The History and Promise of Formal Survey Analysis for Social Work

Since its inception social work has struggled with determining the function and status of research in the professional enterprise. The emergence of professional social work was concurrent with the major developments in the methodology of empirical social research and statistical analysis. To understand the current position of research in social work requires tracing back the origins of empirical research with special attention to its connection with the emergence of the social work profession. The efforts of the survey movement represent the first major attempt to introduce research methodology into the field of social work (Zimbalist, 1977; Young, 1949). In the following discussion I present a brief history of empirical social research, with an emphasis on survey analysis. The discussion examines research in the context of its linkage with social work. Interestingly enough, the separate histories of the social work profession and survey research have several common threads. In addition, I would like to draw out the utility of formal survey analysis to the task of social work

The Operation of Professional Journals in Social Work

The concern of this paper is a systematic examination of one of the major social structures developed to foster the growth and regulation of the knowledge construction enterprise in social work-the professional journal. The foci of the analyses are: 1) the normative criteria of editorial board members, 2) the characteristics of the editorial judges, and 3) the factors which influence editorial decision making

Improving the management and care of refugees in Australian hospitals: A descriptive study

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate healthcare provider perceptions of the impact of refugee patients at two public hospitals, one rural and one urban, in designated refugee resettlement areas. Healthcare professionals’ views regarding improvements that could be made in this area were also sought. Methods: Two page anonymous questionnaires containing demographic, quantitative and open-ended questions were distributed to 150 healthcare providers at each research site. Results: Response rates were 50% and 49% at the rural and urban sites respectively. Refugees were seen at least monthly by 40% of the respondents. Additional support was requested by 70% of respondents. Confidence was associated with being born overseas (p=0.029) and increased time working with refugees (rs=0.418, p\u3c0.001). Only 47% of respondents felt confident managing social and psychological needs of refugees. Midwives saw refugees more than nursing and allied healthcare staff combined and this was significant at the rural hospital (p\u3c0.001). Rural respondents reported that working with refugees enhanced their practice (p=0.025), although felt significantly less confident (p\u3c0.001) than urban respondents. Themes that arose regarding barriers to care included: language and cultural barriers, paucity of knowledge and issues accessing available services including appropriate interpreters, Medicare eligibility and patient factors including lack of patient trust in government systems. Desire for support was more pronounced in the rural setting (p=0.001). Conclusions: Refugees were seen frequently in both settings and most respondents requested additional support highlighting that caring for refugees in Australian hospitals is a significant challenge. Additional support and education should be targeted to those helping refugees most frequently, particularly midwifery services, to reduce barriers to care

Negative Arousal and its Influence on Memory Recall

Research suggests that “positive” stressors, such as energy from exercising or excitement, arouse the body and improves memory (Winter et. al, 2007). Although exercise is physically arousing and enhances retention, less is known about more “negative” stressors such as frustration. Past research has shown that acute stress enhances memory, despite elevated cortisol levels and heart rate (Henckens et. al, 2009). Frustration is described as an emotional reaction to stress (Fillauler et al, 2019), but is unknown how it affects memory processing. Since frustration often accompanies stressful experiences, it is important to further understand the effects of frustration, independently, in affecting memory responses. We used a character searching task known as “Where’s Waldo” that varied in difficulty level to elicit frustration in participants, and a list of twenty words that the participant had to attempt to recall. We predicted that frustration will increase heart rate and therefore, increase memory recall ability. We found that as participants got more frustrated through each character searching task, their ability to memorize and recall the list of words in the allotted time got better. The frustration they experienced influenced their heart to beat faster which made their memory recall ability better. Our intention was to invoke a feeling of frustration which can be a strong emotion. That strong emotion can be what is needed to help reach a physically arousing threshold that allows the brain to retain the information and be able to recall it

What Hillary Rodham Clinton really said about children's rights and child policy

As editors of a professional, scientific and scholarly journal in the children's field our interest is to promote fair, careful and objective discussion of children's issues. In this regard, we have been disturbed by recent efforts to misrepresent the views and contribution of Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of our colleagues in the children's field. In this paper we systematically analyze Hillary Rodham Clinton's writings and review her contribution. Her legal approach can best be described as conservative, arguing for judicial restraint with respect to state involvement in family life. Taking into account her work on behalf of children through the Children's Defense Fund we conclude that Hillary Rodham Clinton has been an important voice for the cause of children.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30351/1/0000753.pd

Supporting transplant athletes:perspectives on delivery of a sports performance and well-being service at the British Transplant Games

Evidence suggests that engaging in physical activity improves the mental and physical health of transplant recipients. An opportunity to be more active could be participating in the national and international network of Transplant Games. Although the literature on motivations for and the experience of taking part in the Games is available, little is known about what role applied practitioners, specifically sport and exercise psychologists could play as transplant recipients prepare and compete. This paper offers perspectives on the provision of a sports performance well-being service delivered at the British Transplant Games. The paper consists of several sections. The first offers background and how the service came into being. The second provides details of the model and philosophy that underpinned the service delivery. The third includes the trainee and exercise practitioner's casework and the challenges therein. Informed by the team's reflections and post-games survey the final section proposes recommendations for future applied sport and exercise services at this unique event

Multiannual observations and modelling of seasonal thermal profiles through supraglacial debris in the Central Himalaya

Many glaciers in the Central Himalaya are covered with rock debris that modifies the transfer of heat from the atmosphere to the underlying ice. These debris-covered glaciers are experiencing rapid mass loss at rates that have accelerated during the last two decades. Quantifying recent and future glacier mass change requires understanding the relationship between debris thickness and ablation particularly through the summer monsoon season. We present air, near-surface and debris temperatures measured during three monsoon seasons at five sites on Khumbu Glacier in Nepal, and compare these results to similar measurements from two other debris-covered glaciers in this region. Seasonal debris temperature profiles are approximately linear and consistent between sites for thick (>?0.5?m) and thin (<?0.5?m) debris across thicknesses ranging from 0.26 to 2.0?m. The similarities between these multiannual data imply that they are representative of supraglacial debris layers in the monsoon-influenced Himalaya more generally. We compare three methods to calculate sub-debris ablation, including using our temperature measurements with a thermal diffusion model that incorporates a simplified treatment of debris moisture. Estimated ablation between 3 June and 11 October at around 5000?m above sea level ranged from 0.10?m water equivalent beneath 1.5?m of debris to 0.47?m water equivalent beneath 0.3?m debris. However, these values are small when compared to remotely observed rates of surface lowering, suggesting that mass loss from these debris-covered glaciers is greatly enhanced by supraglacial and englacial processes that locally amplify ablationauthorsversionPeer reviewe

Effect of cytochrome P450 inhibition on toxicity of diclofenac in chickens : unravelling toxicity in Gyps vultures

DATA AVAILABILITY : (1) The original thesis with associated raw data is available on the University of Pretoria Repository, using the following handle; https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/75858. (2) The following figures have associated raw data: Table 1, Table 2 and Figure 2. (3) There are no restrictions on data availability and it can be requested from the corresponding author (S.L.).Diclofenac was responsible for the decimation of Gyps vulture species on the Indian subcontinent during the 1980s and 1990s. Gyps vultures are extremely sensitive (the lethal dose 50 [LD50] ~ 0.1 mg/kg – 0.2 mg/kg), with toxicity appearing to be linked to metabolic deficiency, demonstrated by the long T1/2 (~12 h – 17 h). This is in striking comparison to the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), in which the LD50 is ~10 mg/kg and the T1/2 is ~1 h. The phase 1 cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C subfamily has been cited as a possible reason for metabolic deficiency. The aim of this study was to determine if CYP2C9 homolog pharmacogenomic differences amongst avian species is driving diclofenac toxicity in Gyps vultures. We exposed each of 10 CYP-inhibited test group chickens to a unique dose of diclofenac (as per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] toxicity testing guidelines) and compared the toxicity and pharmacokinetic results to control group birds that received no CYP inhibitor. Although no differences were noted in the LD50 values for each group (11.92 mg/kg in the CYP-inhibited test group and 11.58 mg/kg in the control group), the pharmacokinetic profile of the test group was suggestive of partial inhibition of CYP metabolism. Evaluation of the metabolite peaks produced also suggested partial metabolic inhibition in test group birds, as they produced lower amounts of metabolites for one of the three peaks demonstrated and had higher diclofenac exposure. This pilot study supports the hypothesis that CYP metabolism is varied amongst bird species and may explain the higher resilience to diclofenac in the chicken versus vultures.The University of Pretoria, Department of Paraclinical Studies.http://www.ojvr.orgam2023Paraclinical Science

A protocol for a scoping review of equity measurement in mental health care for children and youth

Background: Mental health (MH) problems are among the most important causes of morbidity and mortality for children and youth. Problems of lack of equity in child and youth MH services (CYMHS)-including, but not limited to, problems in inaccessibility and quality of services-are widespread. Characterizing the nature of equity in CYMHS is an ongoing challenge because the field lacks a consistent approach to conceptualizing equity. We will conduct a scoping review of how equity in MH services for children and youth has been defined, operationalized, and measured. Our objectives are to discover: (1) What conceptual definitions of equity are used by observational studies of CYMHS?; (2) What service characteristics of CYMHS care do indices of equity cover?; (3) What population dimensions have been used to operationalize equity?; (4) What statistical constructs have been used in indices that measure CYMHS equity?; and (5) What were the numerical values of those indices? Methods: The following databases will be searched: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, CINAHL, EconLit, and Sociological Abstracts. Searches will be conducted from the date of inception to the end of the last full calendar year (December 2019). Studies will be included if they include an evaluation of a mental health service for children or youth (defined as those under 19 years of age) and which quantify variation in some aspect of child or youth mental health services (e.g., accessibility, volume, duration, or quality) as a function of socio-demographic and/or geographic variables. Study selection will occur over two stages. Stage one will select articles based on title and abstract using the liberal-accelerated method. Stage two will review the full texts of selected titles. Two reviewers will work independently on full-text reviewing, with each study screened twice using pre-specified eligibility criteria. One reviewer will chart study characteristics and indices to be verified by a second reviewer. Reviewers will resolve full-text screening and data extraction disagreements through discussion. Synthesis of the collected data will focus on compiling and mapping the types and characteristics of the indices used to evaluate MH services equity. Discussion: The planned, systematic scoping review will survey the literature regarding how equity in MH services for children and youth has been operationalized and help inform future studies of equity in CYMHS. Systematic review registration: Open Science Foundation ID SYSR-D-19-00371, https://osf.io/58srv/

A protocol for a scoping review of equity measurement in mental health care for children and youth

Background: Mental health (MH) problems are among the most important causes of morbidity and mortality for children and youth. Problems of lack of equity in child and youth MH services (CYMHS)-including, but not limited to, problems in inaccessibility and quality of services-are widespread. Characterizing the nature of equity in CYMHS is an ongoing challenge because the field lacks a consistent approach to conceptualizing equity. We will conduct a scoping review of how equity in MH services for children and youth has been defined, operationalized, and measured. Our objectives are to discover: (1) What conceptual definitions of equity are used by observational studies of CYMHS?; (2) What service characteristics of CYMHS care do indices of equity cover?; (3) What population dimensions have been used to operationalize equity?; (4) What statistical constructs have been used in indices that measure CYMHS equity?; and (5) What were the numerical values of those indices? Methods: The following databases will be searched: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, CINAHL, EconLit, and Sociological Abstracts. Searches will be conducted from the date of inception to the end of the last full calendar year (December 2019). Studies will be included if they include an evaluation of a mental health service for children or youth (defined as those under 19 years of age) and which quantify variation in some aspect of child or youth mental health services (e.g., accessibility, volume, duration, or quality) as a function of socio-demographic and/or geographic variables. Study selection will occur over two stages. Stage one will select articles based on title and abstract using the liberal-accelerated method. Stage two will review the full texts of selected titles. Two reviewers will work independently on full-text reviewing, with each study screened twice using pre-specified eligibility criteria. One reviewer will chart study characteristics and indices to be verified by a second reviewer. Reviewers will resolve full-text screening and data extraction disagreements through discussion. Synthesis of the collected data will focus on compiling and mapping the types and characteristics of the indices used to evaluate MH services equity. Discussion: The planned, systematic scoping review will survey the literature regarding how equity in MH services for children and youth has been operationalized and help inform future studies of equity in CYMHS. Systematic review registration: Open Science Foundation ID SYSR-D-19-00371, https://osf.io/58srv/