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Eye on Ethics: The Dark Side of Social Work - Ethical Misconduct
No full textSocial work is a uniquely noble pursuit that clearly attracts extraordinarily compassionate, earnest, and principled practitioners. The unfortunate reality, shared by all professions, that some social workers—thankfully a very small minority—engage in profoundly unethical conduct should not detract from what we know to be true: that the overwhelming majority of social workers give meaning to the word integrity. A critical element of that integrity is a willingness and determination to confront and prevent unethical conduct in our ranks
The War Next Door: Peace Journalism in US Local and Distant Newspapers\u27 Coverage of Mexico
Get PDFThis study explores the relationship between proximity to a conflict and the tendency to use peace journalism rather than war journalism modes of reporting. In the context of the current drug war occurring in Mexico, articles from both local, border region US newspapers and from distant US newspapers were coded according to their usage of war or peace journalism frames. Analyses revealed that local newspapers utilized more peace journalism frames overall, and presented a less pessimistic and negative view of the conflict and parties. Distant newspapers, however, were more likely to showcase complexity of the conflict and many parties and people involved
School Based Nutrition and Exercise Program
Get PDFThe purpose of this project was to develop a school-based nutrition and exercise program aimed at encouraging and teaching healthful lifestyle choices and facilitating behavior change. A premise of the program was that sustainable changes in diet and physical activity accomplished in childhood may be carried into adulthood and may assist in the prevention of obesity in later years. The Ecological Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Nola Pender\u27s Health Promotion Model (2006) were the frameworks that guided this program development. The program duration was six weeks, and sessions met two times per week with 4th, 5th, and 6th grade participants. Children were given a pre-test to assess their knowledge base about healthy food choices, their activity levels, as well as to record a baseline weight
The Impact of Timing, Selection, and Dosage of Preoperative Prophylactic Antibiotics on Preventable Surgical Site Infections
Get PDFSurgical site infections (SSIs) are a subset of a larger group of infections that are known as hospital acquired infections (HAis). SSIs are a huge financial burden, costing billions of dollars in excess hospital charges every year. There is a considerable amount of evidence-based practice recommendations that can help reduce the incidence of SSIs. Research has supported the efficacy of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis when appropriately selected and timed according to published guidelines. In addition to these measures, re-dosing of antibiotics must occur for those procedures that last more than four hours in order to continue to maintain tissue perfusion throughout the surgical procedure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the timely administration, appropriate selection, and dosage of preoperative prophylactic antibiotics in surgical patients in one community hospital. A retrospective research design was used to obtain information on 100 randomly selected colon, hysterectomy, total hip and knee arthroplasty cases. Data were collected on those surgical procedures that occurred between October 1, 2010 and March 31 , 2011. During this time period, there were eight documented SSIs, three involving an organ space, and five that were superficial. In more than half of the colon and hysterectomy cases, the prophylactic antibiotic was administered less than 30 minutes before surgical incision, and in more than half of the total hip and total knee arthroplasty cases, antibiotic administration was between 30-60 minutes. All the procedures met the SCIP recommendations for timing and selection of prophylactic antibiotic. This study suggests that to ensure adequate tissue perfusion prior to surgical incision, the antibiotic should be administered in the preoperative holding unit, immediately prior to transfer to the operating room. This would assure that the antibiotic is given 30-60 minute timeframe, thus reducing the potential for the development of a SSI. Recommendations for further research and advanced nursing practice are discussed
Time for Learning
Get PDFLearning takes time, but providing time does not in itself ensure that learning will take place (Carroll, 1963; Stallings & Kaskowitz, 1974; Anderson, 1981; Aronson, Zimmer & Carlos, 1999; Berliner, 1990; Kidder et. al., 1975). We need to examine more closely how students are using time and which conditions maximize student engagement. As schools continue to struggle with meeting state and national standards using traditional educational pedagogies and structures, whole school reforms are often implemented to improve student learning and success. While several studies have attempted to begin this exploration, few, if any, actually ask students about their experiences, perspectives, and attitudes in reformed schools. Yet, student voice is increasingly identified as an essential component of school reform by implementation researchers, constructivists, and critical theorists. This study explores 8th graders’ perspectives toward learning in a school which implemented Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Reform, adding 30% more time to the school day, compared with a comparison group of 8th graders in the same school district with a traditional school day. A dominant sequential, or exploratory mixed methods approach, using principal interviews (N=2), student focus groups (N=4), and Time for Learning student survey (N=226), based primarily on scales from the School Success Profile (SSP) (Bowen & Richman, 2008) were utilized to explore students’ perspectives on time and learning. Results from the focus groups indicate that students in both schools reported teacher support and peer to peer collaboration opportunities are important. Focus group results also indicate that students in both schools report students’ opinions and perspectives are not valued. Students in the ELT school reported more academic relevancy or real world application of the curriculum. Students report wanting more activities and electives which take time, but do not actually want to be in school longer. Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) results confirmed that students in the ELT school had significantly different perspectives than students in the comparison school. Specifically, students in the ELT school scored significantly higher on the Student Engagement scale of the SSP than students in the comparison school
OK, I\u27m a Teacher Now: Reading Young Adult Literature in a Teacher Education Program
Get PDFAfter taking a young adult literature course as part of my Secondary Education/ English program, I felt I had gained only a limited understanding of the importance of the genre to my future career. In the class, we read several popular young adult texts, learned about their authors, identified censorship issues, and mentioned a few strategies related to the teaching of the texts. Much of the “understanding” related only to future applications in imagined classrooms, which left no room for critical reflection about what we might learn from reading the texts about ourselves as students and teachers. A sense of teacher identity based on theoretical beliefs, however, has been shown to increase the likelihood of teachers remaining in the profession (Chong, et al., 2011). Much of the research related to young adult literature maintains a highly strategydriven, short-term focus, leading to a division between theory and practice (Hayn, et al., 2011). Both are important, but not at the expense of one over the other. Amidst competing claims about teacher education, teacher certification, and student performance, it is important to understand the practical and theoretical opportunities that reading young adult literature provides for teacher candidates and teachers, whether specializing in the English content area or not.
As I moved through the education program, I noticed the reading and discussion of young adult literature in other teacher preparation courses, and thus began to observe and interview the pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and professors in those classes. I noticed that critical conversations about the relationship of young adult literature to the development of teacher identity can, and do, occur. In a class blog, Becky, a Master’s of Arts in Teaching for Secondary Education/English student wrote, “I was reading it [the adolescent text All of the Above by Shelley Pearsall] as a reader and as a future-teacher, which affected the experience. It wasn\u27t just about What did I think? but What would students think? and How might I use this? This metacognitive moment, among others, reveals the pre-service and in-service teachers’ critical thought not only about what to teach, but how and why. These rich interactions differed from my own experience of reading YAL in the Adolescent Literature course where lists of popular texts and authors dominated my teacher’s lectures.
Recognizing the college environment where these stories of pre-service and inservice teachers’ thoughts emerged, this research aims to follow the tradition of “schoolbased narrative inquiry” in which “the concepts and methods . . . are driven by practice and by a theoretical idea of the practical” (Xu & Connelly, 2010, p. 354). The questions framing this research include: What does reading young adult literature in a teacher education program provide candidates? What connections do teacher candidates make to their content areas? And, how does reading young adult literature affect the development of teacher identity? This research raises thought-provoking questions about the place of young adult literature in teacher education programs, questions that are relevant to teacher candidates, teacher educators, and those interested in exploring the competing claims in the field of education
The Effects of Adaptive Instruction on Developmental Rhythm Aptitude and Rhythm Achievement of Preschool Students with Hearing Impairment
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of adaptive instruction on the developmental rhythm aptitude and rhythm achievement of preschool students with a hearing impairment. Specifically, this study is designed to determine a) if the addition of body percussion and percussive instruments to music instruction affects the developmental rhythm aptitudes of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children with a hearing impairment and b) if the addition of body percussion and percussive instruments affects the rhythm achievement scores of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children with a hearing impairment. The results of this study may have implications for music teachers who teach students in an inclusive classroom setting. Subjects were 5 students from 3 intact preschool classrooms in an urban public elementary school. Audie was used as a pretest and posttest assessment tool.
The researcher taught each class two 30-minute music classes for 6 consecutive weeks. Content was identical for both the treatment group and the control group except that the treatment group received instruction utilizing hand drums and body percussion while the control group received instruction using stimulation from CD player speakers and general body movements such as clapping and tapping. Subjects engaged in activities in which they moved, sang, chanted, and responded to rhythm patterns both in a group and individually. Content for the lessons consisted of age-appropriate songs, rhythmic games, chants and movement activities. The researcher found no statistical difference found between the treatment and control groups for developmental rhythm aptitude scores. A five-point rating scale was used to measure rhythm achievement. Three judges independently rated each child’s video taped final performance. No significant difference was found for the effect of adaptive instruction. Students who received instruction that included drums and body percussion received similar rhythm achievement mean score as students who did not experience the drums and body percussion
Effects of Hypoxia-Ischemia and Anti-Inflammatory Prophylactic Treatment on Cortical and Hippocampal Volumes in the Developing Rat Brain
Get PDFVery low body weight as a result of premature birth is a common problem all around the world. Many of these infants have medical issues that arise as a direct result of their very low body weight. One of the biggest issues is a lack of oxygen, which is also known as hypoxia. Hypoxia and ischemia (lack of blood flow) are a problem at any age, but they can be especially devastating to infants who have not undergone critical periods of brain development. Hypoxia-ischemia (or HI) can cause problems that start as inflammation and end with large-scale cell death in the brain (encephalopathy). These pathologies can cause death, or if the infant lives, developmental disorders later in life (Volpe, 2009). Studies done by Lim et al. (2003) have shown promise for the use of inter-alpha-inhibitor proteins (IAIP) to reduce inflammatory damage in a sepsis model. Due to the activity of IAIP as an anti-inflammatory it is possible that it could mitigate the inflammatory damage in the brain caused by neonatal HI. In this study, stereological assessment was performed on 26 male Wistar rats to look for effects of IAIP injected after induction of HI. To measure the effects of the IAIP, volumes of the subjects cortical regions and hippocampal regions were measured after either a sham surgery, HI with an injection of saline or HI with an injection of IAIP. Although statistical analysis of results did not show any significant effect of treatment, this study established a novel paradigm that can be used for this type of research, and gave insight into how future studies could be modified to show a beneficial effect of IAIP injection following HI
Financially Sustaining University Lab Schools: One University’s Story
Get PDFUniversity lab schools connected to teacher preparation programs are based on the clinical teaching model. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education encourage teacher preparation programs to extend the hours required in clinical settings for teacher candidates. For years, some teacher preparation programs have championed the clinical teaching model. The university that was the focus of this study has implemented the clinical teaching model for over 87 years. Sustaining this model was not easy but through perseverance, this university did just that. The intent of this study was to determine the organizational practices implemented at this university that aided in financially sustaining university lab schools over time. Through a case study method, the researchers discovered lab schools were sustained by (a) creatively utilizing state funding and regular teacher candidate tuition to assist with lab schools’ support; (b) instituting childcare tuition to help cover costs; (c) using teacher candidate lab fees and including lab school teachers as university faculty
Riffs On Riffs
Get PDFA collection of original poetry written by Steven Lighty that examines the way music is created