perceived health of caregivers. The results suggest explicit implications for social work research and practice on how to protect the health of caregivers. © 2016 National Association of Social Workers.

The Efficacy of Self-Report Measures in Predicting Social Phobia in African American Adults.

PubMed

Chapman, L Kevin; Petrie, Jenny M; Richards, Allyn

2015-03-01

Empirical literature pertaining to anxiety in African Americans has been relatively sparse. More recent studies indicate that the construct of social fear is different in African Americans than in non-Hispanic Whites. Although some of these studies have examined factor structure utilizing self-report measures of anxiety in African American samples, none to date have examined the clinical utility of these measures in predicting anxiety diagnoses, particularly social phobia. A total of sixty-five African American adults from the community completed the Fear Survey Schedule-Second Edition (FSS-II), Social Anxiety Interaction Scale (SIAS), Social Phobia Scale (SPS), and Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire (APPQ). The Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule-Fourth Edition (ADIS-IV) was administered to all participants to specify differential diagnoses of anxiety and related disorders. Twenty-three African American adults were diagnosed with social phobia leaving 42 diagnostic controls. Results suggest that the social anxiety factors were highly predictive of a social phobia diagnosis (AUC=.84 to .90; CI .73-.98, p<.01) and sensitivity and specificity rates revealed optimal cutoff scores for each measure. The optimal cutoff scores reveal the clinical utility of the social fear factor from these measures in screening for social phobia in African Americans. Future direction and implications are discussed. Psychinfo, PubMed, Medline. © 2015 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrating Social Work into Undergraduate Education through a Community Action and Social Change Multidisciplinary Minor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards-Schuster, Katie; Ruffolo, Mary C.; Nicoll, Kerri Leyda

2015-01-01

Social work education has a long and successful history of developing change agents through bachelor of social work, master's of social work, and PhD programs, but these programs often create boundaries limiting the reach and infusion of social work perspectives. With rapid changes in social, economic, and political contexts, students from all…

[Analysis of relationship between shift-work and occupational stress among workers from different companies].

PubMed

Gu, Guizhen; Yu, Shanfa; Zhou, Wenhui; Wu, Hui

2016-01-01

To investigate the relationship between work in shifts and occupational stress. A total of 5338 employees from 13 companies were investigated by cluster sampling, and occupational stress measuring tools, job content questionnaire, and effort-reward imbalance questionnaire were used to investigate occupational stress factors, stress reaction, and the condition of work in shifts. The employees who worked in shifts accounted for 46.6%. The condition of work in shifts varied significantly across different companies, employees with different individual features (including sex, job title, degree of education, age, working years, smoking, and drinking), and employees with different weekly working times(P<0.01 or P<0.05); health status was associated with work in shifts(P<0.01); compared with the employees who did not work in shifts, those who worked in shifts had significantly lower scores of technology utilization, work control level, psychological need, reward, social support, and job satisfaction(P<0.01 or P<0.05), as well as significantly higher scores of physical demands, effort, depressive symptoms, and negative affectivity(P<0.01). Work in shifts can affect health status, and is associated with occupational stress.

Examining the Relationship between Psychosocial Work Factors and Musculoskeletal Discomfort among Computer Users in Malaysia

PubMed Central

Zakerian, SA; Subramaniam, ID

2011-01-01

Background: With computers rapidly carving a niche in virtually every nook and crevice of today’s fast-paced society, musculoskeletal disorders are becoming more prevalent among computer users, which comprise a wide spectrum of the Malaysian population, including office workers. While extant literature depicts extensive research on musculoskeletal disorders in general, the five dimensions of psychosocial work factors (job demands, job contentment, job control, computer-related problems and social interaction) attributed to work-related musculoskeletal disorders have been neglected. This study examines the aforementioned elements in detail, pertaining to their relationship with musculoskeletal disorders, focusing in particular, on 120 office workers at Malaysian public sector organizations, whose jobs require intensive computer usage. Methods: Research was conducted between March and July 2009 in public service organizations in Malaysia. This study was conducted via a survey utilizing self-complete questionnaires and diary. The relationship between psychosocial work factors and musculoskeletal discomfort was ascertained through regression analyses, which revealed that some factors were more important than others were. Results: The results indicate a significant relationship among psychosocial work factors and musculoskeletal discomfort among computer users. Several of these factors such as job control, computer-related problem and social interaction of psychosocial work factors are found to be more important than others in musculoskeletal discomfort. Conclusion: With computer usage on the rise among users, the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort could lead to unnecessary disabilities, hence, the vital need for greater attention to be given on this aspect in the work place, to alleviate to some extent, potential problems in future. PMID:23113058

Social welfare utilization and needs of older adults in Taiwan: survey research.

PubMed

Hsieh, Hsiu-Fen; Chen, Kuei-Min; Lin, Mei-Hui; Wang, Yueh-Chin; Huang, Hsin-Ting

2014-01-01

The demand for long-term care for older adults has escalated sharply. A good policy dedicated to the welfare of older adults has improved their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore the social welfare utilization and needs of older adults and compare their differences among age groups, genders, and functional dependency levels. Three hundred eighty-four stratified, random-sampled Taiwanese community-dwelling older adults were recruited for this survey research. Participants rated their utilization of and needs for the 30 social welfare services provided by the government on a Likert-type scale. The most widely used and needed social welfare services by the older adults were senior monetary stipend and a subsidy for the national health insurance premium. Young-old, male, and functionally independent older adults had more knowledge of the social welfare services than their counterparts. While designing a comprehensive social welfare system, differing needs of different age groups, genders, and functional dependency levels should be taken into consideration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-compassion, pain, and breaking a social contract.

PubMed

Purdie, Fiona; Morley, Stephen

2015-11-01

Self-compassion is the ability to respond to one's failures, shortcomings, and difficulties with kindness and openness rather than criticism. This study, which might be regarded as a proof-of-concept study, aimed to establish whether self-compassion is associated with expected emotional responses and the likelihood of responding with problem solving, support seeking, distraction, avoidance, rumination, or catastrophizing to unpleasant self-relevant events occurring in 3 social contexts. Sixty chronic pain patients were presented with 6 vignettes describing scenes in which the principal actor transgressed a social contract with negative interpersonal consequences. Vignettes represented 2 dimensions: (1) whether pain or a nonpain factor interrupted the fulfillment of the contract and (2) variation in the social setting (work, peer, and family). The Self-Compassion Scale was the covariate in the analysis. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with significantly lower negative affect and lower reported likelihood of avoidance, catastrophizing, and rumination. Self-compassion did not interact with pain vs nonpain factor. Work-related vignettes were rated as more emotional and more likely to be associated with avoidance, catastrophizing, and rumination and less likelihood of problem solving. The findings suggest that self-compassion warrants further investigation in the chronic pain population both regarding the extent of its influence as a trait and in terms of the potential to enhance chronic pain patients' ability to be self-compassionate, with a view to its therapeutic utility in enhancing psychological well-being and adjustment. Limitations regarding the possible criterion contamination and the generalizability of vignette studies are discussed.

Thoughts on the Professionalization and Industrialization of Social Work in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feng, Cui

2013-01-01

China's economic and social development requires professional social work. To achieve the professionalization of social work in China, we must focus on its indigenization, change the function of mass organizations, and improve the professional quality of existing social work personnel. We must also pay attention to promoting social work theory and…

Exploring cultural tensions in cross-cultural social work practice.

PubMed

Yan, Miu Chung

2008-10-01

Discussion of cultural tension in the social work literature is piecemeal. As part of a grounded theory study, this article reports some major findings on cultural tensions experienced by 30 frontline social workers. Cultural tensions caused by cultural similarities and differences among social workers, clients, organizations, and society are multifaceted. Social workers, however, are always at the center of the tensions. Findings indicate that the social work profession may need to consider the neutrality claim of the profession, the different experience of ethnic minority social workers, and the need of critical reflexivity for reflective practitioners. Implications for social work practice, social work education for ethnic minority social workers, and social work research are discussed.

Health Services Utilization, Work Absenteeism and Costs of Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 in Spain: A Multicenter-Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Galante, Mariana; Garin, Olatz; Sicuri, Elisa; Cots, Francesc; García-Altés, Anna; Ferrer, Montserrat; Dominguez, Àngela; Alonso, Jordi

2012-01-01

Background The aim of this study was to estimate healthcare resource utilization, work absenteeism and cost per patient with pandemic influenza (H1N1)2009, from its beginning to March 2010, in Spain. We also estimated the economic impact on healthcare services. Methods and Findings Longitudinal, descriptive, multicenter study of in- and outpatients with confirmed diagnosis of influenza A (H1N1) in Spain. Temporal distribution of cases was comparable to that in Spain. Information of healthcare and social resources used from one week before admission (inpatient) or index-medical visit (outpatient) until recovery was gathered. Unit cost was imputed to utilization frequency for the monetary valuation of use. Mean cost per patient was calculated. A sensitivity analysis was conducted, and variables correlated with cost per patient were identified. Economic impact on the healthcare system was estimated using healthcare costs per patient and both, the reported number of confirmed and clinical cases in Spain. 172 inpatients and 224 outpatients were included. Less than 10% were over 65 years old and more than 50% had previous comorbidities. 12.8% of inpatients were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Mean length of hospital stay of patients not requiring critical care was 5 days (SD = 4.4). All working-inpatients and 91.7% working-outpatients went on sick leave. On average, work absenteeism was 30.5 days (SD = 20.7) for the first ones and 9 days (SD = 6.3) for the latest. Caregivers of 21.7% of inpatients and 8.5% of outpatients also had work absenteeism during 10.7 and 4.1 days on average respectively. Mean cost was €6,236/inpatient (CI95% = 1,384–14,623) and €940/outpatient (CI95% = 66–3,064). The healthcare economic burden of patients with confirmed influenza was €144,773,577 (IC95% 13,753,043–383,467,535). More than 86% of expenditures were a result of outpatients' utilization. Conclusion Cost per H1N1-patient did not defer much from seasonal influenza estimates. Hospitalizations and work absenteeism represented the highest cost per patient. PMID:22348122

Myopia prevention, near work, and visual acuity of college students: integrating the theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory.

PubMed

Chan, Derwin King-Chung; Fung, Ying-Ki; Xing, Suxuan; Hagger, Martin S

2014-06-01

There has been little research examining the psychological antecedents of safety-oriented behavior aimed at reducing myopia risk. This study utilizes self-determination theory (SDT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the role of motivational and social-cognitive factors on individuals' near-work behavior. Adopting a prospective design, undergraduate students (n = 107) completed an initial questionnaire based on SDT in week 1, a second questionnaire containing measures of TPB variables in week 2, and objective measures of reading distance and visual acuity in week 6. The data were analyzed by variance-based structural equation modeling. The results showed that perceived autonomy support and autonomous motivation from SDT significantly predicted attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control from the TPB. These social-cognitive factors were significantly associated with intention and intention significantly predicted reading distance. The relationships in the model held when controlling for visual acuity. In conclusion, the integrated model of SDT and the TPB may help explain myopia-preventive behaviors.

The micro-fascism of Plato's good citizen: producing (dis)order through the construction of risk.

PubMed

O'Byrne, Patrick; Holmes, Dave

2007-04-01

The human body has come to be seen as forever susceptible to both external and internal hazards, which in many circumstances require immediate, heroic, and expensive intervention. In response to this, there has been a shift from a treatment-based healthcare model to one of prevention wherein nurses play an integral role by identifying and assessing risks for individuals, communities, and populations. This paper uses Deborah Lupton's outline of the spectrum of risk and applies the theoretical works of Foucault and Plato to demonstrate the means by which nurses maintain social order by identifying and counselling risk takers. It also utilizes the work of Deleuze and Guattari to illustrate how Plato's framework for creating social order through the creation of the good citizen can be viewed as a micro-fascist system, which has been adopted wholeheartedly by preventative health professionals. The goal of this paper is to present an alternate understanding of risk to provide nurses and other healthcare professionals with a non-traditional appreciation of certain aspects of their practice as researchers and clinicians.

The necessity of social medicine in medical education.

PubMed

Westerhaus, Michael; Finnegan, Amy; Haidar, Mona; Kleinman, Arthur; Mukherjee, Joia; Farmer, Paul

2015-05-01

Research and clinical experience reliably and repeatedly demonstrate that the determinants of health are most accurately conceptualized as biosocial phenomena, in which health and disease emerge through the interaction between biology and the social environment. Increased appreciation of biosocial approaches have already driven change in premedical education and focused attention on population health in current U.S. health care reform. Medical education, however, places primary emphasis on biomedicine and often fails to emphasize and educate students and trainees about the social forces that shape disease and illness patterns. The authors of this Commentary argue that medical education requires a comprehensive transformation to incorporate rigorous biosocial training to ensure that all future health professionals are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to practice social medicine. Three distinct models for accomplishing such transformation are presented: SocMed's monthlong, elective courses in Northern Uganda and Haiti; Harvard Medical School's semester-long, required social medicine course; and the Lebanese American University's curricular integration of social medicine throughout its entire four-year curriculum. Successful implementation of social medicine training requires the institutionalization of biosocial curricula; the utilization of innovative, engaging pedagogies; and the involvement of health professions students from broad demographic backgrounds and with all career interests. The achievement of such transformational and necessary change to medical education will prepare future health practitioners working in all settings to respond more proactively and comprehensively to the health needs of all populations.

Screening utility of the social anxiety screening scale in Spanish speaking adolescents.

PubMed

Piqueras, José Antonio; Olivares, José; Hidalgo, María Dolores

2012-07-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the screening utility of the Social Anxiety Screening Scale (SASS/EDAS) in a sample of 227 adolescents with social anxiety disorder and 156 Without it (14-17 years). Results showed that the EDAS subscales (Avoidance, Distress and Interference) scores were reliable in terms of internal consistency (alpha > .80). All the subscales discriminated between adolescents with and without the disorder. They also showed a positive and significant correlation with other empirically validated measures of social anxiety. The three subscales indicated relevant sensitivity (69.16-84.14%), specificity (63.46-66.03%) and areas under the curve (.74-.81%). Binary logistic regression analyses indicated the adequate predictive utility of EDAS subscales, with the Distress subscale as the best diagnostic predictor. The data provide empirical evidence of the usefulness of EDAS as a screener for adolescent social anxiety disorder in terms of reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, diagnostic accuracy and clinical usefulness.

Locus of control and utilization of social support among mothers of young children with physical disabilities.

PubMed

Rimmerman, A; Stanger, V

1992-01-01

Sixty mothers of young children with physical disabilities were studied with respect to the effect of the mothers' locus of control on the utilization of social support. The initial findings failed to support the thesis that mothers with an 'internally' focused locus of control would demonstrate greater utilization of their support system, both in terms of descriptive and functional measures. A secondary analysis showed that the mothers' age, the children's level of functioning, and the existence of additional members of the family with a disability served as intervening variables. Only among older mothers, who perceived their children's functioning as severe, was there significant association between the locus of control ('internal') and greater use of their social support system. 'Internal' mothers who had no additional extended family members with a disability reported higher levels of functional social support, as compared to 'external' mothers. Findings are interpreted with respect to social support theory and its implications to applied research.

The Ambulatory Integration of the Medical and Social (AIMS) model: A retrospective evaluation.

PubMed

Rowe, Jeannine M; Rizzo, Victoria M; Shier Kricke, Gayle; Krajci, Kate; Rodriguez-Morales, Grisel; Newman, Michelle; Golden, Robyn

2016-01-01

An exploratory, retrospective evaluation of Ambulatory Integration of the Medical and Social (AIMS), a care coordination model designed to integrate medical and non-medical needs of patients and delivered exclusively by social workers was conducted to examine mean utilization of costly health care services for older adult patients. Results reveal mean utilization of 30-day hospital readmissions, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospital admissions are significantly lower for the study sample compared to the larger patient population. Comparisons with national population statistics reveal significantly lower mean utilization of 30-day admissions and ED visits for the study sample. The findings offer preliminary support regarding the value of AIMS.

Utilizing social networking sites to promote adolescents' health: a pragmatic review of the literature.

PubMed

Francomano, Jesse A; Harpin, Scott B

2015-01-01

Social networking site use has exploded among youth in the last few years and is being adapted as an important tool for healthcare interventions and serving as a platform for adolescents to gain access to health information. The aim of this study was to examine the strengths, weaknesses, and best practices of utilizing Facebook in adolescent health promotion and research via pragmatic literature review. We also examine how sites can facilitate ethically sound healthcare for adolescents, particularly at-risk youth. We conducted a literature review of health and social sciences literature from the past 5 years related to adolescent health and social network site use. Publications were grouped by shared content then categorized by themes. Five themes emerged: access to healthcare information, peer support and networking, risk and benefits of social network site use in care delivery, overcoming technological barriers, and social network site interventions. More research is needed to better understand how such Web sites can be better utilized to provide access to adolescents seeking healthcare. Given the broad reach of social network sites, all health information must be closely monitored for accurate, safe distribution. Finally, consent and privacy issues are omnipresent in social network sites, which calls for standards of ethical use.

Significant Issues in Rebuilding the Social Work Profession in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shu, Cai

2013-01-01

The author traces the origin of social work to the Confucian concept of Great Unity and social organization of traditional Chinese society. While professional social work started in 1921, its development was interrupted in 1952, but the practice of social work never stopped. Social work was revived as a discipline and profession in 1979 and has…

Teaching Clinical Social Work under Occupation: Listening to the Voices of Palestinian Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kokaliari, Efrosini; Berzoff, Joan; Byers, David S.; Fareed, Anan; Berzoff-Cohen, Jake; Hreish, Khalid

2016-01-01

The authors were invited to teach clinical social work in the Palestinian West Bank. In order to teach, we designed a study exploring how 65 Palestinian social work students described the psychological and social effects of working under occupation. Students described social stressors of poverty, unemployment, lack of infrastructure, violence,…

Scaling up Social: Strategies for Solving Social Work's Grand Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Maria Y.; Ostrow, Laysha; Kemp, Susan P.

2017-01-01

The Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative aims to focus the profession's attention on how social work can play a larger role in mitigating contemporary social problems. Yet a central issue facing contemporary social work is its seeming reticence to engage with social problems, and their solutions, beyond individual-level interventions.…

Action research in radiography: What it is and how it can be conducted

PubMed Central

Munn, Zachary; Pearson, Alan; Jordan, Zoe; Murphy, Frederick; Pilkington, Diana

2013-01-01

Action research is a form of research that investigates and describes a social or work situation with the aim of achieving a change which results in improvement. This article emphasizes the potential for action research to be a useful research method in radiography. A search was conducted to determine the extent to which action research has been utilized in radiography. Although action research has been used in a number of health-care settings, there are no published examples of action research being utilized in a clinical medical imaging department. Action research is discussed in detail, along with an example guide for an action research study. Action research has been identified as a useful way to affect change, to involve radiographers in the research process, and to introduce evidence-based practice to radiography. PMID:26229607

Creating Critical Conversations: Investigating the Utility of Socratic Dialogues in Elementary Social Studies Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchanan, Lisa Brown

2012-01-01

This article explores the utility of Socratic dialogues in the elementary social studies methods course. Findings include preservice teachers' behaviors during dialogues, perceived strengths and challenges of using Socratic dialogues in teacher education, and the impact on student learning. Challenges and apprehensions encountered by the teacher…

How to Analyze Company Using Social Network?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palus, Sebastian; Bródka, Piotr; Kazienko, Przemysław

Every single company or institution wants to utilize its resources in the most efficient way. In order to do so they have to be have good structure. The new way to analyze company structure by utilizing existing within company natural social network and example of its usage on Enron company are presented in this paper.

Health social work in Canada: Five trends worth noting.

PubMed

Bryson, Stephanie A; Bosma, Harvey

2018-05-30

Highlighting a strong human rights and social justice orientation underlying health social work in Canada, this paper describes recent contributions of Canadian health social work practitioners and scholars to five areas identified by Auslander (2001) in a delphi study of health social work in its first century. Five current 'trends' are discussed which correspond with Auslander's themes of professional legitimacy and scope, social causation, dissemination of knowledge, interventions, and cultural appropriateness. These trends are: 1) defining the scope of health social work practice; 2) addressing the social determinants of health; 3) promoting evidence-based practice in health social work; 4) delivering client and family-centered care; and 5) implementing cultural safety and trauma-informed practice. Suggestions are made to further strengthen the position of health social work in Canada.

The Influence of Peer Reviewer Expertise on the Evaluation of Research Funding Applications

PubMed Central

Sullivan, Joanne H.; Glisson, Scott R.

2016-01-01

Although the scientific peer review process is crucial to distributing research investments, little has been reported about the decision-making processes used by reviewers. One key attribute likely to be important for decision-making is reviewer expertise. Recent data from an experimental blinded review utilizing a direct measure of expertise has found that closer intellectual distances between applicant and reviewer lead to harsher evaluations, possibly suggesting that information is differentially sampled across subject-matter expertise levels and across information type (e.g. strengths or weaknesses). However, social and professional networks have been suggested to play a role in reviewer scoring. In an effort to test whether this result can be replicated in a real-world unblinded study utilizing self-assessed reviewer expertise, we conducted a retrospective multi-level regression analysis of 1,450 individual unblinded evaluations of 725 biomedical research funding applications by 1,044 reviewers. Despite the large variability in the scoring data, the results are largely confirmatory of work from blinded reviews, by which a linear relationship between reviewer expertise and their evaluations was observed—reviewers with higher levels of self-assessed expertise tended to be harsher in their evaluations. However, we also found that reviewer and applicant seniority could influence this relationship, suggesting social networks could have subtle influences on reviewer scoring. Overall, these results highlight the need to explore how reviewers utilize their expertise to gather and weight information from the application in making their evaluations. PMID:27768760

Correlational Analysis of Leadership Styles and Curriculum Change for Geriatric Innovation in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edge-Boyd, Sandra K.

2013-01-01

Social work education and social work practitioners are being impacted by the significant increase in the older adult population. Most social work faculty members have not been teaching their students how to work effectively with older adults (Hooyman, 2006). Social work educators need to provide more effective gerontology instruction in order to…

SOCIAL MARKETING : A NEW APPROACH IN MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH

PubMed Central

Tiwari, S.C.

1998-01-01

Social marketing has a proven role in marketing and many manufacturing establishments/ organizations have been marketing their products incorporating social marketing research. Social marketing has its root in the ground fact that the perceptions and expectations of the consumers are important in influencing buying behaviour. The principles of social marketing, therefore, have been extensively utilized in the areas of consumer products. These are also used in several other fields for modifying behaviours such as civil administration, public establishments etc. In health sector social marketing has not found appropriate application whereas it could be utilized in an effective way for creating awareness, formulating health related policies, their implementation and for preventing a variety of illnesses/abnormal behaviours etc. With this background knowledge about social marketing, the author hypothesized that abnormal behaviours could be modified, health education packages could be developed to make more acceptable and effective and desired behaviours could be induced if perceptions and expectations of the community (consumers) are known a prioriori and their expectations are incorporated in programmes and policies. Thus, the author utilizing the concepts of social marketing for understanding community′s perceptions and expectations regarding issues of health, and for incorporating the same in health related programmes and policies, introduced this research concept in medical field in this country. The important findings of three research projects based on the concepts of social marketing research and their implications have been discussed. PMID:21494494

Social marketing : a new approach in mental health research.

PubMed

Tiwari, S C

1998-10-01

Social marketing has a proven role in marketing and many manufacturing establishments/ organizations have been marketing their products incorporating social marketing research. Social marketing has its root in the ground fact that the perceptions and expectations of the consumers are important in influencing buying behaviour. The principles of social marketing, therefore, have been extensively utilized in the areas of consumer products. These are also used in several other fields for modifying behaviours such as civil administration, public establishments etc. In health sector social marketing has not found appropriate application whereas it could be utilized in an effective way for creating awareness, formulating health related policies, their implementation and for preventing a variety of illnesses/abnormal behaviours etc.With this background knowledge about social marketing, the author hypothesized that abnormal behaviours could be modified, health education packages could be developed to make more acceptable and effective and desired behaviours could be induced if perceptions and expectations of the community (consumers) are known a prioriori and their expectations are incorporated in programmes and policies. Thus, the author utilizing the concepts of social marketing for understanding community's perceptions and expectations regarding issues of health, and for incorporating the same in health related programmes and policies, introduced this research concept in medical field in this country.The important findings of three research projects based on the concepts of social marketing research and their implications have been discussed.

Local Material as a Character of Contemporary Interior Design in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Susanto, Dalhar; Puti Angelia, Dini; Ningsih, Tria Amalia

2017-12-01

Excellent design needs to fulfill universal requirements (utility, aesthetic, ergonomic, durability, and safe). Besides of all the requirements, an excellent design has to be shown its distinctiveness, uniqueness, and identity. To create an excellent design, we can use one of locality approach, it means local material utilization. From time to time, the material is linking each other in unity with environment context, human, knowledge, culture, social, economy, user needs and material availability. The aspects are the important part to get the reflective identity and local values in architecture and interior design work in Indonesia. It can be proofed by some of the architecture and interior work precedent, like traditional or vernacular in Nusantara or contemporary interior design work from Indonesian designer who has recognized to promote the locality value. However interior design works in Indonesia cannot be shown the characteristic of Indonesia identity and locality currently, it is different than another country work, like Japan, Italy, or Scandinavia. Interior design work from these countries can be easily known with accentuating of characteristic their places, such as material, color, detail, or geometry pattern in the product that has been produced. Meanwhile, some of the region in Indonesia are tropical climate and brought about much of local material and it has potential to make a unique work which has the local identity. This paper will discuss the result of a searching potential of local material usefulness as interior design identity in Indonesia. This research is done by typology method, which means discover the presence of some of the architecture elements appears to be related material. The elements are the pattern, color, craftsmanship, building element, object, and type of material in some of the contemporary interior design work in Indonesia were considered superior and capable of lifting elements recognized locality.

Relational utility as a moderator of guilt in social interactions.

PubMed

Nelissen, Rob M A

2014-02-01

The capacity to experience guilt is assumed to benefit individuals, as the rewards of repeated, cooperative interactions are likely to exceed the rewards of acting selfishly. If that assumption is true, the extent to which people experience guilt over interpersonal transgressions should at least partly depend on the utility of another person for the attainment of personal goal(s) through social interaction (relational utility). Three experiments confirmed the relational utility hypothesis by showing that people felt guiltier (a) over excluding someone from a fun game if this person could subsequently distribute more money in a dictator game, (b) over hypothetical social transgressions toward a person who was instrumental to the attainment of a salient goal than toward a person who was not instrumental to the attainment of that goal and toward the same person when no goal was salient, and (c) over a low contribution in a social dilemma game if they were more dependent on their group members for performing well in a subsequent debating contest. Closeness with the other person, differences in severity of the transgression, and strategic motives for expressing guilt were consistently excluded as alternative accounts of the effects. By showing that relational utility may affect guilt, these findings (a) provide support for the individual level function of guilt; (b) extend research on the antecedents of guilt in social interactions, which mainly focused on retrospective appraisals; and (c) bear implications for the status of guilt as a moral emotion. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

The Coming Crisis in Social Work: Some Thoughts on Social Work and Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longhofer, Jeffrey; Floersch, Jerry

2012-01-01

In this essay, the authors consider the challenge made by two keynote speakers at recent social work research conferences, one in the United States and the other in Europe. Both spoke of a knowledge crisis in social work. Both John Brekke (Society for Social Work and Research) and Peter Sommerfeld (First Annual European Conference for Social Work…

Contemporary ethics from an ambiguous past.

PubMed

Wheeler, Sondra

2005-04-01

Kaveny recommends models drawn from the Gospel of John and the practices of the early church for modern Christians in their response to older women and their health needs. She draws upon a historical reconstruction of the early Christian Order of Widows to propose a normative standard of care for elderly women, one that attends seriously to their bodily needs but also to their needs for inclusion and engagement in the social and vocational world both as givers and recipients of care. This is also to serve as an overarching model for a bioethics that prizes the embodied existence of all women and rejects judgments of appropriate treatment based on their social utility. The following response raises questions about the exegetical and historical foundations of Kaveny's analysis. However, these caveats may not detract substantially from the normative usefulness of her work.

Is Tourism Marriage of Young Girls in Egypt a Form of Child Sexual Abuse? A Family Exploitation Perspective.

PubMed

Soliman, Hussein Hassan; Alsharqawi, Nagwa Ibrahim; Younis, Mustafa Ahmed

2018-01-01

Tourism marriage in Egypt is considered a part of the child marriage phenomenon, as parents following false interpretations of Islamic teachings offer up their daughters for short-term sexual relationships in return for money from tourists. This exploratory study used qualitative methods to interview 42 parents who reside in the city of Darasa, Giza, Egypt, whose daughters were persuaded to engage in tourism marriage. Eight social work students utilized an interview guide that contained 10 questions exploring how parents strike deals with tourists and avoid all legal and traditional procedures of marriage in Egypt. The findings of this study were summarized in six distinct themes, which show evidence of family exploitation of young women. This experience likely increases the child's vulnerability to psychological, social, and physical consequences.

A Scoping Review of Social Media Use in Social Work Practice.

PubMed

Chan, Chitat

2016-01-01

The trend of using social media in social work is increasing, but research which systematically reviews and evaluates their uses in actual practice is limited. This article reviews the social work literature to identify the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media in social work practice, and identifies current gaps in the literature to provide recommendations for future social work research. Articles in 64 social work journals published between 2000 and 2014 were screened and analyzed. The included articles (n = 20) were analyzed with particular reference to their level of evidence and ways of social media use. The methodological quality of the studies in this review was low, and this was consistent with the findings of recent systematic reviews of social media use in medical healthcare. The findings initially suggested that social media can potentially contribute to various social work processes, including: service user engagement, need assessment, intervention, and program evaluation. Limitations include lack of quality control, reliability, confidentiality, and privacy. In social work, the dominant research concern in social media is more about professional ethics than their application in intervention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Teaching Efficacy and Context: Integrating Social Justice Content into Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Funge, Simon Peter

2013-01-01

Social work education programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) are expected to cultivate the knowledge and skills students require to competently challenge social injustices and advance social and economic justice in their professional practice (CSWE, 2008a). Because social work educators play a key role in this effort…

The utilization characteristics of social facilities in the border area of Semarang city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setioko, Bambang; Olivia, Deasy; Pandelaki, Edward E.; Murtini, Titien Woro

2017-06-01

The rapid growth of settlement in border areas is often considered as a problem of big cities in Indonesia, where people from rural areas prefer to move out and settle in the border areas of big cities due to the provision of better social facilities. Border areas generally do not receive adequate attention and are often overlooked by the local government. It is a common phenomenon in Indonesian cities, including in Semarang City. Increased number of settlements in the border areas in Semarang City is in linear with spontaneous urbanization processes which indicate the heterogeneity emerging of settlement areas. In the early stages of Semarang City spatial planning, the need for social facilities in border areas is included based on the regular standard which is commonly applied to the urban core. In a very short period, the numbers and types of existing social facilities are insufficient to fulfill the needs of the community. Nowadays, in the context of rapid urbanization, the growth of social facilities in border areas is very high. The intense growth of settlements in border areas is very high due to the low price of land in Demak Regency in compared to those of other areas in Semarang City. However, only a few developers involved social facilities as a part of housing estate construction. Consequently, most of the occupants utilize a limited number of social facilities provided by the municipal government, which are actually intended to serve the citizens of Semarang City. This research was conducted at Sendang Mulyo Village which is located in the border of Semarang municipal administrative area and included in Demak Regency. This paper discusses the utilization characteristics of social facilities in the border area of Semarang City, with the aim to get the trigger factors. The method analysis consisted of a statistical test and descriptive analysis. The utilization characteristics were formulated based on the relationship between neighborhood and human behavior. The settlements in the border area of Semarang City have different characteristics. The differences led to a gap of the utilization of facilities between people who live in the planned and unplanned settlement. Therefore, the social spatial concept is required to address the issue.

Social Work in the Engaged University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Elisa M.; Pyles, Loretta

2013-01-01

This article identifies the importance of educating social work students and enlisting social work faculty to embrace the university-community engagement arena as a critical subfield of community practice. Through the lens of social work knowledge, values, and skills, the authors present three case studies of social workers who are working in the…

Business in Social Work Education: A Historically Black University's Social Work Entrepreneurship Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Archibald, Paul; Muhammad, Omar; Estreet, Anthony

2016-01-01

The destabilization of the current economy has sparked increased interest in entrepreneurship, especially for underrepresented minority social work students. The entrepreneurial thinking of these social work students entering social work programs at historically Black colleges and universities needs to be fostered in a learning environment. This…

Discursive construction of polyphony in healthcare management.

PubMed

Hujala, Anneli; Rissanen, Sari

2012-01-01

The aim of the paper is to understand and define how the polyphony of management is constructed in interaction and to describe this through concrete management meeting cases. Polyphony refers to the diverse voices of various organization members, and how these voices are present, disclosed and utilized in management. The study is based on the social constructionist and discursive perspectives of management, which question the traditional, individualistic approaches of management. The issue was examined through a qualitative case study by analysing the micro-level management discourse in three healthcare organizations. Discursive practices that enhance or inhibit polyphony are often unnoticed and unconscious. Key moments of management discourse are an example of unconscious mundane practices through which members of organizations construct the reality of management. The empirical results are locally contextual. In the future, research will be able to apply the approach to diverse contexts as well as link micro-level discourses to the construction of broader health and social management discourses. The paper increases the understanding of how to enhance participation and staff contribution, and how to utilize the knowledge of all members of the organization. Both managers and other staff members are fully involved in the social construction of management. Micro-level discourse should be paid attention to in management work as well as in the education of managers and staff. The study increases the understanding of micro-level issues of management and challenges the conventional, taken-for-granted assumptions behind organization and management theories.

Promoting Election-Related Policy Practice among Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pritzker, Suzanne; Burwell, Christianna

2016-01-01

Political involvement is an integral component of the social work profession, yet there is no explicit reference to social work participation in election-related activities in either the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics or the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Social work…

Integrating Social Neuroscience and Social Work: Innovations for Advancing Practice-Based Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matto, Holly C.; Strolin-Goltzman, Jessica

2010-01-01

Throughout the social work profession, there is ongoing interest in building a social science agenda that can address the complex practice-based questions faced by social work professionals today. Methodological innovations and unique funding opportunities have already significantly advanced research on social work practice. Still, there is…

Using Web 2.0 tools to connect shore-based users to live science from the wide blue ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, S. K.; Peart, L.; Collins, J.

2009-12-01

The fast-expanding use of social networking tools, combined with improved connectivity available through satellite-provided internet on board the scientific ocean drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution (the JR), has allowed for a whole new kind of interaction. Unlike in the not-so-distant past, when non-participants were forced to wait for months to read about the results of ongoing research, web tools allow almost instantaneous participation in ship-based ocean science. Utilizing a brand new portal, joidesresolution.org, scientists and educators at sea can post daily blogs about their work and respond to questions and comments on those blogs, update the JR’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and post videos and photos to YouTube and Flickr regularly. Live video conferencing tools also allow for direct interaction with scientists and a view into the work being done on board in real time. These tools have allowed students, teachers and families, groups and individuals on shore to follow along with the expeditions of the ship and its exciting scientific explorations -- and become a part of them. Building this community provides a whole range of rich interactions and brings seafloor research and the real process of science to those who would never before have had access to it. This presentation will include an overview of the web portal and its associated social networking sites, as well as a discussion of the challenges and lessons learned over nearly a year of utilizing these new tools. The web portal joidesresolution.org home page.

Services Receipt Following Veteran Outpatients' Positive Screen for Homelessness.

PubMed

Montgomery, Ann E; Dichter, Melissa E; Thomasson, Arwin M; Roberts, Christopher B

2016-03-01

The Veterans Health Administration seeks to reduce homelessness among Veterans by identifying, and providing prevention and supportive services to, patients with housing concerns. The objectives of this study were to assess the proportion of Veterans Health Administration patients who received homeless or social work services within 6 months of a positive screen for homelessness or risk in the Veterans Health Administration and the demographic and clinical characteristics that predicted services utilization. Data were from a cohort of 27,403 Veteran outpatients who screened positive for homelessness or risk between November 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013. During 2013, AORs were calculated using a mixed-effects logistic regression to estimate the likelihood of patients' receipt of VHA homeless or social work services based on demographic and clinical characteristics. The majority of patients received services within 6 months post-screening; predictors of services utilization varied by gender. Among women, diagnosis of drug abuse and psychosis predicted receipt of services, being unmarried increased the odds of using services among those screening positive for homelessness, and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder increased the odds of receiving services for at-risk women. Among men, being younger, unmarried, not service-connected/Medicaid-eligible, and having a medical or behavioral health condition predicted receipt of services. Receipt of housing support services among Veterans post-homelessness screening differs by patient demographic and clinical characteristics. Future research should investigate the role that primary and secondary prevention interventions play in Veterans' resolution of risk for homelessness and experience of homelessness. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Multidimensional social support is associated with healthcare utilization among older Mexican adults.

PubMed

Salinas-Rodríguez, Aarón; Moreno-Tamayo, Karla; Hernández-Serrato, María; Enríquez-Rosas, María Del Rocío; Manrique-Espinoza, Betty Soledad

2018-03-01

In this study, we aimed to estimate the association between social support and healthcare utilization among older Mexican adults. We conducted a prospective study with 4027 older adults aged 65-74 in rural areas in seven Mexican states. Data were collected at baseline (2007) and 14 months later (2009). Healthcare utilization was defined as number of visits to a physician for preventive or curative purposes in the last 6 months. Multidimensional social support was operationalized into two components: structural (living arrangements, marital status and network size) and functional (perceived availability of support; and perceived support across emotional, instrumental, economic and information domains). Mixed-effects regression models were used to estimate the probability of healthcare use and to examine the association between social support and the number of visits to a physician. Results showed that perceived availability of social support was associated with the probability of visits to a physician (OR 1.44; p  < .01). Meanwhile, the following domains of functional component of social support were associated with the probability of visits to a physician: instrumental (OR 1.55; p  < .01), economic (OR 1.19; p  = .03) and informational (OR 1.39; p  < .01); and also with the number of visits to a physician: instrumental (e β  = 1.27; p  < .01), economic (e β  = 1.14; p  = .01) and informational (e β  = 1.12; p  < .10). Our findings suggest that a significant association exists between social support, measured from a multidimensional viewpoint, and healthcare utilization, in which greater social support was related to a greater extent of use of health services.

The chronic impact of work on suicides and under-utilization of psychiatric and psychosocial services.

PubMed

Law, Yik Wa; Yip, Paul S F; Zhang, Yi; Caine, Eric D

2014-10-01

Work-related stress appears to be a contributing factor in the lives of employed people who kill themselves, particularly during economic downturns. However, few studies have compared them with working community controls who may be experiencing similar strains, in order to explore the role of mental disorders in these deaths and the implication of such strains on their service use pattern. We hypothesized that both work stress and mental illness were associated with suicides, and that mental illness served as the mediator between work stress and suicide. Based on the Behavioral Model, we also assumed work stress associated with their use of services. A sample of 175 employed individuals (suicides=63; controls=112) drawn from a psychological autopsy (PA) dataset was examined based on demographics and socioeconomic factors, psychiatric diagnoses and use of services, psychosocial factors, and life events. A mediator analysis was conducted to examine the impact of work on suicides. Suicides generally had depression and anxiety, debts, higher impulsivity and poorer social support in comparison to controls. Chronic impact from work, which was fully mediated by psychiatric illness, was found higher among those suicides that did not seek contact with clinical service providers. PA is a post-hoc cross-sectional comparison method which does not allow causal analyses. It is important to develop new approaches for engaging vulnerable individuals in the workplace before they become suicidal, as their depression and social isolation can serve to cut them off from help when they are most in need. Occupational mental health programs should be made available for employees and their families. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

“Applied” Aspects of the Drug Resistance Strategies Project

PubMed Central

Hecht, Michael L.; Miller-Day, Michelle A.

2010-01-01

This paper discusses the applied aspects of our Drug Resistance Strategies Project. We argue that a new definitional distinction is needed to expand the notion of “applied” from the traditional notion of utilizing theory, which we call “applied.1”, in order to consider theory-grounded, theory testing and theory developing applied research. We label this new definition “applied.2” research. We then explain that our descriptive work describing the social processes of adolescent substance use, identity and use, and drug norms, as well as the subsequent development and dissemination of our keepin’ it REAL middle school substance use curriculum are examples of “applied.1” work. In the “applied.2” realm, we include our theory testing (e.g., tests of multiculturalism, narrative and performance theories, the Focus Theory of Norms) and theory-developing (e.g., parent-child communication, cultural grounding) research as well our new directions in theory development (e.g., adaptation processes). We conclude with a call for space in the discipline for “applied.2” work that builds and tests theory through application to significant social issues that contribute to our communities. We note obstacles in departmental and scholarly norms but express optimism about the prospects for “applied.2” research in the future of communication research. PMID:20711485

Social Work as an Action Science: A Perspective from Europe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sommerfeld, Peter

2014-01-01

It is a surprising fact that social work is not conceived as a scientific discipline in many countries and especially in the United States. It is surprising because the extent of academic social work programs and the scientific output of people working at schools of social work are significant. And it is surprising anyway if social work is…

Social Policy in Social Work PhD Programs in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lightfoot, Elizabeth; Gal, John; Weiss-Gal, Idit

2018-01-01

While there has been a long-standing concern about the role of policy within social work education and social work practice, most of the emphasis has been on social work education at the BSW and MSW levels. This article examines policy education at the PhD level. It first explores how policy is taught in social work PhD programs in the United…

Deregulation strategies for local governments and the role/opportunities for energy efficiency services in the utility industry deregulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tseng, P.C.

As the future shape of the electric utility industry continues to unfold and as retail competition becomes a reality, local governments are faced with balancing the need for: (1) economic development; (2) and to avoid the potential impact of cost-shifting among residents and businesses, while ensuring reliable and universal energy services. Furthermore, local governments need to find ways to recoup potential loss of franchise and tax revenues, to ensure fair and adequate energy-efficiency programs, and to continue other social programs for low income families. This paper will address two important issues every local government in the US are facing: (1)more » the development of viable deregulation strategies before, during and after the promulgation of utility deregulation; (2) opportunities for energy efficiency services in the competitive markets to serve local governments, which typically constitutes the largest market segment in utility's service territory. This paper presents issues and challenges common to all local governments. It documents strategies that several local governments are utilizing to embrace the coming electric utility restructuring and competition challenge to the benefits of their respective communities. This paper presents the results on deregulation work by the City of Portland, Oregon, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, and Montgomery County, Maryland. The research by these local governments was sponsored by the Urban Consortium Energy Task Force and Public Technology, Inc.« less

Political Content in Social Work Education as Reported by Elected Social Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Shannon R.

2011-01-01

As a profession, social work has encouraged its members to run for public office to translate the values and ethics of social work into public policy. This study of 416 elected social workers around the country provides insight into the experiences of these elected social workers in their social work education. The classes, skills, activities,…

Social Work in Rural Communities. A Book of Readings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ginsberg, Leon H., Ed.

Designed to serve as a resource tool for educators and social work practitioners, this collection of articles on social work in rural communities presents: (1) "An Overview of Social Work Education for Rural Areas"; (2) "Social Work Education for Rural Program Development" (the "generalist" and the principles, dynamics, and educational content and…

Guiding Social Work Doctoral Graduates through Scholarly Publications and Presentations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Cynthia L.; Tomal, Daniel R.

2015-01-01

Disseminating the work of social work doctoral graduates aligns with the Council on Social Work Education's National Statement on Research Integrity in Social Work publication practices and the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. Publications and presentations are essential to their future success, yet little support is provided…

Preparing MSW Students for Social Work Licensure: A Curricular Case Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, J. Jay; Grise-Owens, Erlene; Escobar-Ratliff, Laura

2015-01-01

Licensing has been a dynamic tension for the social work profession for many years, specifically in social work education. Increasingly, social work programs are using factors related to social work licensing (pass rates, number of test takers, etc.) as an indicator of programmatic success. Yet few, if any, published papers examine curricular…

Military Social Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wooten, Nikki R.

2015-01-01

Military social work is a specialized field of practice spanning the micro-macro continuum and requiring advanced social work knowledge and skills. The complex behavioral health problems and service needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans highlight the need for highly trained social work professionals who can provide militarily relevant and…

Social Work Learning Spaces: The Social Work Studio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zufferey, Carole; King, Sue

2016-01-01

This paper explores the contribution of a physical learning space to student engagement in social work education. Drawing on a constructivist methodology, this paper examines the findings of a survey conducted with students and staff in a social work and human service programme about their experiences of a Social Work Studio learning space. The…

Does American Social Work Have a Progressive Tradition?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murdach, Allison D.

2010-01-01

Social work authors in the 1950s claimed progressivism as a unique social work "tradition" and set of values, and this historical interpretation has influenced many versions of social work history since that time. Today, other voices in the profession claim various divergent traditions for social work and note that the progressive tradition has…

The Use of Emotions in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ikebuchi, Johnathan; Rasmussen, Brian Michael

2014-01-01

The role of emotions, although central to social work practice, has been relatively neglected in the process of teaching and learning social work. This article explores how social work educators can incorporate an understanding of the role of emotions in both the teaching and practice of social work. Attention is drawn toward evolutionary and…

Response: From Fish and Bicycles to a Science of Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsh, Jeanne Cay

2012-01-01

John Brekke challenges the field and profession of social work to define and develop the "science of social work". This response to Brekke's paper identifies the premises undergirding a discussion of the science of social work related to (1) a definition of "science";; (2 ) an organizing principle for social work; (3) a…

The Utility of Social Media in Providing Information on Zika Virus.

PubMed

Chandrasekaran, Neeraja; Gressick, Kimberly; Singh, Vivek; Kwal, Jaclyn; Cap, Natalia; Koru-Sengul, Tulay; Curry, Christine L

2017-10-23

Introduction In 2015, there was an outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil that spread throughout the Americas. The association of Zika virus with birth defects in infants born to infected pregnant women created concern for women of childbearing age. Social media is an important platform for health promotion, communication, and education on preventative methods during Zika virus outbreaks. Methods We evaluated the utility of social media on providing information regarding Zika virus. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube were utilized for our study. A search of the term "#Zikavirus" on Twitter and Instagram, and "Zika virus" on Facebook and YouTube was performed. The first 50 search results were analyzed from each source. Only English, Spanish, or Portuguese results were included. Results were categorized into three groups: "Useful", "Not Useful", or "Misleading". Results Search was conducted on December 17th, 2016, with 185 results. Forty (21.6%) were from Facebook, 50 (27%) from Twitter, 48 (25.9%) from YouTube, and 47 (25.4%) from Instagram. A total of 104 (56.22%) results were "Useful", 67 (36.2%) "Not Useful", and 14 (7.5%) were "Misleading". There were significantly more "Useful" results compared to "Not Useful" and "Misleading" results (Fisher's exact: p < 0.0001). Conclusion Social media is a useful resource for providing relevant information on Zika virus. Young women can utilize social media for Zika virus information. The role of social media in public health should be further investigated and established. Patient education interventions should focus on social media impact on behavior modification and education of public to recognize useful information.

Design strategies from sexual exploitation and sex work studies among women and girls: Methodological considerations in a hidden and vulnerable population.

PubMed

Gerassi, Lara; Edmond, Tonya; Nichols, Andrea

2017-06-01

The study of sex trafficking, prostitution, sex work, and sexual exploitation is associated with many methodological issues and challenges. Researchers' study designs must consider the many safety issues related to this vulnerable and hidden population. Community advisory boards and key stakeholder involvement are essential to study design to increase safety of participants, usefulness of study aims, and meaningfulness of conclusions. Nonrandomized sampling strategies are most often utilized when studying exploited women and girls, which have the capacity to provide rich data and require complex sampling and recruitment methods. This article reviews the current methodological issues when studying this marginalized population as well as strategies to address challenges while working with the community in order to bring about social change. The authors also discuss their own experiences in collaborating with community organizations to conduct research in this field.

Design strategies from sexual exploitation and sex work studies among women and girls: Methodological considerations in a hidden and vulnerable population

PubMed Central

Gerassi, Lara; Edmond, Tonya; Nichols, Andrea

2016-01-01

The study of sex trafficking, prostitution, sex work, and sexual exploitation is associated with many methodological issues and challenges. Researchers’ study designs must consider the many safety issues related to this vulnerable and hidden population. Community advisory boards and key stakeholder involvement are essential to study design to increase safety of participants, usefulness of study aims, and meaningfulness of conclusions. Nonrandomized sampling strategies are most often utilized when studying exploited women and girls, which have the capacity to provide rich data and require complex sampling and recruitment methods. This article reviews the current methodological issues when studying this marginalized population as well as strategies to address challenges while working with the community in order to bring about social change. The authors also discuss their own experiences in collaborating with community organizations to conduct research in this field. PMID:28824337

Working Sandwich Generation Women Utilize Strategies within and between Roles to Achieve Role Balance.

PubMed

Evans, Kiah L; Millsteed, Jeannine; Richmond, Janet E; Falkmer, Marita; Falkmer, Torbjorn; Girdler, Sonya J

2016-01-01

Increasingly, women simultaneously balance the roles of mother, parental carer and worker. However, individual role balance strategies among these working 'sandwich' generation women have not been thoroughly explored. Eighteen women combining these three roles were interviewed about their individual role balance strategies. Findings were identified through the framework analysis technique, underpinned by the Model of Juggling Occupations. Achieving and maintaining role balance was explained as a complex process accomplished through a range of strategies. Findings revealed the women used six within-role balance strategies: living with integrity, being the best you can, doing what you love, loving what you do, remembering why and searching for signs of success. The women also described six between-role balance strategies: maintaining health and wellbeing, repressing perfectionism, managing time and energy, releasing responsibility, nurturing social connection and reciprocating. These findings provide a basis for health care providers to understand and potentially support working 'sandwich' generation women.

Relationships of working conditions, health problems and vehicle accidents in bus rapid transit (BRT) drivers.

PubMed

Gómez-Ortiz, Viviola; Cendales, Boris; Useche, Sergio; Bocarejo, Juan P

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to estimate accident risk rates and mental health of bus rapid transit (BRT) drivers based on psychosocial risk factors at work leading to increased stress and health problems. A cross-sectional research design utilized a self-report questionnaire completed by 524 BRT drivers. Some working conditions of BRT drivers (lack of social support from supervisors and perceived potential for risk) may partially explain Bogota's BRT drivers' involvement in road accidents. Drivers' mental health problems were associated with higher job strain, less support from co-workers, fewer rewards and greater signal conflict while driving. To prevent bus accidents, supervisory support may need to be increased. To prevent mental health problems, other interventions may be needed such as reducing demands, increasing job control, reducing amount of incoming information, simplifying current signals, making signals less contradictory, and revising rewards. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

China's Social Work Education in the Face of Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fang, Yuan

2013-01-01

Between 1952 and 1979, social work was banned as an academic discipline, and social workers relied on experience alone in carrying out their duties. Since then social work training has been offered in universities and vocational schools; and existing social workers have received in-service training. However, social work education is still in its…

Study Abroad Ghana: An International Experiential Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boateng, Alice; Thompson, Abigail Mercy

2013-01-01

The global nature of social problems indicates how important it is for social workers to be involved in international issues. For example, overseas experience in social work programs is in consonance with the Council on Social Work Education's emphasis on global context of social work practice. In view of this, some schools of social work are…

Effective Social Media Practices for Communicating Climate Change Science to Community Leaders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Estrada, M.; DeBenedict, C.; Bruce, L.

2016-12-01

Climate Education Partners (CEP) uses an action research approach to increase climate knowledge and informed decision-making among key influential (KI) leaders in San Diego county. Social media has been one method for disseminating knowledge. During CEP's project years, social media use has proliferated. To capitalize on this trend, CEP iteratively developed a strategic method to engage KIs. First, as with all climate education, CEP identified the audience. Three primary Facebook and Twitter audiences were CEP's internal team, local KIs, and strategic partner organizations. Second, post contents were chosen based on interest to CEP key audiences and followed CEP's communications message triangle, which incorporates the Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence (TIMSI). This message triangle focuses on San Diegan's valued quality of life, future challenges we face due to the changing climate, and ways in which we are working together to protect our quality of life for future generations. Third, an editorial calendar was created to carefully time posts, which capitalize on when target audiences were using social media most and to maintain consistency. The results of these three actions were significant. Results attained utilizing Facebook and Twitter data, which tracks post reach, total followers/likes, and engagement (likes, comments, mentions, shares). For example we found that specifically mentioning KIs resulted in more re-tweets and resulted in reaching a broader audience. Overall, data shows that CEP's reach to audiences of like-minded individuals and organizations now extends beyond CEP's original local network and reached more than 20,000 accounts on Twitter this year (compared with 460 on Twitter the year before). In summary, through posting and participating in the online conversation strategically, CEP disseminated key educational climate resources and relevant climate change news to educate and engage target audience and amplify our work.

Stigma, social inequality, and HIV risk disclosure among Dominican male sex workers☆

PubMed Central

Padilla, Mark; Castellanos, Daniel; Guilamo-Ramos, Vincent; Reyes, Armando Matiz; Sánchez Marte, Leonardo E.; Soriano, Martha Arredondo

2010-01-01

Some quantitative behavioral studies in the USA have concluded that bisexually behaving Latino men are less likely than White men to disclose to their female partners that they have engaged in same-sex risk behavior and/or are HIV-positive, presumably exposing female partners to elevated risk for HIV infection. Nevertheless, very little theoretical or empirical research has been conducted to understand the social factors that promote or inhibit sexual risk disclosure among Latino men who have sex with men (MSM), and much of the existing literature has neglected to contextualize disclosure patterns within broader experiences of stigma and social inequality. This paper examines decisions about disclosure of sex work, same-sex behavior, and sexual risk for HIV among male sex workers in two cities in the Dominican Republic. Data derive from long-term ethnography and qualitative in-depth interviews with 72 male sex workers were used to analyze the relationships among experiences of stigma, social inequality, and patterns of sexual risk disclosure. Thematic analysis of interviews and ethnographic evidence revealed a wide range of stigma management techniques utilized by sex workers to minimize the effects of marginality due to their engagement in homosexuality and sex work. These techniques imposed severe constraints on men’s sexual risk disclosure, and potentially elevated their own and their female partners’ vulnerability to HIV infection. Based on the study’s findings, we conclude that future studies of sexual risk disclosure among ethnic minority MSM should avoid analyzing disclosure as a decontextualized variable, and should seek to examine sexual risk communication as a dynamic social process constrained by hierarchical systems of power and inequality. PMID:18410986

Reducing perceived stigma: Work integration of people with severe mental disorders in Italian social enterprise.

PubMed

Villotti, Patrizia; Zaniboni, Sara; Corbière, Marc; Guay, Stéphane; Fraccaroli, Franco

2018-06-01

People with mental illnesses face stigma that hinders their full integration into society. Work is a major determinant of social inclusion, however, people with mental disorders have fewer opportunities to work. Emerging evidence suggests that social enterprises help disadvantaged people with their work integration process. The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding about how perceptions of stigma can be decreased for people with mental disorders throughout their work experience in a social enterprise. Using a longitudinal study design, 310 individuals with mental disorders employed in Italian social enterprises completed a battery of questionnaires on individual (e.g., severity of symptoms; occupational self-efficacy) and environmental (e.g., social support; organizational constraints) variables. Of the 223 individuals potentially eligible at the 12-month follow up, 139 completed a battery of questionnaires on social and working skills, perceived work productivity and perceived stigma. Path analyses were used to test a model delineating how people with mental disorders working in social enterprises improve social and work outcomes (i.e., motivation, skills and productivity), and reduce the perception of being stigmatized. Working in a social enterprise enhances working social skills, which leads to a perception of higher productivity and, consequently, the perception of being discriminated against and stigmatized is reduced. Social enterprise provides a context in which people with mental disorders reach a sense of work-related and social competence. This sense of competence helps them to reduce perceived stigma, which is a crucial step toward social inclusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The Social Mobility-Fertility Hypothesis: A Racial and Class Comparison Among Southern Females.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Carolyn Delores

Utilizing data derived from the Southern Youth Study (a six-year, three-wave panel of 528 rural women from the Deep South), the utility of a version of the Social Mobility Fertility Hypothesis was investigated. Specifically, the relationship between mobility attitudes of sophomores and seniors and their subsequent fertility behavior was assessed…

Assessment of Social Media Utilization and Study Habit of Students of Tertiary Institutions in Katsina State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olutola, Adekunle Thomas; Olatoye, Olufunke Omotoke; Olatoye, Rafiu Ademola

2016-01-01

This study investigated assessment of social media utilization and study habits of students of tertiary institutions in Katsina State. The descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. Three hundred and eighty-one (381) students' of tertiary institutions in Katsina State were randomly selected for the study. Researchers'-designed…

Influencing Self-Reported Health among Rural Low-Income Women through Health Care and Social Service Utilization: A Structural Equation Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bice-Wigington, Tiffany; Huddleston-Casas, Catherine

2012-01-01

Using structural equation modeling, this study examined the mesosystemic processes among rural low-income women, and how these processes subsequently influenced self-reported health. Acknowledging the behavioral processes inherent in utilization of health care and formal social support services, this study moved beyond a behavioral focus by…

The Utility of the PAI and the MMPI-2 for Discriminating PTSD, Depression, and Social Phobia in Trauma-Exposed College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDevitt-Murphy, Meghan E.; Weathers, Frank W.; Flood, Amanda M.; Eakin, David E.; Benson, Trisha A.

2007-01-01

This study investigated the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Revised (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) with regard to each instrument's utility for discriminating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from depression and social phobia in a…

The Cultural Turn In Sociology: Can it Help Us Resolve an Age-Old Problem in Understanding Decision Making for Healthcare?

PubMed Central

Pescosolido, Bernice A.; Olafsdottir, Sigrun

2015-01-01

Culture has long shaped individuals’ response to problems. A classic puzzle in the sociology of health and illness is discrepancy between theory and research regarding cultural beliefs and medical care service use. “Utilization research,” examining individuals’ responses to the onset of health problems, has not consistently affected culture on the uptake of formal treatment. While ethnographic research often describes how culture shapes illness behaviors, survey-based studies rarely find significant effects of predispositions once “need” is controlled. In quantitative studies, individuals report supportive treatment beliefs or predispositions to use services but low utilization levels, reinforcing claims about lack of utility of cultural ideologies in health-care decision making. We ask whether innovations in the sociology of culture and cognition provide the theoretical scaffolding to conceptualize and measure culture in health service utilization. Examining data from the General Social Survey, we focus on how approaches to culture might explain the paradox of high cultural predispositions and low actual use. Children with mental health problems provide a comparison between suggestions and endorsements. Suggestions, sources of care offered by individuals in response to a case description without any other social cues, align with new cultural approaches, and are measured by responses to open-ended questions about what should be done for the child described meeting clinical criteria f or ADHD, major depression, asthma, or “daily troubles”). Endorsements, requiring less cognitive work and cultural resistance, align with traditional conceptualizations of culture, and are measured by closed-ended questions that ask respondents to agree or disagree with seeking help from different treatment options placed later in the survey. We find that suggestions reveal cultural predispositions to use services corresponding closely to reported utilization levels; endorsements reveal high, unrealistic cultural predispositions to use services. Further, suggestions are associated with sociodemographics that proxy culture (e.g., race), while endorsements are associated only with perceived need. PMID:26005287

Health inequalities among workers with a foreign background in Sweden: do working conditions matter?

PubMed

Dunlavy, Andrea C; Rostila, Mikael

2013-07-10

Employment and working conditions are key social determinants of health, yet current information is lacking regarding relationships between foreign background status, working conditions and health among workers in Sweden. This study utilized cross-sectional data from the 2010 Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU) and the Level of Living Survey for Foreign Born Persons and their Children (LNU-UFB) to assess whether or not health inequalities exist between native Swedish and foreign background workers and if exposure to adverse psychosocial and physical working conditions contributes to the risk for poor health among foreign background workers. A sub-sample of 4,021 employed individuals aged 18-65 was analyzed using logistic regression. Eastern European, Latin American and Other Non-Western workers had an increased risk of both poor self-rated health and mental distress compared to native Swedish workers. Exposure to adverse working conditions only minimally influenced the risk of poor health. Further research should examine workers who are less integrated or who have less secure labor market attachments and also investigate how additional working conditions may influence associations between health and foreign background status.

Developmental Pathways of Youth Gang Membership: A Structural Test of the Social Development Model

PubMed Central

Hill, Karl G.; Gilman, Amanda B.; Howell, James C.; Catalano, Richard F.; Hawkins, J. David

2017-01-01

As a result of nearly 40 years of research using a risk and protective factor approach, much is known about the predictors of gang onset. Little theoretical work, however, has been done to situate this approach to studying gang membership within a more comprehensive developmental model. Using structural equation modeling techniques, the current study is the first to test the capacity of the social development model (SDM) to predict the developmental pathways that increase and decrease the likelihood of gang membership. Results suggest that the SDM provides a good accounting of the social developmental processes at age 13 that are predictive of later gang membership. These findings support the promotion of a theoretical understanding of gang membership that specifies both pro- and antisocial developmental pathways. Additionally, as the SDM is intended as a model that can guide preventive intervention, results also hold practical utility for designing strategies that can be implemented in early adolescence to address the likelihood of later gang involvement. Three key preventive intervention points to address gang membership are discussed, including promoting efforts to enhance social skills, increasing the availability of prosocial opportunities and rewarding engagement in these opportunities, and reducing antisocial socialization experiences throughout the middle- and high school years. PMID:29403146

Professional and educational needs of hospice and palliative care social workers.

PubMed

Weisenfluh, Sherri M; Csikai, Ellen L

2013-01-01

In the past decade much growth has occurred in the numbers of patients and families served by hospices and palliative care services. Thus, not surprisingly, these services have also been subject to increasing regulation by governmental and accrediting entities. In order to stay up-to-date in this ever-changing environment and to continue to provide effective interventions, social workers must stay engaged in the professional community and continuing education. In this quantitative study, 1,169 practicing hospice and palliative care social workers provided information about their practice activities and agency characteristics, professional affiliations and certification, and ongoing educational needs. About one-half of respondents carried a caseload of 21-50 and were most engaged in communicating the psychosocial needs of the patient and family to other members of the team and assessing for grief and bereavement issues. The most important educational needs pertained to the psychological and social needs of patients and families and psychosocial interventions. Most were members of professional organizations and three-quarters were members of NASW. Although many were aware of the joint NASW-NHPCO social work hospice specialty certification, few held this certification yet. The results of this survey can be utilized in the design of continuing education programs and advocacy for programmatic and policy change within agencies and the industry.

Use of Non-Social Work Journals in Social Work Research: Results of a Citation Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strothmann, Molly

2010-01-01

Social work research and teaching draw on the literature of other disciplines. While the use of interdisciplinary sources has been discussed at length and citation patterns in social work literature have been studied, no research has identified specific sources from other disciplines that are important for social work scholarship. Based on…

Philosophic Thinking in Social Work: An Analysis of 30 Years of "Social Work" Editorials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez-Brawley, Emilia E.; Zorita, Paz M-B

2016-01-01

This article looks at 30 years of editorial perspectives and trends in social work as a profession through the analysis of editorials from the journal "Social Work." It identifies the wax and wane of philosophic (intellectual or scholarly) questions in social work thinking in the past three decades. It defines what philosophic thinking…

Advancing Doctoral Social Work Education: An Application of the Social-Ecological Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dougherty, Cynthia; Fields, Noelle L.; Schuman, Donna

2017-01-01

Graduates of social work doctoral programs are an integral part of social work education and, as faculty, training of BSW and MSW students. Missing from the literature are theoretical frameworks that advance the study of "what works and for whom" in social work doctoral education. Building upon the existing literature, this article…

Service Learning in Social Work Education: The State of Knowledge, Pedagogical Practicalities, and Practice Conundrums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lemieux, Catherine M.; Allen, Priscilla D.

2007-01-01

This article reviews research-based knowledge about service learning in social work education. Student learning outcomes common to both service learning and social work education are examined, and the research-based literature on service learning in social work is analyzed. Service-learning practice issues in social work education are described:…

A Response to Anastas and Coffey: The Science of Social Work and Its Relationship to Social Work Education and Professional Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voisin, Dexter R.; Wong, Marleen; Samuels, Gina Miranda

2014-01-01

Relationships are central to the profession of social work; relationships with allied disciplines, among professional social work organizations, and between classroom and field education. However, embedded within these relationships are historical tensions, and contemporary opportunities that can advance both the science of social work and the…

Social Work Education. Coombe Lodge Report, Study Conference 74/208.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Further Education Staff Coll., Blagdon (England).

Papers presented on social work education in Britain include: Current developments in social work education (P.H. Young); selection of students (M. Elizabeth Edwards); the management of curriculum development (J. Snelling); the management of a social work department (M.J. McAllister); current issues and developments in social work training (D.C.G.…

Social Work Admission Assessment Tool for Identifying Patients in Need of Comprehensive Social Work Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boutin-Foster, Carla; Euster, Sona; Rolon, Yvette; Motal, Athena; BeLue, Rhonda; Kline, Robin; Charlson, Mary E.

2005-01-01

Early identification of patients who need a social work evaluation is integral to effective discharge planning. This article describes the development and application of the Social Work Admission Assessment Tool (SWAAT), a six-item scale that identifies patients with complicated discharge needs who require a social work evaluation. It addresses…

Social capital at work as a predictor of employee health: multilevel evidence from work units in Finland.

PubMed

Oksanen, Tuula; Kouvonen, Anne; Kivimäki, Mika; Pentti, Jaana; Virtanen, Marianna; Linna, Anne; Vahtera, Jussi

2008-02-01

The majority of previous research on social capital and health is limited to social capital in residential neighborhoods and communities. Using data from the Finnish 10-Town study we examined social capital at work as a predictor of health in a cohort of 9524 initially healthy local government employees in 1522 work units, who did not change their work unit between 2000 and 2004 and responded to surveys measuring social capital at work and health at both time-points. We used a validated tool to measure social capital with perceptions at the individual level and with co-workers' responses at the work unit level. According to multilevel modeling, a contextual effect of work unit social capital on self-rated health was not accounted for by the individual's socio-demographic characteristics or lifestyle. The odds for health impairment were 1.27 times higher for employees who constantly worked in units with low social capital than for those with constantly high work unit social capital. Corresponding odds ratios for low and declining individual-level social capital varied between 1.56 and 1.78. Increasing levels of individual social capital were associated with sustained good health. In conclusion, this longitudinal multilevel study provides support for the hypothesis that exposure to low social capital at work may be detrimental to the health of employees.

Social Work's Role in Medicaid Reform: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Bachman, Sara S; Wachman, Madeline; Manning, Leticia; Cohen, Alexander M; Seifert, Robert W; Jones, David K; Fitzgerald, Therese; Nuzum, Rachel; Riley, Patricia

2017-12-01

To critically analyze social work's role in Medicaid reform. We conducted semistructured interviews with 46 stakeholders from 10 US states that use a range of Medicaid reform approaches. We identified participants using snowball and purposive sampling. We gathered data in 2016 and analyzed them using qualitative methods. Multiple themes emerged: (1) social work participates in Medicaid reform through clinical practice, including care coordination and case management; (2) there is a gap between social work's practice-level and systems-level involvement in Medicaid innovations; (3) factors hindering social work's involvement in systems-level practice include lack of visibility, insufficient clarity on social work's role and impact, and too few resources within professional organizations; and (4) social workers need more training in health transformation payment models and policy. Social workers have unique skills that are valuable to building health systems that promote population health and reduce health inequities. Although there is considerable opportunity for social work to increase its role in Medicaid reform, there is little social work involvement at the systems level.

[Preliminary study on evaluation system of mental workers strain based on primary and middle school teachers].

PubMed

Lian, Yulong; Liu, Jiwen; Zhang, Chen; Yuan, Fang

2010-09-01

To use primary and middle schools teacher as samples to preliminarily build the mental work stress effect evaluation system, providing the methological platform for the research on the stress effect mechanism and mental workers interference measures. 851 teachers in primary and middle schools were selected with randomly stratified cluster methods. Use ISTA 6.0 and Life Events Evaluation Table to measure the stress factors, and use Work Tension Reaction Questionnaire, Symptom Self-Evaluation Table Questionnaire, and General Happiness Sensing Table to measure psychological stress reaction, blood sugar and blood fat, blood cortical, ACTH, nerve behavior function, for measuring physiological stress reaction. The Comprehensive Working Ability Index Table to measure working ability. And then use the mathematical model to build the mental workers stress effect evaluation system. And apply the simple random sampling method to select 400 environmental protection workers to perform cross effect validation. The model fits relatively well (RMSEA = 0.100, GFI = 0.93, NNFI = 1.00, CFI = 1.00) and conforms with the theory, reflecting the loads of the indice, such as, working stress reaction, psychological stress reaction, physiological stress reaction and working ability, are relatively high. At the same time, the stress reaction of those 4 dimensions can fit the 2-grade factor (stress effect) very well. The physiological stress reaction is negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with the working stress reaction, psychological stress reaction, working ability decrease, while is positively correlated (P < 0.05) with the working stress, psychological stress reaction, physiological stress reaction and working ability decrease. The social support is the protection factor for working stress, psychological stress reaction, physiological stress reaction and working ability decrease (gamma(s) are -0.55, -0.77, 0.73, -0.79, respectively, P < 0.05). While working stress factors, social life stress factors and dangerous individual characters are the risk factors (P < 0.05) for working stress, psychological stress reaction, physiological stress reaction increase and the working ability decrease. The utilization of the environment protection workers further validates this model. It conforms with the theory to evaluate the mental workers stress effects from the 4 dimensions, working stress, psychological stress reaction, physiological stress reaction, and working ability. And these 4 dimensions influence each other, and also are mutually different. The working and social life stress factors influence the stress effects with certain degrees. This evaluation model can tentatively be the methodological basis for the mental workers occupational stress evaluation.

Utilizing social networks, blogging and YouTube in allergy and immunology practices.

PubMed

Dimov, Ves; Eidelman, Frank

2015-01-01

Online social networks are used to connect with friends and family members, and increasingly, to stay up-to-date with the latest news and developments in allergy and immunology. As communication is a central part of healthcare delivery, the utilization of such networking channels in allergy and immunology will continue to grow. There are inherent risks to online social networks related to breaches of patient confidentiality, professionalism and privacy. Malpractice and liability risks should also be considered. There is a paucity of information in the literature on how social network interventions affect patient outcomes. The allergy and immunology community should direct future studies towards investigating how the use of social networks and other technology tools and services can improve patient care.

Problem Behaviors of Homeless Youth: A Social Capital Perspective

PubMed Central

Bantchevska, Denitza; Bartle-Haring, Suzanne; Dashora, Pushpanjali; Glebova, Tatiana; Slesnick, Natasha

2008-01-01

Homeless youth are one of the most marginalized groups in our society. Many researchers identify much higher levels of various problem behaviors among these youth compared to their non-homeless peers. The current study examined the utility of social capital in predicting problem behaviors among homeless youth. Overall, the theoretically derived social capital variable significantly predicted substance use frequency, sexual risk behavior, depression, delinquent behavior as well as number of days homeless. Thus, social capital was useful in understanding and predicting the current life situation among these youth and may be worthy of further study. Findings suggest that meaningful change should utilize interventions that go beyond the individual and are geared towards modifying the social context of individuals’ lives. PMID:18787647

Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Patouillard, Edith; Goodman, Catherine A; Hanson, Kara G; Mills, Anne J

2007-11-07

There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions. Few studies provided evidence on the impact of private sector interventions on quality and/or utilization of care by the poor. It was, however, evident that many interventions have worked successfully in poor communities and positive equity impacts can be inferred from interventions that work with types of providers predominantly used by poor people. Better evidence of the equity impact of interventions working with the private sector is needed for more robust conclusions to be drawn.

Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature

PubMed Central

Patouillard, Edith; Goodman, Catherine A; Hanson, Kara G; Mills, Anne J

2007-01-01

Background There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. Methods The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. Results A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions. Conclusion Few studies provided evidence on the impact of private sector interventions on quality and/or utilization of care by the poor. It was, however, evident that many interventions have worked successfully in poor communities and positive equity impacts can be inferred from interventions that work with types of providers predominantly used by poor people. Better evidence of the equity impact of interventions working with the private sector is needed for more robust conclusions to be drawn. PMID:17988396

A Qualitative Study of Immigration Policy and Practice Dilemmas for Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furman, Rich; Langer, Carol L.; Sanchez, Thomas Wayne; Negi, Nalini Junko

2007-01-01

Social policy shapes the infrastructure wherein social work is practiced. However, what happens when a particular social policy is seemingly incongruent with the social work code of ethics? How do social work students conceive and resolve potential practice dilemmas that may arise as a consequence? In this study, the authors explored potential…

Social Work Grand Challenges: Leaders' Perceptions of the Potential for Partnering with Business.

PubMed

Long, Ashley

2018-04-23

Social work's ability to address complex societal problems such as those identified in the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare's Grand Challenges for Social Work is reliant on being innovative in how we prepare social workers and how we collaborate with others, including business. This research seeks to understand how leaders of major social work organizations perceive potential partnership with the business sector-including both possible threats and opportunities. Interviews were conducted with those serving on the Council on Social Work Education's Leadership Roundtable. The research explores how emerging partnership models can be helpful and ways in which the profession can prepare practitioners for better partnering with the business sector. Qualitative findings identify four key strategies to address the grand challenges and enhance partnerships: (1) more interdisciplinary work is needed, (2) social work students need to be adequately equipped for collaborative work, (3) a cohesive message is needed from the field, and (4) the potential benefits for partnering with business outweigh the risks.

Interprofessional leadership training in MCH social work.

PubMed

Pecukonis, Edward; Doyle, Otima; Acquavita, Shauna; Aparicio, Elizabeth; Gibbons, Maya; Vanidestine, Todd

2013-01-01

The need to train health social workers to practice interprofessionally is an essential goal of social work education. Although most health social workers have exposure to multidisciplinary practice within their field work, few social work education programs incorporate interprofessional learning as an integrated component of both course work and field experiences (McPherson, Headrick, & Moss, 2001; Reeves, Lewin, Espin, & Zwaranstein, 2010; Weinstein, Whittington, & Leiba, 2003). In addition, little is written about the kinds of curricula that would effectively promote interdisciplinary training for social work students. These findings are particularly puzzling since there is increasing and compelling evidence that interdisciplinary training improves health outcomes (IOM, 2001). This article describes a social work education program that incorporates an Interprofessional education and leadership curriculum for Maternal and Child Health Social Work (MCHSW) at the University of Maryland's School of Social Work. The University of Maryland's Interprofesisonal Training Model is described along with the components needed to formulate an interdisciplinary learning experience. Various outcomes and lessons learned are discussed.

Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network*

PubMed Central

Kelly, Erin L.; Moen, Phyllis; Oakes, J. Michael; Fan, Wen; Okechukwu, Cassandra; Davis, Kelly D.; Hammer, Leslie; Kossek, Ellen; King, Rosalind Berkowitz; Hanson, Ginger; Mierzwa, Frank; Casper, Lynne

2013-01-01

Schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life are work resources that may help employees manage the work-family interface. However, existing data and designs have made it difficult to conclusively identify the effects of these work resources. This analysis utilizes a group-randomized trial in which some units in an information technology workplace were randomly assigned to participate in an initiative, called STAR, that targeted work practices, interactions, and expectations by (a) training supervisors on the value of demonstrating support for employees’ personal lives and (b) prompting employees to reconsider when and where they work. We find statistically significant, though modest, improvements in employees’ work-family conflict and family time adequacy and larger changes in schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life. We find no evidence that this intervention increased work hours or perceived job demands, as might have happened with increased permeability of work across time and space. Subgroup analyses suggest the intervention brings greater benefits to employees more vulnerable to work-family conflict. This study advances our understanding of the impact of social structures on individual lives by investigating deliberate organizational changes and their effects on work resources and the work-family interface with a rigorous design. PMID:25349460

Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network*

PubMed

Kelly, Erin L; Moen, Phyllis; Oakes, J Michael; Fan, Wen; Okechukwu, Cassandra; Davis, Kelly D; Hammer, Leslie; Kossek, Ellen; King, Rosalind Berkowitz; Hanson, Ginger; Mierzwa, Frank; Casper, Lynne

2014-06-01

Schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life are work resources that may help employees manage the work-family interface. However, existing data and designs have made it difficult to conclusively identify the effects of these work resources. This analysis utilizes a group-randomized trial in which some units in an information technology workplace were randomly assigned to participate in an initiative, called STAR, that targeted work practices, interactions, and expectations by (a) training supervisors on the value of demonstrating support for employees' personal lives and (b) prompting employees to reconsider when and where they work. We find statistically significant, though modest, improvements in employees' work-family conflict and family time adequacy and larger changes in schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life. We find no evidence that this intervention increased work hours or perceived job demands, as might have happened with increased permeability of work across time and space. Subgroup analyses suggest the intervention brings greater benefits to employees more vulnerable to work-family conflict. This study advances our understanding of the impact of social structures on individual lives by investigating deliberate organizational changes and their effects on work resources and the work-family interface with a rigorous design.

Gender, age, social disadvantage and quitting smoking in Argentina and Uruguay.

PubMed

Niedzin, Mirosław; Gaszyńska, Ewelina; Krakowiak, Jan; Saran, Tomasz; Szatko, Franciszek; Kaleta, Dorota

2018-03-14

Cessation of tobacco use has the potential to provide the greatest immediate benefits for tobacco control. Understanding the social determinants of smoking cessation is an essential requirement for increasing smoking cessation at the population level. The purpose of this study was to analyze the socio-economic dimensions associated with cessation success among adults in Argentina and Uruguay. Data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), a cross-sectional, population-based, nationally representative survey conducted in Argentina (n=5,383) and Uruguay (n=4,833) was utilized. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses with results being presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were applied to study differences among those respondents who sustained smoking abstinence (≥1 year) and those who continued smoking. The GATS study revealed that social gradients in tobacco quitting exist in Argentina and Uruguay. Being aged 25-34, particularly men in Uruguay, women in Argentina, low educated men in Argentina and having a lower asset index were associated with reduced odds for quitting. Factors that are driving differences in smoking cessation between diverse social groups in Latin America countries need to be considered when implementing relevant interventions to ensure tobacco control strategies work effectively for all population segments.

Exploring the affective dimension of the life review process: Facilitators' interactional strategies for fostering personhood and social value among older adults with early dementia.

PubMed

Williams, Beverly R; Blizard, Tracie I; Goode, Patricia S; Harada, Caroline N; Woodby, Lesa L; Burgio, Kathryn L; Sims, Richard V

2014-07-01

We employed an auto-ethnography approach to explore the affective dimension of life review sessions with community-dwelling older military veterans with minor cognitive impairment (MCI) and early dementia. Using researchers' analytic memos, we identified facilitators' interactional strategies that fostered the participant's sense of personal identity, dignity and social self-worth. Interaction among participant, caregiver, and facilitators evoked a range of emotional responses, offering a window into the affective world of MCI and early dementia. Positive emotional responses outnumbered negative emotional responses by a ratio of two-to-one in the life review sessions; however, negative emotions were more revelatory of current struggles with declines in health and function. Facilitators utilized two interactional strategies, in particular, to foster personhood and social value of participants: focusing on the participant and creating an empathic connection with the participant. Further work is needed to understand the role of emotions in research interactions and to examine the psychosocial mechanisms through which positive affect functions in promoting identity, personhood and social value among persons with MCI and early dementia. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Hello, Who is Calling?: Can Words Reveal the Social Nature of Conversations?

PubMed

Stark, Anthony; Shafran, Izhak; Kaye, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

This study aims to infer the social nature of conversations from their content automatically. To place this work in context, our motivation stems from the need to understand how social disengagement affects cognitive decline or depression among older adults. For this purpose, we collected a comprehensive and naturalistic corpus comprising of all the incoming and outgoing telephone calls from 10 subjects over the duration of a year. As a first step, we learned a binary classifier to filter out business related conversation, achieving an accuracy of about 85%. This classification task provides a convenient tool to probe the nature of telephone conversations. We evaluated the utility of openings and closing in differentiating personal calls, and find that empirical results on a large corpus do not support the hypotheses by Schegloff and Sacks that personal conversations are marked by unique closing structures. For classifying different types of social relationships such as family vs other, we investigated features related to language use (entropy), hand-crafted dictionary (LIWC) and topics learned using unsupervised latent Dirichlet models (LDA). Our results show that the posteriors over topics from LDA provide consistently higher accuracy (60-81%) compared to LIWC or language use features in distinguishing different types of conversations.

Study of medicine 2.0 due to Web 2.0?! - Risks and opportunities for the curriculum in Leipzig

PubMed Central

Hempel, Gunther; Neef, Martin; Rotzoll, Daisy; Heinke, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Web 2.0 is changing the study of medicine by opening up totally new ways of learning and teaching in an ongoing process. Global social networking services like Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Google Drive and Xing already play an important part in communication both among students and between students and teaching staff. Moreover, local portals (such as the platform [http://www.leipzig-medizin.de] established in 2003) have also caught on and in some cases eclipsed the use of the well-known location-independent social media. The many possibilities and rapid changes brought about by social networks need to be publicized within medical faculties. Therefore, an E-learning and New Media Working Group was set up at the Faculty of Medicine of Universität Leipzig in order to harness the opportunities of Web 2.0, analyse the resulting processes of change in the study of medicine, and curb the risks of the Internet. With Web 2.0 and the social web already influencing the study of medicine, the opportunities of the Internet now need to be utilized to improve the teaching of medicine. PMID:23467440

The impact of invisibility on the health of migrant farmworkers in the southeastern United States: a case study from georgia.

PubMed

Bail, Kari M; Foster, Jennifer; Dalmida, Safiya George; Kelly, Ursula; Howett, Maeve; Ferranti, Erin P; Wold, Judith

2012-01-01

Migrant farmworkers represent one of the most marginalized and underserved populations in the United States. Acculturation theory cannot be easily mapped onto the transnational experience of migrant farmworkers, who navigate multiple physical and cultural spaces yearly, and who are not recognized by the state they constitute, "the Citizen's Other" (Kerber, 2009). This paper utilizes narrative analysis of a case study to illustrate, through the relationship of the narrator to migrant farmworkers and years of participant observation by the coauthors, how isolation from family and community, as well as invisibility within institutions, affect the health and well-being of migrant farmworkers in southeastern Georgia. Invisibility of farmworkers within institutions, such as health care, the educational system, social services, domestic violence shelters, and churches contribute to illness among farmworkers. The dominant American discourse surrounding immigration policy addresses the strain immigrants put on the social systems, educational system, and the health care system. Nurses who work with farmworkers are well positioned to bring the subjective experience of farmworkers to light, especially for those engaged with socially just policies. Those who contribute to the abundant agricultural produce that feeds Americans deserve the recognition upon which social integration depends.

Social media and social work education: understanding and dealing with the new digital world.

PubMed

Fang, Lin; Mishna, Faye; Zhang, Vivian F; Van Wert, Melissa; Bogo, Marion

2014-10-01

Accompanying the multiple benefits and innovations of social media are the complex ethical and pedagogical issues that challenge social work educators. Without a clear understanding of the blurred boundaries between public and private, the potentially limitless and unintended audiences, as well as the permanency of the information shared online, social work students who use social media can find themselves in difficult situations in their personal and professional lives. In this article, we present three scenarios that illustrate issues and complexities involving social media use by social work students, followed by a discussion and recommendations for social work educators.

Working in partnership with interpreters: studies on individuals affected by HIV/AIDS in Vietnam.

PubMed

Maradik Harris, Lesley; Boggiano, Victoria; Nguyen, Duy Thang; Pham, Le Hoang Linh

2013-10-01

This article brings together two American qualitative researchers and two Vietnamese interpreters who investigated the social impacts of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam from the standpoint of the local community. As cultural outsiders with limited Vietnamese language skills, the researchers relied on the insights and expertise of the interpreters to the extent that interpreter roles expanded to become co-researchers. We explain the guidelines we used to work in partnership in the field. We then describe how the relationship between researcher and interpreter developed into co-researching, and how we utilized this relationship to respond to challenges in the work. Despite an increasing number of international qualitative studies, little research has focused on the nuances of a working partnership between researcher and interpreter, and few studies include interpreters as co-researchers. This article contributes to an understanding of how the researcher-interpreter relationship impacts the voice of the participant and, ultimately, the final outcomes of the project.

Socioeconomic status and depressive syndrome: the role of inter- and intra-generational mobility, government assistance, and work environment.

PubMed

Eaton, W W; Muntaner, C; Bovasso, G; Smith, C

2001-09-01

This paper assesses the hypothesis that depressive syndrome is associated with socioeconomic status, using longitudinal data from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Followup. Socioeconomic measures include those used in most studies of status attainment, as well as measures of financial dependence, non-job income, and work environment. Analyses include inter- and intra-generational mobility, and replicate the basic aspects of the status attainment process, as well as psychiatric epidemiologic findings regarding gender, family history of depression, life events, and depressive syndrome. But the involvement of depressive syndrome in the process of status attainment, either as cause or consequence, is small and not statistically significant. There are strong effects of financial dependence and work environment on depressive syndrome. The findings shed doubt on the utility of the causation/selection/drift model for depression, to the extent it is based on linear relationships and socioeconomic rank at the macro level, while lending credibility to social-psychologically oriented theories of work environment, poverty, and depression.

Social work at the heart of the medical team.

PubMed

Kitchen, Alice; Brook, Jody

2005-01-01

This paper proposes one model of hospital social work delivery services that places social work in a facilitative role within the medical team, and describes a pilot project designed to evaluate these services. Social work's role in this teaching hospital setting was tailored to provide patients and medical staff access to social work services upon admission, rather than at the time of discharge. This change places social work at the pivotal juncture to improve medical care and addresses the social, cultural and environmental concerns as they surface during patient stay. Unique to this demonstration model is the added advantage of placing the social worker at the hub of the physician-led medical team. Medical students, residents, and attending physicians all learn, observe, and experience the advantages social workers bring to the process. Educating medical students on teams with social workers bodes well for the profession. The authors summarize the program design, results and implications for social work practice in a teaching hospital setting.

Fuzzy Cognitive and Social Negotiation Agent Strategy for Computational Collective Intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chohra, Amine; Madani, Kurosh; Kanzari, Dalel

Finding the adequate (win-win solutions for both parties) negotiation strategy with incomplete information for autonomous agents, even in one-to-one negotiation, is a complex problem. Elsewhere, negotiation behaviors, in which the characters such as conciliatory or aggressive define a 'psychological' aspect of the negotiator personality, play an important role. The aim of this paper is to develop a fuzzy cognitive and social negotiation strategy for autonomous agents with incomplete information, where the characters conciliatory, neutral, or aggressive, are suggested to be integrated in negotiation behaviors (inspired from research works aiming to analyze human behavior and those on social negotiation psychology). For this purpose, first, one-to-one bargaining process, in which a buyer agent and a seller agent negotiate over single issue (price), is developed for a time-dependent strategy (based on time-dependent behaviors of Faratin et al.) and for a fuzzy cognitive and social strategy. Second, experimental environments and measures, allowing a set of experiments, carried out for different negotiation deadlines of buyer and seller agents, are detailed. Third, experimental results for both time-dependent and fuzzy cognitive and social strategies are presented, analyzed, and compared for different deadlines of agents. The suggested fuzzy cognitive and social strategy allows agents to improve the negotiation process, with regard to the time-dependent one, in terms of agent utilities, round number to reach an agreement, and percentage of agreements.

Accounting for the social triggers of sexual compulsivity.

PubMed

Parsons, Jeffrey T; Kelly, Brian C; Bimbi, David S; Muench, Frederick; Morgenstern, Jon

2007-01-01

To examine the social triggers of sexual compulsivity amongst a diverse sample of gay and bisexual men. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 180 gay and bisexual men in the United States who self-identified that their sex lives were spinning out of control. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to explore the range of social triggers that were driving sexual compulsions. An open-ended interview and a structured clinical interview were conducted with each participant. The interviews examined their experiences with sexual compulsivity over time and the impact of their problematic sexual behaviors on their lives. Two types of social triggers emerged from the data: event-centered triggers and contextual triggers. Event-centered triggers arise from sudden, unforeseen events. Two major event-centered triggers were identified: relationship turmoil and catastrophes. Contextual triggers, on the other hand, have a certain element of predictability, and included such things as location, people, the use of drugs, and pornography. This framework of triggers has clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of sexual compulsivity. Clinicians can utilize the framework of social triggers in the therapeutic process to provide insight into ways to effectively work through symptoms of sexual compulsivity. Awareness of the contextual aspects of sexual compulsivity may be critical to understanding the behaviors of sexually compulsive clients. Thus, therapeutic assessments should focus upon the social context in addition to the psychological components of the disorder.

"Friending Facebook?" A minicourse on the use of social media by health professionals.

PubMed

George, Daniel R

2011-01-01

Health professionals are working in an era of social technologies that empower users to generate content in real time. This article describes a 3-part continuing education minicourse called "Friending Facebook?" undertaken at Penn State Hershey Medical Center that aimed to model the functionality of current technologies in health care and encourage discussion about how health professionals might responsibly utilize social media. Fifteen health professionals participated in the course and provided written evaluation at its conclusion. The course instructor took field notes during each of the 3 classes to document emergent themes. The course received uniformly positive evaluations, and participants identified several current tools perceived as being potentially useful in their professional lives, including news aggregators, Google Alerts, and--if used responsibly--social networking sites such as Facebook. Developing innovative and appropriate programming that teaches to emerging social media technologies and ideologies will be crucial to helping the health professions adapt to a new, networked era. Medical institutions would do well to foster interprofessional-and perhaps even intergenerational-conversations to share not only the dangers and risks of social media, but also the opportunities that are emerging out of a rapidly evolving online world. Copyright © 2010 The Alliance for Continuing Medical Education, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

Culturally Specific Youth Substance Abuse Resistance Skills: Applicability across the U.S.-Mexico Border

PubMed Central

Marsiglia, Flavio F.; Kulis, Stephen; Rodriguez, Gregorio Martinez; Becerra, David; Castillo, Jason

2009-01-01

This study tests the applicability among adolescents in Mexico of the keepin' it REAL (refuse, explain, avoid, and leave) strategies that are common and effective ways that U.S. youth resist substance use. Following a social learning, communication competence and ecological theory integrated approach, the study draws on self-reported questionnaire data from a non-probability sample of 327 adolescents attending two public high schools in Monterrey, Nuevo León. Multivariate regressions were used to test whether the respondents' use of the REAL strategies by the participants could be predicted by key demographic variables. Separate models were estimated for the frequency of use of each strategy and for different substances. Findings indicate that most adolescents in this sample utilized each of the REAL strategies as well as other strategies to respond to offers of alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana. Mexican and U.S. youth residing close to the US border appear to use similar drug resistance strategies. Use of the strategies varied considerably by the level of exposure to offers, but only minimally by gender and age. There were no notable differences by socioeconomic status or academic performance. Implications for prevention science, social work practice and social work research are discussed in the context of the bi-national border region and the applicability and prospect for dissemination of U.S. evidence based youth substance use prevention interventions. PMID:19924268

Culturally Specific Youth Substance Abuse Resistance Skills: Applicability across the U.S.-Mexico Border.

PubMed

Marsiglia, Flavio F; Kulis, Stephen; Rodriguez, Gregorio Martinez; Becerra, David; Castillo, Jason

2009-03-01

This study tests the applicability among adolescents in Mexico of the keepin' it REAL (refuse, explain, avoid, and leave) strategies that are common and effective ways that U.S. youth resist substance use. Following a social learning, communication competence and ecological theory integrated approach, the study draws on self-reported questionnaire data from a non-probability sample of 327 adolescents attending two public high schools in Monterrey, Nuevo León. Multivariate regressions were used to test whether the respondents' use of the REAL strategies by the participants could be predicted by key demographic variables. Separate models were estimated for the frequency of use of each strategy and for different substances. Findings indicate that most adolescents in this sample utilized each of the REAL strategies as well as other strategies to respond to offers of alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana. Mexican and U.S. youth residing close to the US border appear to use similar drug resistance strategies. Use of the strategies varied considerably by the level of exposure to offers, but only minimally by gender and age. There were no notable differences by socioeconomic status or academic performance. Implications for prevention science, social work practice and social work research are discussed in the context of the bi-national border region and the applicability and prospect for dissemination of U.S. evidence based youth substance use prevention interventions.

Social Work Program. Field Placement Manual for Social Work Field Placement I, Social Work Field Placement II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Howard J.; And Others

This document is a manual for a social work field placement program. The social work field placement is described as a learning experience designed to translate the students' interests, interpersonal abilities, and academic knowledge and theory into the capability of enabling others to solve problems. Expectations of skills to be learned in the…

Effects of brief mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation inductions on emotional and behavioral responses to social rejection among individuals with high borderline personality traits.

PubMed

Keng, Shian-Ling; Tan, Hui Han

2018-01-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by an enduring pattern of instability across affective, behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal domains. Individuals with BPD are known to be particularly vulnerable to experiences of social rejection, but little work has examined strategies that may moderate their reactivity to social rejection. Using a laboratory experimental approach, this study investigated the effects of brief mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) inductions on emotional and behavioral responses to social rejection in a sample of adults with high BPD traits. One hundred and eighteen participants were randomly assigned to receive 10 min of mindful breathing practice, LKM, or a no-instruction control condition, prior to exposure to a social rejection manipulation. Participants rated their emotions and completed a competitive reaction time task, which provided a proxy measure of aggression. Compared to the control condition, the mindfulness group demonstrated significantly quicker recovery in negative affect and feelings of rejection after social rejection. The mindfulness group also reported significantly quicker recovery in negative affect compared to the LKM group. Whereas baseline trait mindfulness negatively predicted aggressive behaviors across all participants, groups did not differ in immediate emotional reactivity or aggressive behavior following social rejection. The findings suggest that mindfulness training may be a promising strategy in alleviating negative emotional effects of social rejection among individuals with high borderline personality traits, and highlight the limited utility of brief LKM practice in buffering the effects of social rejection. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding Activist Leadership Effort in the Movement Opposing Drinking and Driving

PubMed Central

Dorius, Cassandra R.; McCarthy, John D.

2012-01-01

Why do some social movement leaders work harder than others? And, how does gender affect the patterns we uncover? Utilizing historical case study evidence of local chapters in the emerging movement opposing drinking and driving we are able to develop and test theoretical expectations about predictors of weekly effort among MADD and RID leaders. Taken together, our model explains 45 percent of the variation in leadership effort. We find bureaucratic complexity and victim support activities are more powerful predictors of effort than are individual leader characteristics, although all are important. Further analysis reveals that gender almost wholly conditions the strong effect of bureaucratic complexity on leadership effort so that increasingly complex chapter structures are associated with substantial increases in work hours for women but not men. PMID:22993454

Racial Equity and School Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Susan

2017-01-01

This manuscript outlines the beginning contours of a racial justice and equity framework for school social work. It briefly summarizes prior social work scholarship related to social and racial justice and race, outline forces related to school social work professional practice that likely shape limited explicit attention to conceptions of racial…