School Social Workers and Extracurricular Activities: The Unanswered Questions About Potential Role Conflict

Abstract School social workers respond to students’ mental health needs from an education training perspective that defines set professional role boundaries in service provision that may differ from the multiple roles teachers have with students. One of those perspectives is a recognition of what may happen if a boundary crossing was to occur in a dual relationship with a client. Teachers are encouraged to take on a secondary role with students by coaching athletics or advising a club. Taking on dual roles with students has led to both increased job satisfaction and concerns regarding burnout for teachers. There is an absence of information that exists on what the experience has been of school social workers taking on secondary roles with students. Not having guidance for school social workers who elect to oversee extracurricular activities led the authors to explore what is the intended mission for the practice of school social work, how the existing literature on dual relationships may apply to school settings, and the findings from research conducted with teachers who take on dual roles with students. The recommendations provided are a need for data to establish what experience school social workers have with managing secondary roles and to not preclude school social workers from extracurricular activities when their presence can be of benefit to students and the school if dual relationships are properly managed

Forced Marriage and Modern Slavery: Analysing Marriage as a “Choiceless Choice”.

Several international conventions, and domestic law in fifty-two countries, ban forced marriage, and Human Rights conventions insist that marriage should only be entered into with the “free and full consent” of both parties. Using rational choice theory, we show that a closer examination of this concept reveals the extremely “bounded” nature of consent to marriage, such that marriage may be a “choiceless choice”, even where such marriages would not – in law – be considered “forced”. We do not use this to argue that all marriages are forms of modern slavery, but to urge for caution, and further research into the ways in which the powers attaching to the rights of ownership are exercised by one person over another could be manifested in marriage (i.e. could be de facto slavery), and the extent to which forced marriage necessarily involves a loss of sexual autonomy and non-commercial labour extracted under menace of penalty “under the guise of marriage” (i.e. be a form of modern slavery as defined by the International Labour Organisation and Walk Free). We agree that this might be manifested in a lack of consent to the marriage in the initial ceremony. However, we argue that this focus misses a variety of other ways in which some marriages could rightly be considered forms of modern slavery either narrowly or broadly understood, or as forms of human trafficking

Development of an intervention programme theory to increase movement in care homes for people with cognitive impairment:Care homes achieving realistic movement strategies (CHARMS)

There is an increase in both the number of people living in care homes, and the cognitive impairments they experience. Some of these experiences of cognitive impairments can be improved by appropriate movement and physical activity interventions, delivered in ways which take into account an individual’s preferences, needs and abilities. A clear intervention programme theory (how we expect an intervention to work) can improve effectiveness, acceptability, transferability and sustainability. We used a systematic framework (Six Steps in Quality Intervention Development) and a co-production approach, to develop an intervention programme theory for Care Homes Achieving Realistic Movement Strategies (CHARMS). We identified twenty factors contributing to low levels of physical activity and movement which we grouped into four categories for change: i) cultural/staff; ii) residents; iii) environmental and iv) policy/system. A theory of change was developed using these categories plus additional theories to create ownership. It became evident that the intervention (the theory of action) needed to include activities in all categories; intervening in just one category (e.g. providing weekly physical activity) was not sufficient in itself. Developing the programme theory enabled care homes to develop activities to meet their specific contextual needs and develop ownership of the process and the intervention

A Modified Version of the CAGE as an Indicator of Alcohol Abuse and Its Consequences Among Undergraduate Drinkers

In March of 1999, we conducted a cross-sectional, web-based survey using a random sample of 2041 undergraduate students attending a large, public university in the Midwest. The sample was recruited via e-mail and students completed the Web survey from their computer terminals. Toward the goal of establishing the usefulness of the CAGE when screening undergraduates for alcohol misuse, we first examined the proportion of undergraduates with a positive score on a modified version of the CAGE and then determined the correlates of a positive CAGE score (e.g. alcohol consumption, fear of addiction, etc.). We found preliminary evidence that the question “Have you been afraid you might be alcoholic” may be the best identifier, when compared to the modified CAGE, of at-risk students.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45671/1/11226_2004_Article_473908.pd

Sexual Identity and Substance Use Among Undergraduate Students

This study examined the association between sexual identity and use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) among college undergraduate students. A survey regarding AOD use was administered to a random sample of 3607 undergraduate students. The sample included 65 self-identified lesbian or bisexual (LB) women and 54 self-identified gay or bisexual (GB) men. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that while alcohol use did not differ for LB and heterosexual women, LB women were significantly more likely to experience certain AOD-related consequences, smoke cigarettes, and use marijuana, ecstasy, and other drugs. GB men were significantly less likely than heterosexual men to drink heavily but were more likely to use some drugs. These findings provide evidence that sexual identity is an important predictor of AOD use among undergraduate students. These findings support the need for continued research and intervention efforts that target LGB collegians.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45670/1/11226_2004_Article_464859.pd

Longitudinal realist evaluation of the dementia PersonAlised care team (D-PACT) intervention: protocol

BACKGROUND: Different dementia support roles exist but evidence is lacking on which aspects are best, for whom and in what circumstance, and on their associated costs and benefits. Phase 1 of the Dementia PersonAlised Care Team programme (D-PACT), developed a post-diagnostic primary care-based intervention for people with dementia and their carers and assessed the feasibility of a trial. AIM: Phase 2 of the programme aims to 1) refine our programme theory on how, when and for whom the intervention works and 2) evaluate its value and impact. DESIGN & SETTING: A realist longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation will be conducted in urban, rural, and coastal areas across Southwest and Northwest England where low-income groups or ethnic minorities (eg, South Asian) are represented. Design was informed by patient, public and professional stakeholder input and Phase one findings. METHOD: High volume qualitative and quantitative data will be collected longitudinally from people with dementia, carers and practitioners. Analyses will comprise: 1) realist longitudinal case studies; 2) conversation analysis of recorded interactions; 3) statistical analyses of outcome and experience questionnaires; 4 a) health economic analysis examining costs of delivery; 4b) realist economic analysis of high-cost events and 'near misses'. All findings will be synthesised using a joint display table, evidence appraisal tool, triangulation and stakeholder co-analysis. CONCLUSION: Our realist evaluation will describe how, why and for whom the intervention leads (or not) to change over time; it also demonstrates how a non-randomised design can be more appropriate for complex interventions with similar questions or populations