What Doesn’t Kill You

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resilience in a sample (n=139) of Masters of Social Work (MSW) students. Perceived stress, religious faith, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness were also examined as correlates of resilience. Resilience scores for the MSW students were comparable to general population and college student norms, but ACEs and perceived stress scores were higher. Despite a broad literature supporting associations of high ACE scores with varied measures of physical and psychological problems, this study paradoxically showed a positive relationship between higher ACE scores and resilience. Regression analysis indicated a model including age, ACE scores, experiential avoidance, religious faith, and perceived stress explained 39.2% of the variance in resilience scores. Prior adverse childhood experiences and stronger religious faith are associated with increased resilience, while experiential avoidance and perceived stress are associated with lower resilience. This study provides further evidence that many students come to social work education with substantial trauma histories and experience considerable stress during their studies. Results suggest that social work educators should acknowledge risks associated with avoidant coping, and provide learning experiences aimed at developing students’ capacities for increased awareness and acceptance of challenging experiences—their own and others

An Exploratory Evaluation of a Treatment Mall at a State Psychiatric Hospital

The Treatment Mall is a model of inpatient psychosocial treatment provided to adults with severe mental illness to deliver recovery-oriented, evidenced-based treatment and has been implemented in state mental hospitals across the United States. The present study is an exploratory evaluation of a recently implemented Treatment Mall in a state mental hospital. To evaluate this program, the experiences of clients (N=28), staff (N=32), and administrators (N=5) were compiled using a quantitative questionnaire and focused on empowerment, skill development, and satisfaction. Additionally, data from the hospital database (N=183) were extracted and analyzed by comparing frequencies of occurrence 90 days before and 90 days after Treatment Mall implementation. The findings indicate that clients reported learning skills and were satisfied with how they were treated at the Treatment Mall. Female clients and staff viewed independent living and recovery possibilities significantly more positively than male clients and staff. Hospital performance indicators showed no significant changes pre to post implementation.

Graphene Photonics and Optoelectronics

The richness of optical and electronic properties of graphene attracts enormous interest. Graphene has high mobility and optical transparency, in addition to flexibility, robustness and environmental stability. So far, the main focus has been on fundamental physics and electronic devices. However, we believe its true potential to be in photonics and optoelectronics, where the combination of its unique optical and electronic properties can be fully exploited, even in the absence of a bandgap, and the linear dispersion of the Dirac electrons enables ultra-wide-band tunability. The rise of graphene in photonics and optoelectronics is shown by several recent results, ranging from solar cells and light emitting devices, to touch screens, photodetectors and ultrafast lasers. Here we review the state of the art in this emerging field.Comment: Review Nature Photonics, in pres