Occupational Social Work Education for Employee Assistance Practice

ABSTRACT

This article explores the current state of Occupational Social Work/Employee Assistance (OSW/EA) education. It examines the relationship between social work curricula, field placement experiences, and entry-level employment opportunities in the OSW/EA field. It is based on an educational initiative called the Partnership for Employee Assistance Education. Drawing on the OSW/EA literature, surveys, and focus group materials, the article concludes that the nature of OSW/EA is being reshaped by information technology, shifting demographics, globalization, and evolving terms and conditions of employment. The authors discuss how the graduate-level OSW/EA curriculum and field placements are being transformed to reflect these trends. Concepts such as Organizational Social Work and organizational intelligence are discussed. Innovative educational strategies are recommended. Finally, the authors argue that the contemporary workplace offers potential opportunity for innovative social work practice and education.     

Young children working together. Cooperative learning effects on group work of children in Grade 1 of primary education

It was examined whether cooperative learning within the Success for All (SfA) program led to improved group work behaviour of Grade 1 pupils. 168 pupils of six SfA schools and 144 pupils of four control schools participated. Positive and negative group work behaviour was observed during a group task, taking into account socioemotional ethos, group participation, and type of dialogue. Longitudinal multilevel analysis was used for the sequence of observed 20-s time intervals. SfA groups showed more positive and less negative group work behaviour compared to control groups, whilst controlling for several group characteristics. Results suggest that negative group work behaviour increased gradually during the whole task in control groups, while in SfA groups it increased only towards the end of the task. The findings indicate that cooperative learning may lead to improved group work behaviour of young pupils (6–7 years old).     

Impact of digital surge during Covid-19 pandemic: A viewpoint on research and practice

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies due to the social distancing norms and nationwide lockdowns. People and organizations all over the world have had to adjust to new ways of work and life. We explore possible scenarios of the digital surge and the research issues that arise.An increase in digitalization is leading firms and educational institutions to shift to work-from-home (WFH). Blockchain technology will become important and will entail research on design and regulations. Gig workers and the gig economy is likely to increase in scale, raising questions of work allocation, collaboration, motivation, and aspects of work overload and presenteeism. Workplace monitoring and technostress issues will become prominent with an increase in digital presence. Online fraud is likely to grow, along with research on managing security. The regulation of the internet, a key resource, will be crucial post-pandemic.Research may address the consequences and causes of the digital divide. Further, the issues of net neutrality and zero-rating plans will merit scrutiny. A key research issue will also be the impact and consequences of internet shutdowns, frequently resorted to by countries. Digital money, too, assumes importance in crisis situations and research will address their adoption, consequences, and mode. Aspects of surveillance and privacy gain importance with increased digital usage.     

Locked-down digital work

Covid-19 and the related lockdown in many countries made digital work no longer just an option, but the new norm for many office workers who began to make sense of a new range of benefits of digital work tools. Based on my own observations and on observations shared by executives in New Zealand and Europe, I illustrate in this article how the lockdown acted as a facilitator for digital work. Further, I show how the lockdown gave many individuals a flawed impression of digital work, i.e. their experience occurred during exceptional circumstances and led them to draw false conclusions about digital work. I examine some misconceptions of locked-down digital work and discuss the implications of locked-down digital work for research and practice.     

Walking and biologic ageing: Evidence based on NHANES telomere data

ABSTRACT

The length of telomeres is an objective measure of biologic ageing. This study evaluated the extent minutes of walking per week are associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in a random sample of 5,823 U.S. adults. The investigation was cross-sectional and data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). LTL was measured by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. Walking minutes was calculated from walking frequency and duration measures. Results showed that for each year of chronological age, telomeres were 15.6 base pairs shorter (P < 0.0001). With walking minutes and LTL treated as continuous variables, the relationship was quadratic, not linear (F = 11.2, P = 0.0023). With walking time divided into three categories, adults who performed ≥ 150 minutes of walking per week had longer telomeres than those who did no regular walking, and those who did some, but less than the recommendation (F = 5.0, P = 0.0137). Regular walkers were estimated to have a biologic ageing advantage associated with 6.5–7.6 years less biologic ageing compared to non-walkers, after adjusting for covariates. Additional investigations designed to study causality and the mechanisms associated with the walking and LTL relationship are needed.     

山西省青少年武术套路运动员无氧能力特征的研究

文章通过对山西省武术管理中心16名青少年武术套路运动员进行了无氧功测试、血乳酸测试,测试所获数据采用秩和检验进行组间均数比较,并对wingate结果和血乳酸结果进行相关性检验,得出结论：（1）青少年武术套路运动员的无氧能力并不是影响成绩的主要因素。（2）青少年武术套路运动员的无氧能力相比体能占主导的无氧运动而言较差。（3）wingate测试的各项指标采用其体重相对值更能反映运动员之间无氧能力的差别。（4）运动后7分钟的血乳酸水平可以反应青少年武术套路运动员的无氧能力水平。     

“阳光体育运动”在宁高校贯彻现状探析

教体艺[2006]6号《教育部国家体育总局共青团中央关于开展全国亿万学生阳光体育运动的决定》已推出三年了,各学校的贯彻落实情况究竟如何？运用文献资料法、问卷调查法、专家访谈法和数理统计法,对南京部分高校进行了调研,发现阳光体育运动贯彻落实并没有得到保障,更没有达到预期的目标。     

小周期化背景下运动训练计划的过程性特点

对计划与方案实施二者特征的论述有助于更好地在运动训练的过程中调控好各个相关因素,达到促进运动训练计划与方案实施的高度和谐统一状态,使训练负荷安排的调控更加科学化。运动训练过程中,教练员要掌握一定的变通能力,对不同运动员的不同时期进行紧密观察,从而变更训练手段,以达到提高运动训练成绩的目的。     

新时期提升体育教师工作积极性的策略分析

分析了提升体育教师工作积极性的必要性,总结了影响体育教师工作积极性的各种因素,并且根据这些影响因素,提出了激发体育教师工作积极性的有效策略,以期能够有效提升我国体育老师的工作积极性,提高学校体育教育效果。     

民族传统体育当代使命与实现研究

确定民族传统体育当代使命,深化民族传统体育发展建设,努力实现使命,对我国文化强国打造,意义重大。要实现民族传统体育当代使命,要做到：创意民族传统体育活动体系、构建文化理论体系、科学统筹规划发展建设,同时还要加强对媒介传播路径的利用和建设。