Fairness Issues in Law and Mental Health: Directions for Future Social Work Research

Concepts from the procedural justice literature in social psychology are examined that offer useful guidance for social work researchers with interests in investigating informal adjudications, speciality treatment courts, and other areas of the administrative process previously neglected in mental health services research. These theoretical concepts are offered as an alternative to the therapeutic jurisprudence framework being adopted by some social workers in the field of law and mental health. The issues outlined in this paper also draw on the health services and psychotherapy literature to highlight issues involving process and procedure as social justice and their significance for advancing a new role for social work researchers in the field of law and mental health research

Correctness and response time distributions in the MemTrax continuous recognition task: Analysis of strategies and a reverse-exponential model

A critical issue in addressing medical conditions is measurement. Memory measurement is difficult, especially episodic memory, which is disrupted by many conditions. On-line computer testing can precisely measure and assess several memory functions. This study analyzed memory performances from a large group of anonymous, on-line participants using a continuous recognition task (CRT) implemented at https://memtrax.com. These analyses estimated ranges of acceptable performance and average response time (RT). For 344,165 presumed unique individuals completing the CRT a total of 602,272 times, data were stored on a server, including each correct response (HIT), Correct Rejection, and RT to the thousandth of a second. Responses were analyzed, distributions and relationships of these parameters were ascertained, and mean RTs were determined for each participant across the population. From 322,996 valid first tests, analysis of correctness showed that 63% of these tests achieved at least 45 correct (90%), 92% scored at or above 40 correct (80%), and 3% scored 35 correct (70%) or less. The distribution of RTs was skewed with 1% faster than 0.62 s, a median at 0.890 s, and 1% slower than 1.57 s. The RT distribution was best explained by a novel model, the reverse-exponential (RevEx) function. Increased RT speed was most closely associated with increased HIT accuracy. The MemTrax on-line memory test readily provides valid and reliable metrics for assessing individual episodic memory function that could have practical clinical utility for precise assessment of memory dysfunction in many conditions, including improvement or deterioration over time

A Framework for Analyzing Knowledge Utilization in Social Work Practice

Methodological and conceptual limitations have resulted in knowledge being defined so narrowly that we accept the inaccurate conclusion that social workers fail to utilize knowledge. This article seeks to rectify this problem by clarifying the concept of knowledge utilization in social work practice. Toward this end a framework is proposed that makes explicit the philosophy of science and practice assumptions germane to the use of knowledge in practice

In-beam Tests of a Ring Imaging Cerenkov Detector With a Multianode Photomultiplier Readout

A ring-imaging \v{C}erenkov counter read out by a 100-channel PMT of active area 10$\times$10 cm$^2$ was operated successfully in a test beam at the BNL AGS with several radiator gases, including the heavy fluorocarbon C$_4$F$_{10}$. Ring radii were measured for electrons, muons, pions and kaons over the particle momentum range from 2 to 12 GeV/$c$, and a best resolution of $\sigma_r/r = 2.3\%$ was obtained.Comment: 11 pages (LaTeX) plus 7 figures in Postscript (gz-compressed and uuencoded

Designing Highly Stable Poly(sarcosine)-Based Telodendrimer Micelles with High Drug Content Exemplified with Fulvestrant

Polymeric micelles have been extensively used as nanocarriers for the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents, aiming to improve their efficacy in cancer treatment. However, the poor loading capacity, premature drug release, non-uniformity, and reproducibility still remain the major challenges. To create a stable polymeric micelle with high drug loading, a telodendrimer micelle was developed as a nanocarrier for fulvestrant, as an example of a drug that has extremely poor water solubility (sub-nanomolar range). Telodendrimers were prepared by the synthesis of hydrophilic linear poly(sarcosine) and growing a lysine dendron from the chain terminal amine by divergent synthesis. At the periphery of the dendritic block, either 4, 8, or 16 fulvestrant molecules were conjugated to the lysine dendron creating a hydrophobic block. Having drug molecules as a part of the carrier not only reduces the usage of the inert carrier materials but also prevents the drugs from leakage and premature release by diffusion. The self-assembled telodendrimer micelles demonstrated good colloidal stability (cmc < 2 mu M) in buffer and were uniform in size. In addition, these telodendrimer micelles could solubilize additional fulvestrant yielding an excellent overall drug loading capacity of up to 77 wt % total drug load (summation of conjugated and encapsulated). Importantly, the size of the micelles could be tuned between 25 and 150 nm by controlling (i) the ratio between hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks and (ii) the amount of encapsulated fulvestrant. The versatility of these telodendrimer-based micelle systems to both conjugated and encapsulated drugs with high efficiency and stability, in addition to possessing other tuneable properties, makes it a promising drug delivery system for a range of active pharmaceutical ingredients and therapeutic targets.Peer reviewe

Deoxycyanamidation of alcohols with N-Cyano-N-phenyl-p-methylbenzenesulfonamide (NCTS)

The first one-pot deoxycyanamidation of alcohols has been developed using N-cyano-N-phenyl-p-methylbenzenesulfonamide (NCTS) as both a sulfonyl transfer reagent and a cyanamide source, accessing a diverse range of tertiary cyanamides in excellent isolated yields. This approach exploits the underdeveloped desulfonylative (N–S bond cleavage) reactivity pathway of NCTS, which is more commonly employed for electrophilic C- and N-cyanation processes

Conveying more (or less) than we realize: The role of impression-management in feedback-seeking

This paper reports two studies concerning impression management, impression formation, and feedback-seeking. Study 1 demonstrated that people seek less feedback when being observed and respond to situational norms regarding the appropriate frequency of seeking. However, Study 2 showed that when an individual has a superior performance history, seeking enhances observers' impressions of the seeker's personal characteristics and performance potential in the organization. The implications of these findings for feedback-seeking and the provision of feedback in organizations are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29699/1/0000031.pd

Challenges in the delivery of e-government through kiosks

Kiosks are increasingly being heralded as a technology through which governments, government departments and local authorities or municipalities can engage with citizens. In particular, they have attractions in their potential to bridge the digital divide. There is some evidence to suggest that the citizen uptake of kiosks and indeed other channels for e-government, such as web sites, is slow, although studies on the use of kiosks for health information provision offer some interesting perspectives on user behaviour with kiosk technology. This article argues that the delivery of e-government through kiosks presents a number of strategic challenges, which will need to be negotiated over the next few years in order that kiosk applications are successful in enhancing accessibility to and engagement with e-government. The article suggests that this involves consideration of: the applications to be delivered through a kiosk; one stop shop service and knowledge architectures; mechanisms for citizen identification; and, the integration of kiosks within the total interface between public bodies and their communities. The article concludes by outlining development and research agendas in each of these areas.</p