School Social Work in Hartford, Connecticut: Correcting the Historical Record

This paper corrects the historical record on why and how school social work began in Hartford and who was instrumental in establishing the new service. The findings, based on a study of primary sources, revealed that a school principal, and not a psychologist as previously claimed, initiated the process that led the Hartford Charity Organization Society to appoint its Visitor, Winifred Singleton Bivin, a social caseworker, to also become the first social worker in the schools in January 1907. The social work profession, which owes its origin to the Charity Organization Movement, is also obligated to the Hartford Charity Organization Society for its cooperative work with the schools, which led to the inception and subsequent development of school social work by the schools and, in 1909, the appointment of Miss Sara Holbrook who subsequently became a national leader in the development of the fledgling profession

An investigation of the predictive accuracy of salinity forecast using the source IMS for the Murray-Darling river

The Murray Darling Basin (MDB) is Australia’s largest and most important river system. Today, the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) manages and operates the river system through the oversight of key components such as water storage, quality, markets, trade, sharing and salinity. In order to provide defensible operational decisions and enable effective planning, the MDBA has developed a model of the Lower Murray Darling River using the Source Integrated Modelling System (IMS). A key functionality of the model is the ability to forecast salinity. The forecasting of salinity enables justification of key water sharing and management decisions in relation to their effects on future salinity levels. In order to predict salinity, the current method is driven by three key inputs being salinity concentration (mg/L), flow (ML) and inflow salt load (Tonnes). Currently, salinity and flow are forecast using trend or average functions while inflow salt load is forecast using the average of the most recent month extrapolated forward. This research project worked to determine the current accuracy of salinity predictions within a new Source model and investigated methods used to estimate and forecast additional salt loads between the reaches. The project worked to improve the model prediction through investigating a variety of data smoothing methods in order to determine whether monthly averaging is the best representation of including the salt inflow loads within the current model. The project then worked to refine the existing forecast method using two approaches: one being trend extrapolation, and the second being application of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The results of the data smoothing analysis indicate that monthly averaging is the best representation of additional salt inflow used within the model. The results of the forecast analysis indicate that rather than using the average of the most recent month for forecasting, trend methods may provide a more effective option. Finally, the research found that the developed neural network was unable to recognize patterns present in the salt inflow data enabling an effective forecast. However, the research highlighted that the application of artificial neural networks are well suited to the prediction of water resource variables such as salinity and would make an excellent option for future research

Russian Dumping of Radioactive Wastes in the Sea of Japan: An Opportunity to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the London Convention 1972

By dumping 900 tons of radioactive waste into the Sea of Japan on October, 13, 1993, the Russian navy violated the moratorium on low-level radioactive waste dumping of the London Convention (the international treaty controlling ocean dumping). However, legal liability under the London Convention, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and international customary law arguably does not attach to this activity. Indeed, even though the London Convention was amended in November of 1993 to prohibit all ocean dumping of radioactive waste, Russia remains legally entitled to use the ocean as a disposal site for low-level wastes as a result of its formal objection to the amendment. Further, it is suggested that activity and ecosystem-specific regulations merely transfer the risks associated with the activity and may actually result in greater environmental harm. For this reason, the London Convention and indeed all international agreements should consider the global impacts of environmental regulations prior to prohibiting an activity

Satisfaction with the Profession and Career Status among BSW Social Workers

This study replicates a measurement of social workers\u27 professional satisfaction and expands the findings to include career status among BSW graduates. It was hypothesized that (1) graduates of BSW programs who practice social work were more satisfied with selected symbolic rewards than those who did not remain in the profession, and that (2) MSW\u27s will express more professional satisfaction than BSW\u27s. A 50 percent random sample of the 538 graduates from a midwestern university for the period 1971-1980 was surveyed. A total of 172 graduates participated, representing a 68 percent response rate. BSW graduates who remain in the profession were significantly more satisfied with selected symbolic rewards than those who left the social work profession. MSW\u27s are significanlty more satisfied with their professional choice, their work performance, and find the monetary rewards to be more satisfying than BSW practitioners

Challenging the Proposed Deregulation of P.L. 94-142: A Case Study of Citizen Advocacy

Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, considered by many to be the most significant federal legislation for children in need of special education, was proposed for deregulation by the Reagan administration in 1982. This study examines actions taken by citizen advocates-consumer/advocacy/parent (CAP) organizations and groups, parents, and other advocates for exceptional children-who gave testimony in opposition to the proposed changes at public hearings held by the United States Department of Education in late 1982. The most controversial proposed rules were withdrawn on September 29, 1982, while the remaining proposed changes were not implemented. Citizen advocates\u27 overwhelming presence at the hearings and their other activities were instrumental in defeating the administration\u27s efforts at deregulation

Students\u27 Views on the Future of Social Work

The need for the social work profession to understand the meaning of socio-economic and political trends has never been more important than at present. However, the application of future projection technology has lagged behind this need. The authors studied the views of students from eighteen universities and colleges on present socioeconomic trends, as represented by future specific scenarios. The implications of the future scenarios are discussed in relation to social justice, social work practice and education

Professional Retention of BSW Social Workers: Planned and Actual Career Choices

The assumption that BSW students will remain in social work was examined with a survey of 107 current students and 177 graduates from 1977 through 1980. The findings suggest that most of the current students planned to practice social work and most of the graduates entered social work practice upon graduation. Recent graduates, however, had more difficulty obtaining social work jobs than graduates in 1977. Characteristics of social work education are not associated with retention, leading to the hypothesis that factors outside the control of social work education are more predictive of BSWS\u27 retention in the profession

Protocol of a test of hearing health education programs for farm and rural youth

Abstract Background Farm and rural youth have frequent exposure to hazardous noise on the farm and recreationally, and have an increased prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss. There is a lack of programs to prepare this high-risk population to use hearing conservation strategies. Methods The purpose of this project is to test innovative hearing health education programs delivered to a large target group and to determine the effectiveness and sustainability of these programs in promoting hearing health among farm and rural youth. Specifically, this project includes: a) an interactive face-to-face informational program alone, b) an interactive face-to-face informational program followed by an Internet-based booster, and c) a no-intervention control. Sites will include selected affiliates of a major farm youth safety education organization. Data will be collected at baseline, 3, and 12 months. A linear mixed model will be used to compare the effectiveness of the three interventions over time. Descriptive statistics will be used to compare program costs and sustainability ratings. Discussion Outcomes of this project will provide knowledge necessary to implement quality and cost-effective services to farm and rural youth, a high-risk and underserved population, that can be implemented and sustained after the study is completed. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02472821 Registered 09 Jun, 2015.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115460/1/12889_2015_Article_2393.pd