A Future of Strength: The Strengths Perspective and Developing Social Workers

In the 30 years since the birth of the strengths perspective, it has experienced con- tinued celebration and been marked as a pivotal approach for promoting effective engagement with people in a variety of contexts. From parenting to leadership, human resources to education, and therapy to case management; the strengths per- spective has been studied and incorporated into professional practices both within and outside of the social work discipline (Aguinis, Gottfredson, & Joo, 2012; Lopez & Louis, 2009; Marty, Rapp, & Carlson, 2001; Sheely-Moore & Bratton, 2010). Howev- er, social workers initiated the genesis of the perspective (Rapp, 1998; Weick, Rapp, Sullivan, & Kisthardt, 1989) and, therefore, bear the mantle of the legacy, institu- tionalization, and continuation of practicing strengths-based work. Despite wide- spread adoption of the ideology of the strengths perspective, attention is needed to ensure its ongoing use and relevant application to social work. In 2018, more than 700,000 social workers were employed in the United States (Bu- reau of Labor Statistics, 2018). Job growth is steady for the profession and projected to increase by 11 percent by 2028 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). As the number of social work professionals increases, understanding and meeting the needs of developing social workers is paramount to the sustainment of strengths-based social work. The projected expansion of the profession also suggests that the methods and strategies for incorporating the strengths perspective into the education and practice of developing social work students may need rethinking. Strengths-based work is not business as usual. Saleebey (2013) explained that it is a direct departure from traditional social work practices, such as those that focus on psychopathol- ogy and deficit-driven treatment. Likewise, ensuring the passing of the torch may require a direct departure from traditional social work education. In aligning with the strengths perspective, social work professionals and educators have a respon- sibility to consciously collaborate in their efforts to assist developing social workers in establishing competencies, capabilities and confidence that will enable them to build their career upon a strengths-based foundation

Phenoloxidase activity acts as a mosquito innate immune response against infection with semliki forest virus

Several components of the mosquito immune system including the RNA interference (RNAi), JAK/STAT, Toll and IMD pathways have previously been implicated in controlling arbovirus infections. In contrast, the role of the phenoloxidase (PO) cascade in mosquito antiviral immunity is unknown. Here we show that conditioned medium from the Aedes albopictus-derived U4.4 cell line contains a functional PO cascade, which is activated by the bacterium Escherichia coli and the arbovirus Semliki Forest virus (SFV) (Togaviridae; Alphavirus). Production of recombinant SFV expressing the PO cascade inhibitor Egf1.0 blocked PO activity in U4.4 cell- conditioned medium, which resulted in enhanced spread of SFV. Infection of adult female Aedes aegypti by feeding mosquitoes a bloodmeal containing Egf1.0-expressing SFV increased virus replication and mosquito mortality. Collectively, these results suggest the PO cascade of mosquitoes plays an important role in immune defence against arboviruses

Computational Modeling of Silicate Glasses: A Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship Perspective

This article reviews the present state of Quantitative Structure-Property Relationships (QSPR) in glass design and gives an outlook into future developments. First an overview is given of the statistical methodology, with particular emphasis to the integration of QSPR with molecular dynamics simulations to derive informative structural descriptors. Then, the potentiality of this approach as a tool for interpretative and predictive purposes is highlighted by a number of recent inspiring applications

Marketing (as) Rhetoric: paradigms, provocations, and perspectives

In this collection of short, invited essays on the topic of marketing (as) rhetoric we deal with a variety of issues that demonstrate the centrality of rhetoric and rhetorical considerations to the pursuit of marketing scholarship, research and practice. Stephen Brown examines the enduring rhetorical power of the 4Ps; Chris Hackley argues for the critical power of rhetorical orientations in marketing scholarship but cautions us on the need to work harder in conceptually connecting rhetorical theory and modern marketing frameworks; Shelby Hunt explains how rhetorical processes are incorporated in his inductive realist model of theory generation, using one of his most successful publications as an illustration; Charles Marsh demonstrates what Isocrates’ broad rhetorical project has to teach us about the importance of reputation cultivation in modern marketing; Nicholas O’Shaughnessy uses an analysis of Trump’s discourse to argue that political marketing as it is currently conceived is ill-equipped to engage effectively with the rhetorical force of Trump’s ‘unmarketing’; Barbara Phillips uses Vygotsky’s work on imagination to investigate the important of pleasure and play in advertising rhetoric; and finally, David Tonks, who in many ways started it all, reiterates the need for marketers to recognise the strength of the relationship between marketing and persuasion

Dual-pathway chain-end modification of RAFT polymers using visible light and metal-free conditions

We report a metal-free strategy for the chain-end modification of RAFT polymers utilizing visible light. By turning the light source on or off, the reaction pathway in one pot can be switched between either complete desulfurization (hydrogen chain-end) or simple cleavage (thiol chain-end), respectively. The versatility of this process is exemplified by application to a wide range of polymer backbones under mild, quantitative conditions using commercial reagents