Psychology and Social Work: Applied Perspectives

Successful social work practice is underpinned by knowledge, theories and research findings from a range of related disciplines, key amongst which is psychology. This timely book offers a grounded and engaging guide to psychology s vital role at the heart of contemporary social work practice. The book skilfully addresses some of the central theoretical developments in psychology from an applied perspective, and explains how these make essential contributions to the methods and theory base of social work in ways that foster critical evaluation and promote best practice. Written by two authors with extensive backgrounds in psychology and social work respectively as well as a deep understanding of the intersections of the two this book delivers a unique synthesis of perspectives and approaches, focusing on their application to the lives of individuals and families. Each chapter contains reflective points and case studies based on contemporary practice realities which are related to the Professional Capabilities Framework for Social Workers and also to the Health and Care Professions Council s Standards of Proficiency. Times have never been more challenging for social work and this book will be an invaluable source of professional support within the ever-more complex psychological worlds where social work takes place. Table of Contents 1. Introduction: The place of psychological knowledge and research in social work training and practice 2. Signposts from Developmental Psychology on Human Development over the Life Course 3. Perspectives from Clinical and Counselling Psychology on Mental Health and Illness 4. Perspectives from Social and Community Psychology: Understanding values, attitudes, diversity and community change 5. Health Psychology: Understanding health, illness, stress and addiction 6. Organizational Psychology: Understanding the individual and the organization in the social work structure 7. Forensic Psychology: Understanding criminal behaviour and working with victims of crime 8. Conclusion References Index

Enhancing Quality of Life for People who are Blind or Low Vision Using Computing Technology

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Negotiating Community and Nation in Chợ Lớn: Nation-building, Community-building and Transnationalism in Everyday Life during the Republic of Việt Nam, 1955-1975

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Measurement of Training Intensity and Work During Submaximal Isokinetic Progressive Resistance Training Protocols

Physical exercise programmes are routinely prescribed in clinical practice to treat impairments, improve activity and participation in daily life because of their known physiological, health and psychological benefits (RCP, 2009). Progressive resistance exercise is a type of exercise prescribed specifically to improve skeletal muscle strength (Latham et al., 2004). The effectiveness of progressive resistance exercise varies considerably between studies and populations. This thesis focuses on how training parameters influence the delivery of progressive resistance exercise. In order to appropriately evaluate the influence of training parameters, this thesis argues the need to record training performance and the total work completed by participants as prescribed by training protocols. In the first study, participants were taken through a series of protocols differentiated by the intensity and volume of training. Training intensity was defined as a proportion of the mean peak torque achieved during maximal voluntary contractions and was set at 80% and 40% respectively of the MVC mean peak torque. Training volume was defined as the total external work achieved over the training period. Measures of training performance were developed to accurately report the intensity, repetitions and work completed during the training period. A second study evaluated training performance of the training protocols over repeated sessions. These protocols were then applied to 3 stroke survivors. Study 1 found sedentary participants could achieve a differentiated training intensity. Participants completing the high and low intensity protocols trained at 80% and 40% respectively of the MVC mean peak torque. The total work achieved in the high intensity low repetition protocol was lower than the total work achieved in the low intensity high repetition protocol. With repeated practice, study 2 found participants were able to improve in their ability to perform manoeuvres as shown by a reduction in the variation of the mean training intensity achieving total work as specified by the protocol to a lower margin of error. When these protocols were applied to 3 stroke survivors, they were able to achieve the specified training intensity but they were not able to achieve the total work as expected for the protocol. This is likely to be due to an inability in achieving a consistent force throughout the contraction. These results demonstrate evaluation of training characteristics and support the need to record and report training performance characteristics during progressive resistance exercise, including the total work achieved, in order to elucidate the influence of training parameters on progressive resistance exercise. The lack of accurate training performance may partly explain the inconsistencies between studies on optimal training parameters for progressive resistance exercise.

Information and communication technology demands at work : the association with job strain, effort-reward imbalance and self-rated health in different socio-economic strata

PURPOSE: The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is common in modern working life. ICT demands may give rise to experience of work-related stress. Knowledge about ICT demands in relation to other types of work-related stress and to self-rated health is limited. Consequently, the aim of this study was to examine the association between ICT demands and two types of work-related stress [job strain and effort-reward imbalance (ERI)] and to evaluate the association between these work-related stress measures and self-rated health, in general and in different SES strata. METHODS: This study is based on cross-sectional data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health collected in 2014, from 14,873 gainfully employed people. ICT demands, job strain, ERI and self-rated health were analysed as the main measures. Sex, age, SES, lifestyle factors and BMI were used as covariates. RESULTS: ICT demands correlated significantly with the dimensions of the job strain and ERI models, especially with the demands (r = 0.42; p < 0.01) and effort (r = 0.51; p < 0.01) dimensions. ICT demands were associated with suboptimal self-rated health, also after adjustment for age, sex, SES, lifestyle and BMI (OR 1.49 [95 % CI 1.36-1.63]), but job strain (OR 1.93 [95 % CI 1.74-2.14) and ERI (OR 2.15 [95 % CI 1.95-2.35]) showed somewhat stronger associations with suboptimal self-rated health. CONCLUSION: ICT demands are common among people with intermediate and high SES and associated with job strain, ERI and suboptimal self-rated health. ICT demands should thus be acknowledged as a potential stressor of work-related stress in modern working life.

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990–2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Life cycle assessment of advanced bioethanol production from pulp and paper sludge

This work evaluates the environmental performance of using pulp and paper sludge as feedstock for the production of second generation ethanol. An ethanol plant for converting 5400 tons of dry sludge/year was modelled and evaluated using a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment approach. The sludge is a burden for pulp and paper mills that is mainly disposed in landfilling. The studied system allows for the valorisation of the waste, which due to its high polysaccharide content is a valuable feedstock for bioethanol production. Eleven impact categories were analysed and the results showed that enzymatic hydrolysis and neutralisation of the CaCO3 are the environmental hotspots of the system contributing up to 85% to the overall impacts. Two optimisation scenarios were evaluated: (1) using a reduced HCl amount in the neutralisation stage and (2) co-fermentation of xylose and glucose, for maximal ethanol yield. Both scenarios displayed significant environmental impact improvements.

An investigation of environmental conditions experienced during the life of high-value wood components and products

Australian forest industries have a long history of export trade of a wide range of products from woodchips (for paper manufacturing), sandalwood (essential oils, carving and incense) to high value musical instruments, flooring and outdoor furniture. For the high value group, fluctuating environmental conditions brought on by changes in temperature and relative humidity, can lead to performance problems due to consequential swelling, shrinkage and/or distortion of the wood elements. A survey determined the types of value-added products exported, including species and dimensions packaging used and export markets. Data loggers were installed with shipments to monitor temperature and relative humidity conditions. These data were converted to timber equilibrium moisture content values to provide an indication of the environment that the wood elements would be acclimatising to. The results of the initial survey indicated that primary high value wood export products included guitars, flooring, decking and outdoor furniture. The destination markets were mainly located in the northern hemisphere, particularly the United States of America, China, Hong Kong, Europe (including the United Kingdom), Japan, Korea and the Middle East. Other regions importing Australian-made wooden articles were south-east Asia, New Zealand and South Africa. Different timber species have differing rates of swelling and shrinkage, so the types of timber were also recorded during the survey. Results from this work determined that the major species were ash-type eucalypts from south-eastern Australia (commonly referred to in the market as Tasmanian oak), jarrah from Western Australia, spotted gum, hoop pine, white cypress, black butt, brush box and Sydney blue gum from Queensland and New South Wales. The environmental conditions data indicated that microclimates in shipping containers can fluctuate extensively during shipping. Conditions at the time of manufacturing were usually between 10 and 12% equilibrium moisture content, however conditions during shipping could range from 5 (very dry) to 20% (very humid). The packaging systems incorporated were reported to be efficient at protecting the wooden articles from damage during transit. The research highlighted the potential risk for wood components to ‘move’ in response to periods of drier or more humid conditions than those at the time of manufacturing, and the importance of engineering a packaging system that can account for the environmental conditions experienced in shipping containers. Examples of potential dimensional changes in wooden components were calculated based on published unit shrinkage data for key species and the climatic data returned from the logging equipment. The information highlighted the importance of good design to account for possible timber movement during shipping. A timber movement calculator was developed to allow designers to input component species, dimensions, site of manufacture and destination, to see validate their product design.

Effect of Aging in the Perception of Health-Related Quality of Life in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients under Online-Hemodiafiltration

This work aimed to evaluate how aging could influence patients' perception of health quality of life (HRQOL), as well as, the effect of aging on dialysis adequacy and in hematological, iron status, inflammatory and nutritional markers. In this transversal study were enrolled 305 ESRD patients under online-hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) (59.67% males; 64.9 ± 14.3 years old). Data about comorbidities, hematological data, iron status, dialysis adequacy, nutritional and inflammatory markers were collected from patient's records. Moreover, HRQOL score, by using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-Short Form (KDQOL-SF), was assessed. Analyzing the results according to quartiles of age, significant differences were found for some parameters evaluated by the KDQOL-SF instrument, namely for work status, physical functioning and role-physical, which decreased with increasing age. We also found a higher proportion of diabetic patients, a decrease in creatinine, iron, albumin serum levels, transferrin saturation and nPCR, with increasing age. Moreover, significant negative correlations were found between age and mean cell hemoglobin concentration, iron, transferrin saturation, albumin, nPCR, work status, physical functioning and role-physical. In conclusion, our results showed that aging is associated with a decreased work status, physical functioning and role-physical, with a decreased dialysis adequacy, iron availability and nutritional status, and with an increased proportion of diabetic patients and of patients using central venous catheter, as the vascular access. The knowledge of these changes associated with aging, which have impact in the quality of life of the patients, could be useful in their management.

Measuring attachment to life in old age: the Portuguese version of the Positive Valuation of Life Scale (Positive VOL)

Purpose This study aims to present the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Positive Valuation of Life Scale (Lawton et al. in J Aging Ment Healt 13:3–31, 2001). Method Sample included 207 community-dwelling elders (129 women; MAge = 77.2 years, SD = 7.5). The data collection included the translated and adapted Portuguese version of Positive Valuation of Life Scale, Life Satisfac- tion Index Z, Meaning in Life Questionnaire and Geriatric Depression Scale. Results From exploratory factor analysis, two factors emerged, existential beliefs and perceived control, ex- plaining 49 % of the total variance. Both factors were positively related with meaning in life and life satisfaction and negatively related with depression (p\0.05). The values obtained for internal consistency for the total scale and for each subscale were good (a [ 0.75). Conclusion The Portuguese version of Positive VOL Scale represents a reliable and valid measure to capture the subjective experience of attachment to one’s life. The two-factor structure is an update to Lawton’s previous work and in line with findings obtained in the USA (Dennis et al. in What is valuation of life for frail community-dwelling older adults: factor structure and criterion validity of the VOL, Thomas Jefferson University, Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health Research, 2005) and Japan (Nakagawa et al. in Shinrigaku Kenkyu 84:37–46, 2013). Future research is required to investigate VOL predictors and the potential changes toward the end of the life span.

Albert Camus and Damien Hirst: Always looking on the absurd side of life

The aim of this text is to consider the notions of life and art, revealed in Camus’s texts, mainly The Myth of Sisyphus (published in French in 1942) and The Rebel (1951), and extrapolate them to the present state of contemporary art by analysing a few artworks by Damien Hirst, the richest living artist, a modern Sisyphus in the self-awareness he manifests towards the incongruity of his work. Always looking on the absurd side of life dwells on the inevitability of life and art, accepting the fact, according to Camus’s words, that: the impossible remains impossible. Instead of denying the meaningless and finding some form of redemption, both French writer and British artist have embraced this potential and have used the absurd as a form of conveying meaning to their art. Hirst’s artworks that will be referred in this text include the series: The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991); Mother and Child Divided (1993); For the Love of God (2007) and For Heaven’s Sake (2008).

Project work in a Basque L2 classroom: students’ perceptions

[EN] Project Work has been acknowledged as an efficient medium for language learning for more than two decades (Stoller, 2006) according to the numerous successful applications of project-based programmes that have been reported. In spite of the lack of sufficient controlled studies to assess the benefits of project work, and the existence of some studies giving evidence of students discontent with project work, the reports given by second language (SL) and foreign language students (FL) who have experienced project based instruction give support to the success attributed to project-based learning, as they recognised having improved language skills, learnt content, developed real life skills, as well as gained in self-confidence and motivation (Sierra, 2008 and 2011; Stoller, 2006). The aim of the present study is to explore some key issues involved in implementing a project-based programme focusing on the students’ perceptions of learning gains, their views on the collaborative assessment scheme used in the programme, and the students’ overall evaluations of the implementation of project work in a post-compulsory secondary education context in Navarre, Spain, with students learning Basque as a second language. A group of 12 students enrolled in a project work based programme participated in the study. Results showed that the students’ perceptions were very positive concerning doing projects, learning gains and group work, although more grammar instruction and teacher-fronted activities were requested by the students. However, the collaborative assessment process and the use of a Notebook/Diary as a reflection tool bore mixed evaluations.

Chronic low back pain among French healthcare workers and prognostic factors of return to work (RTW): a non-randomized controlled trial

International audience

Carpal tunnel syndrome and computer exposure at work in two large complementary cohorts.

International audience