Pedagogical Techniques that Provide Educational Value to Social Work Students through Bereavement Academics and Empathetic Advancements

The lack of empathy in college students has been documented and empathy levels are reported to have declined over recent years. College student bereavement has not been well-researched (Balk, 2008) but the lack of declining college student empathy has documentation in psychological expressions (Balk, 2008). This article addresses social work students engaged in an academic bereavement assignment that incorporates student centered instruction (SCI) and “teaching through relationships.” Using an untimely social work students’ death, students utilize research, reflection, cooperative small group learning, and applied theory, to compose a writing assignment. Intentionally introducing the “sorrowful empty chair” in the bereavement assignment led to reflective thoughts that are equal to empathy and shows a reflection model in production. Applying theoretical framework to current events aids students understanding of theory. While current events’ research improves student research skills as well as their theoretical understanding, the application of theoretical frameworks and current events with research, leads to an increase in student devotion and commitment to produce good work

Business and social entrepreneurs in the UK : gender, context and commitment

Objectives: What sort of people become social entrepreneurs, and in what way do they differ from business entrepreneurs? This question is important for policy because there has been a shift from direct to indirect delivery of many public services, requiring a professional approach to social enterprise. Yet we know little about who sets up social enterprises. Prior work: Much prior work on social entrepreneurs has been based on small and convenience samples, and this is true in the United Kingdom as elsewhere. An exception is work based on annual UK Global Entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) surveys (e.g. Levie et al., 2006). Approach: Defining and distinguishing business from social entrepreneurs is problematic. However, inclusion of items that measured the relative importance of economic, social and environmental goals in the 2009 UK GEM survey enables us to compare business and social entrepreneurs based on two different definitions: activity-based (setting up or running a new business or any kind of social, voluntary or community activity, venture or initiative) and goals-based (setting up or running a new organisation which has mainly economic goals versus mainly social goals). We use logistic multivariate regression techniques to identify differences between business and social entrepreneurs in demographic characteristics, effort, aspiration, use of resources, industry choice, location and organisational structure, identified from a representative sample of 30,000 adults interviewed in the United Kingdom in 2009. Results: The results show that the odds of an early-stage entrepreneur being a social rather than a business entrepreneur are reduced if they are male, from an ethnic minority, if they work 10 hours or more per week on the venture, and if they ever worked in their parents business, while they are increased if they have higher levels of education and if they are a settled in-migrant to their area. Implications: These results suggest that a high proportion of social enterprise founders are part-time founders. This could be a cause for concern for policy-makers keen to shift delivery of professional services from the public sector to a professional third sector. Future surveys could test if there is a hand-over of control from founders to full-time managers as social enterprises mature. Value: To our knowledge, this is the first time that large representative samples of business and social entrepreneurs have been compared using multivariate analysis. This type of research complements case-based research, enabling hypotheses raised by qualitative research to be tested on representative samples of a population

The Historic Role of Boards of Health in Local Innovation: New York City’s Soda Portion Case

Childhood and adult obesity pose major risks for cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, with the poor and racial minorities suffering from disproportionately high burdens of obesity and chronic disease. With current policies failing, cities and states have moved forward with creative prevention measures–-with boards of health driving policy innovation in many local jurisdictions. The New York City Board of Board of Health’s (NYCBH) soda portion limit pushed the boundaries of innovation, but was struck down on June 26, 2014 by New York State’s highest court, which held that the Board trespassed on the City Council’s authority. The Court’s decision ignored the critical role of local health agencies in responding to 21st century public health threats, including epidemics of obesity and chronic disease. The Court narrowly construed the NYCBH’s authority, characterizing its powers as administrative, and thus potentially stifling local innovation. The decision also obscured the fundamental truth that public health policymaking requires complex trade-offs and incremental action, as well as a multifaceted approach to reducing population weight gain. Policymaking often relies upon limited evidence, and agencies experiment with novel ideas while also transforming social norms and pushing the boundaries of public opinion. Although the portion rule would disproportionately affect disadvantaged individuals who drink the largest amount of soda, government’s failure to act represents a greater injustice. Enhancing opportunities to choose a healthy life path better serves the interests of justice, but the Court’s judgment takes us further away from realizing this social aspiration

Antiviral RNA Interference against Orsay Virus Is neither Systemic nor Transgenerational in Caenorhabditis elegans.

UNLABELLED: Antiviral RNA-mediated silencing (RNA interference [RNAi]) acts as a powerful innate immunity defense in plants, invertebrates, and mammals. In Caenorhabditis elegans, RNAi is systemic; i.e., RNAi silencing signals can move between cells and tissues. Furthermore, RNAi effects can be inherited transgenerationally and may last for many generations. Neither the biological relevance of systemic RNAi nor transgenerational RNAi is currently understood. Here we examined the role of both pathways in the protection of C. elegans from viral infection. We studied the Orsay virus, a positive-strand RNA virus related to Nodaviridae and the first and only virus known to infect C. elegans. Immunity to Orsay virus infection requires the RNAi pathway. Surprisingly, we found that genes required for systemic or transgenerational RNAi did not have a role in antiviral defense. Furthermore, we found that Orsay virus infection did not elicit a systemic RNAi response even when a target for RNAi was provided by using transgenes. Finally, we show that viral siRNAs, the effectors of RNAi, are not inherited to a level that provides any significant resistance to viral infection in the next generation. We conclude that systemic or transgenerational RNAi does not play a role in the defense against natural Orsay virus infection. Furthermore, our data suggest that there is a qualitative difference between experimental RNAi and antiviral RNAi. Our data are consistent with a model of systemic and transgenerational RNAi that requires a nuclear or germ line component that is lacking in almost all RNA virus infections. IMPORTANCE: Since its discovery in Caenorhabditis elegans, RNAi has proven a valuable scientific tool in many organisms. In C. elegans, exogenous RNAi spreads throughout the organism and can be passed between generations; however, there has been controversy as to the endogenous role(s) that the RNAi pathway plays. One endogenous role for which spreading both within the infected organism and between generations would be advantageous is a role in viral defense. In plants, antiviral RNAi is systemic and the spread of RNAi between cells provides protection against subsequent viral infection. Here we investigated this by using the only naturally occurring virus known to infect C. elegans, Orsay virus, and surprisingly found that, in contrast to the exogenous RNAi pathway, the antiviral RNAi response targeted against this virus does not spread systemically throughout the organism and cannot be passed between generations. These results suggest that there are differences between the two pathways that remain to be discovered

What is the best hypnotic for use in the elderly?

Short-acting hypnotics such as zolpidem (Ambien) or zaleplon (Sonata) are the preferred hypnotics in the elderly because of an improved side-effect profile compared with traditional hypnotics such as benzodiazepines (strength of recommendation: B, based on extrapolations of randomized controlled trials). Zolpidem and zaleplon have a quick onset and short duration of action, making them less likely to cause residual sedation, cognitive changes, and falls than benzodiazepines. More comparative clinical trials in the elderly are needed to determine if zolpidem and zaleplon are truly safer than benzodiazepines in this population. Hypnotics should be prescribed on a short-term, intermittent basis as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses any underlying causes of poor sleep