bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Generalized charge-screening in relativistic Thomas–Fermi model
Authors: Akbari-Moghanjoughi M.
Published: October 2014

In this paper, we study the charge shielding within the relativistic Thomas-Fermi model for a wide range of electron number-densities and the atomic-number of screened ions. A generalized energy-density relation is obtained using the force-balance equation and taking into account the Chandrasekhar's relativistic electron degeneracy pressure. By numerically solving a second-order nonlinear differential equation, the Thomas-Fermi screening length is investigated, and the results are compared for three distinct regimes of the solid-density, warm-dense-matter, and white-dwarfs (WDs). It is revealed that our nonlinear screening theory is compatible with the exponentially decaying Thomas-Fermi-type shielding predicted by the linear response theory. Moreover, the variation of relative Thomas-Fermi screening length shows that extremely dense quantum electron fluids are relatively poor charge shielders. Calculation of the total number of screening electrons around a nucleus shows that there is a position of maximum number of screening localized electrons around the screened nucleus, which moves closer to the point-like nucleus by increase in the plasma number density but is unaffected due to increase in the atomic-number value. It is discovered that the total number of screening electrons, (Ns∝rTF3/rd3 where rTF and rd are the Thomas-Fermi and interparticle distance, respectively) has a distinct limit for extremely dense plasmas such as WD-cores and neutron star crusts, which is unique for all given values of the atomic-number. This is equal to saying that in an ultrarelativistic degeneracy limit of electron-ion plasma, the screening length couples with the system dimensionality and the plasma becomes spherically self-similar. Current analysis can provide useful information on the effects of relativistic correction to the charge screening for a wide range of plasma density, such as the inertial-confined plasmas and compact stellar objects.
Coupling of plasmon modes in graphene microstructures
Authors: Nene Parinita , Strait Jared H. , Chan Wei-Min , Manolatou Christina , Tiwari Sandip , McEuen Paul L. , Rana Farhan
Published: October 2014

A variety of different graphene plasmonic structures and devices have been proposed and demonstrated experimentally. Plasmon modes in graphene microstructures interact strongly via the depolarization fields. An accurate quantitative description of the coupling between plasmon modes is required for designing and understanding complex plasmonic devices. Drawing inspiration from microphotonics, we present a coupled-mode theory for graphene plasmonics, in which the plasmon eigenmodes of a coupled system are expressed in terms of the plasmon eigenmodes of its uncoupled sub-systems. The coupled-mode theory enables accurate computation of the coupling between the plasmon modes and of the resulting dynamics. We compare theory with experiments performed on the plasmon modes in coupled arrays of graphene strips. In experiments, we tune the coupling by changing the spacing between the graphene strips in the array. Our results show that the coupling parameters obtained from the coupled-mode theory and the plasmon frequency changes resulting from this coupling agree very well with experiments. The work presented here provides a framework for designing and understanding coupled graphene plasmonic structures.
Extremely stretchable all-carbon-nanotube transistor on flexible and transparent substrates
Authors: Xia Minggang , Cheng Zhaofang , Han Jinyun , Zhang Shengli
Published: October 2014

The response of carbon-nanotube (CNT) transistors to large tensile strains has not been studied because of lack of stretchable devices. In this letter, we fabricate extremely stretchable single-wall CNT (SWCNT) conductive coatings on flexible and transparent elastomer substrates. We then measure the mechanical and electrical properties of the coatings and found excellent stretchability (Poisson ratio ≈ 0.31). The sheet resistances of the coatings remain largely unchanged under a large tensile strain. We then construct an active transistor on SWCNT thin films, which serve as active channel and electrodes, with polydimethylsiloxane thin film as the gate dielectric layer. The transistor exhibits excellent mechanical stability, showing no noticeable change (less than 5%) in electrical performance up to a large strain of 22.5%. The stretchable SWCNT thin-film transistor exhibits a current on–off ratio of ∼50 and field-effect mobility of ∼24 cm2 V−1 s−1, with 75% transmissivity in visible wavelength. We also found that on–off ratio increases with increased stretch strain, while mobility initially increases and then decreases with increased stretch strain.
Sexual selection on wing interference patterns in
Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Katayama Natsu , Abbott Jessica K. , Kjærandsen Jostein , Takahashi Yuma , Svensson Erik I.
Published: October 2014

Significance

Recently, it was discovered that small insects like flies and wasps, with seemingly transparent wings, display vivid coloration against dark backgrounds because of so-called “wing interference patterns” (WIPs). It was proposed that such wing coloration could function in sexual selection and species recognition, but direct evidence for this hypothesis has been lacking. Here, to our knowledge we present the first experimental evidence that WIPs in male
Drosophila melanogaster
are targets of mate choice from females. Comparison of attractiveness of different male WIPs between black and white backgrounds revealed that two different color traits, saturation and hue, experience directional and stabilizing sexual selection, respectively. Our results suggest that vivid coloration in WIPs is a target of mate choice and might have evolved by sexual selection.
Using Antibiograms to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing in Skilled Nursing Facilities
Authors: Furuno Jon P. , Comer Angela C. , Johnson J. Kristie , Rosenberg Joseph H. , Moore Susan L. , MacKenzie Thomas D. , Hall Kendall K. , Hirshon Jon Mark
Published: October 2014

Background.

Antibiograms have effectively improved antibiotic prescribing in acute-care settings; however, their effectiveness in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is currently unknown.

Objective.

To develop SNF-specific antibiograms and identify opportunities to improve antibiotic prescribing.

Design and Setting.

Cross-sectional and pretest-posttest study among residents of 3 Maryland SNFs.

Methods.

Antibiograms were created using clinical culture data from a 6-month period in each SNF. We also used admission clinical culture data from the acute care facility primarily associated with each SNF for transferred residents. We manually collected all data from medical charts, and antibiograms were created using WHONET software. We then used a pretest-posttest study to evaluate the effectiveness of an antibiogram on changing antibiotic prescribing practices in a single SNF. Appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy was defined as an empirical antibiotic choice that sufficiently covered the infecting organism, considering antibiotic susceptibilities.

Results.

We reviewed 839 patient charts from SNF and acute care facilities. During the initial assessment period, 85% of initial antibiotic use in the SNFs was empirical, and thus only 15% of initial antibiotics were based on culture results. Fluoroquinolones were the most frequently used empirical antibiotics, accounting for 54.5% of initial prescribing instances. Among patients with available culture data, only 35% of empirical antibiotic prescribing was determined to be appropriate. In the single SNF in which we evaluated antibiogram effectiveness, prevalence of appropriate antibiotic prescribing increased from 32% to 45% after antibiogram implementation; however, this was not statistically significant (P = .32).

Conclusions.

Implementation of antibiograms may be effective in improving empirical antibiotic prescribing in SNFs.
The Vietnam War and American Military Strategy, 1965–1973
Authors: Daddis Gregory A.
Published: October 2014

For nearly a decade, American combat soldiers fought in South Vietnam to help sustain an independent, noncommunist nation in Southeast Asia. After U.S. troops departed in 1973, the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975 prompted a lasting search to explain the United States’ first lost war. Historians of the conflict and participants alike have since critiqued the ways in which civilian policymakers and uniformed leaders applied—some argued misapplied—military power that led to such an undesirable political outcome. While some claimed U.S. politicians failed to commit their nation’s full military might to a limited war, others contended that most officers fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the war they were fighting. Still others argued “winning” was essentially impossible given the true nature of a struggle over Vietnamese national identity in the postcolonial era. On their own, none of these arguments fully satisfy. Contemporary policymakers clearly understood the difficulties of waging a war in Southeast Asia against an enemy committed to national liberation. Yet the faith of these Americans in their power to resolve deep-seated local and regional sociopolitical problems eclipsed the possibility there might be limits to that power. By asking military strategists to simultaneously fight a war and build a nation, senior U.S. policymakers had asked too much of those crafting military strategy to deliver on overly ambitious political objectives. In the end, the Vietnam War exposed the limits of what American military power could achieve in the Cold War era.
Asian American Literature, U.S. Empire, and the Eaton Sisters
Authors: Tang Edward
Published: October 2014

The Eaton sisters, Edith Maude (b. 1865–d. 1914) and Winnifred (b. 1875–d. 1954), were biracial authors who wrote under their respective pseudonyms, Sui Sin Far and Onoto Watanna. Raised in Montreal, Canada, by an English father and a Chinese mother, the sisters produced works that many scholars have recognized as among the first published by Asian American writers. Edith embraced her Chinese ancestry by composing newspaper articles and short stories that addressed the plight of Chinese immigrants in North America. Winnifred, on the other hand, posed as a Japanese woman and eclipsed her older sibling in popularity by writing interracial romances set in Japan.

The significance of the Eaton sisters emerges from a distinct moment in American history. At the turn of the 20th century, the United States began asserting an imperial presence in Asia and the Caribbean, while waves of immigrants entered the nation as valued industrial labor. This dual movement of overseas expansion and incoming foreign populations gave rise to a sense of superiority and anxiety within the white American mainstream. Even as U.S. statesmen and missionaries sought to extend democracy, Christianity, and trade relations abroad, they also doubted that people who came to America could assimilate themselves according to the tenets of a liberal white Protestantism. This concern became evident with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) and the Gentleman’s Agreement (1907), legislation that thwarted Chinese and Japanese immigration efforts. The lives and writings of the Eaton sisters intersected with these broader developments. As mixed-race authors, they catered to a growing U.S. consumer interest in things Asian, acting as cultural interpreters between East and West. In doing so, however, they complicated and challenged American beliefs and attitudes about race relations, gender roles, and empire building.
Death in Colonial North America: Cross-Cultural Encounters
Authors: Seeman Erik R.
Published: October 2014

Death is universal yet is experienced in culturally specific ways. Because of this, when individuals in colonial North America encountered others from different cultural backgrounds, they were curious about how unfamiliar mortuary practices resembled and differed from their own. This curiosity spawned communication across cultural boundaries. The resulting knowledge sometimes facilitated peaceful relations between groups, while at other times it helped one group dominate another.

Colonial North Americans endured disastrously high mortality rates caused by disease, warfare, and labor exploitation. At the same time, death was central to the religions of all residents: Indians, Africans, and Europeans. Deathways thus offer an unmatched way to understand the colonial encounter from the participants’ perspectives.
Haiti and the Early United States
Authors: Girard Philippe R.
Published: October 2014

Haiti (known as Saint-Domingue until it gained its independence from France in 1804) had a noted economic and political impact on the United States during the era of the American Revolution, when it forced U.S. statesmen to confront issues they had generally avoided, most prominently racism and slavery. But the impact of the Haitian Revolution was most tangible in areas like commerce, territorial expansion, and diplomacy. Saint-Domingue served as a staging ground for the French military and navy during the American Revolution and provided troops to the siege of Savannah in 1779. It became the United States’ second-largest commercial partner during the 1780s and 1790s. After Saint-Domingue’s slaves revolted in 1791, many of its inhabitants found refuge in the United States, most notably in Philadelphia, Charleston, and New Orleans. Fears (or hopes) that the slave revolt would spread to the United States were prevalent in public opinion. As Saint-Domingue achieved quasi-autonomous status under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture, it occupied a central place in the diplomacy of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The Louisiana Purchase was made possible in part by the failure of a French expedition to Saint-Domingue in 1802–1803. Bilateral trade declined after Saint-Domingue acquired its independence from France in 1804 (after which Saint-Domingue became known as Haiti), but Haiti continued to loom large in the African-American imagination, and there were several attempts to use Haiti as a haven for U.S. freedmen. The U.S. diplomatic recognition of Haiti also served as a reference point for antebellum debates on slavery, the slave trade, and the status of free people of color in the United States.
A Military History of the American Revolution, 1754–1783
Authors: Conway Stephen
Published: October 2014

The military history of the American Revolution is more than the history of the War of Independence. The Revolution itself had important military causes. The experience of the Seven Years’ War (which started in 1754 in North America) conditioned British attitudes to the colonies after that conflict was over. From 1764, the British Parliament tried to raise taxes in America to pay for a new permanent military garrison. British politicians resisted colonial objections to parliamentary taxation at least partly because they feared that if the Americans established their right not to be taxed by Westminster, Parliament’s right to regulate colonial overseas trade would then be challenged. If the Americans broke out of the system of trade regulation, British ministers, MPs, and peers worried, then the Royal Navy would be seriously weakened.

The War of Independence, which began in 1775, was not the great American triumph that most accounts suggest. The British army faced a difficult task in suppressing a rebellion three thousand miles from Britain itself. French intervention on the American side in 1778 (followed by the Spanish in 1779, and the Dutch in 1780) made the task still more difficult. In the end, the war in America was won by the French as much as by the Americans. But in the wider imperial conflict, affecting the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, West Africa, and South Asia, the British fared much better. Even in its American dimension, the outcome was less clear cut than we usually imagine. The British, the nominal losers, retained great influence in the independent United States, which in economic terms remained in an essentially dependent relationship with the former mother country.
The Louisiana Purchase: Liberty, Slavery, and the Incorporation of the Territory of Orleans
Authors: Spear Jennifer M.
Published: October 2014

On December 20, 1803, residents of New Orleans gathered at the Place d’Armes in the city center to watch as the French flag was lowered and the flag of the United States was raised in its place. Toasts were made to the US president, the French First Consul, and the Spanish king (whose flag had been lowered in a similar ceremony just twenty days earlier), and the celebrations continued throughout the night. The following day, however, began the process of determining just what it meant now that Louisiana was a part of the United States, initiating the first great test for the United States of its ability to expand its borders, incorporating both territories and peoples. The treaty ratifying the transfer, signed in Paris the previous April 30th, promised that “the inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States” where they would experience “the enjoyment of all these rights, advantages and immunities of citizens of the United States.” These inhabitants included thousands of people of French and Spanish descent, several thousand slaves of African descent, and about fifteen hundred free people of at least partial African ancestry; most of these inhabitants spoke French or (far fewer) Spanish and practiced Catholicism. In addition, the territory was home to tens of thousands of indigenous peoples, many of whom still lived on traditional territories and under their own sovereignty. For a few inhabitants of what would become the Territory of Orleans and later the state of Louisiana, incorporation did lead to “the enjoyment of all these rights” and gave some small grain of truth to Thomas Jefferson’s hope that the trans-Mississippi region would undergird the United States as an “empire of liberty,” although even for Europeans of French and Spanish ancestry, the process was neither easy nor uncontested. For most, however, incorporation led to the expansion of the United States as an empire of slavery, one built upon the often violent dispossession of native peoples of their lands and the expropriated labor of enslaved peoples of African descent.
Southeast Asian Americans
Authors: Vang Chia Youyee
Published: October 2014

In geopolitical terms, the Asian sub-region Southeast Asia consists of ten countries that are organized under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Current member nations include Brunei Darussalam, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), Malaysia, Republic of the Union of Myanmar (formerly Burma), Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Kingdom of Thailand, and Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The term Southeast Asian Americans has been shaped largely by the flow of refugees from the American War in Vietnam’ however, Americans with origins in Southeast Asia have much more diverse migration and settlement experiences that are intricately tied to the complex histories of colonialism, imperialism, and war from the late 19th through the end of the 20th century. A commonality across Southeast Asian American groups today is that their immigration history resulted primarily from the political and military involvement of the United States in the region, aimed at building the United States as a global power. From Filipinos during the Spanish-American War in 1898 to Vietnamese, Cambodian, Lao, and Hmong refugees from the American War in Vietnam, military interventions generated migration flows that, once begun, became difficult to stop. Complicating this history is its role in supporting the international humanitarian apparatus by creating the possibility for displaced people to seek refuge in the United States. Additionally, the relationships between the United States, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore are different from those of other SEA countries involved in the Vietnam War. Consequently, today’s Southeast Asian Americans are heterogeneous with varying levels of acculturation to U.S. society.
Municipal Housing in America
Authors: Garb Margaret
Published: October 2014

Housing in America has long stood as a symbol of the nation’s political values and a measure of its economic health. In the 18th century, a farmhouse represented Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of a nation of independent property owners; in the mid-20th century, the suburban house was seen as an emblem of an expanding middle class. Alongside those well-known symbols were a host of other housing forms—tenements, slave quarters, row houses, French apartments, loft condos, and public housing towers—that revealed much about American social order and the material conditions of life for many people.

Since the 19th century, housing markets have been fundamental forces driving the nation’s economy and a major focus of government policies. Home construction has provided jobs for skilled and unskilled laborers. Land speculation, housing development, and the home mortgage industry have generated billions of dollars in investment capital, while ups and downs in housing markets have been considered signals of major changes in the economy. Since the New Deal of the 1930s, the federal government has buttressed the home construction industry and offered economic incentives for home buyers, giving the United States the highest home ownership rate in the world. The housing market crash of 2008 slashed property values and sparked a rapid increase in home foreclosures, especially in places like Southern California and the suburbs of the Northeast, where housing prices had ballooned over the previous two decades. The real estate crisis led to government efforts to prop up the mortgage banking industry and to assist struggling homeowners. The crisis led, as well, to a drop in rates of home ownership, an increase in rental housing, and a growth in homelessness.

Home ownership remains a goal for many Americans and an ideal long associated with the American dream. The owner-occupied home—whether single-family or multifamily dwelling—is typically the largest investment made by an American family. Through much of the 18th and 19th centuries, housing designs varied from region to region. In the mid-20th century, mass production techniques and national building codes tended to standardize design, especially in new suburban housing. In the 18th century, the family home was a site of waged and unwaged work; it was the center of a farm, plantation, or craftsman’s workshop. Two and a half centuries later, a house was a consumer good: its size, location, and decor marked the family’s status and wealth.
Abortion
Authors: Jackson D. Lynn
Published: October 2014

Until the 19th century, abortion law in the United States was nonexistent, and abortion was not seen as a moral issue. However, by the turn of the 20th century, abortion was legally defined and controlled in most of the United States. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade (1973) marked the legalization of abortion but did not end the controversy that existed. Legislation at both the federal and state levels between 1989 and 2022, added restrictions on abortion, making it difficult for women to exercise their reproductive rights. In June 2022, the Supreme Court, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), overturned Roe v. Wade (1973), which had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. Social work’s commitment to promoting the human rights of women compels social workers to be aware of and involved in this issue.
Advocacy
Authors: Bessel Diane R. , Carman Erin
Published: October 2014

Social work is different from other helping professions in that its mission and ethical standards require members to not only serve persons in need, but to support their empowerment and work for the amelioration of harmful social conditions and inequities through advocacy. Social work advocacy has taken many historic and contemporary forms, reflecting the broad spectrum of social work practice and related knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive and affective processes. Given increasing diversity and complexity in the world today and the continuing need to advance human rights, as well as social, economic, and environment justice, ongoing commitment and attention to social work advocacy is needed, especially as it pertains to social work education, practice, and operational approaches.
Affordable Housing: An International Perspective
Authors: Laing Bonnie Young
Published: October 2014

This entry explores key definitions, causes, and characteristics of slums in the global arena, along with the types of social work practice and general community development approaches being used to catalyze action to decrease the prevalence of slums. Core strategies include using planning efforts that prioritize input from people who live in slums, creating affordable housing, and otherwise transitioning urban slums into vibrant communities. Concluding thoughts and further considerations for social work practice are offered.
Mouravieff-Apostol, Andrew
Authors: Blair Rosalie
Published: October 2014

Andrew Mouravieff-Apostol (1913–2001), best known for his work as the International Federation of Social Workers’ Secretary General from 1975–1992, and later Honorary President until his death in 2001.
Aquino, Maria Corazon
Authors: Perry-Burney Gwendolyn D.
Published: October 2014

Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (1933–2009) was best known as the first female president of the Philippines. She challenged the Marcos regime after her husband’s assassination in 1983, and she won the presidency in 1986.
Marsh, Leonard Charles
Authors: Moscovitch Allan
Published: October 2014

Leonard Charles Marsh (1906–1982) is best known for his wartime report on Social Security in Canada, a comprehensive blueprint on the development of a postwar welfare state for Canada.
Alexandraki, Litsa
Authors: Blair Rosalie
Published: October 2014

Litsa Alexandraki (1918–1986) was best known for her work in Greece on matters of child welfare, and the protection of refugees and migrants. She was also elected for three terms as President of the International Federation of Social Workers, a position she held from 1962–1968.
Dual Degree Programs
Authors: Jayaratne Srinika
Published: October 2014

Dual degree programs are growing rapidly around the country with increasing numbers of universities offering students an opportunity to earn an M.S.W. along with another degree. While two degrees offer clear benefits to the students and provide revenue to the institutions, they also raise some issues and concerns about the “relative worth” of an M.S.W.
Food (In)Security
Authors: Fram Maryah Stella
Published: October 2014

This entry provides an overview of current knowledge and thinking about the nature, causes, and consequences of food insecurity as well as information about the major policies and programs aimed at alleviating food insecurity in the United States. Food insecurity is considered at the nexus of person and environment, with discussion focusing on the biological, psychological, social, and economic factors that are interwoven with people’s access to and utilization of food. The diversity of experiences of food insecurity is addressed, with attention to issues of age, gender, culture, and community context. Finally, implications for social work professionals are suggested.
Education Policy
Authors: Jonson-Reid Melissa , Butler-Barnes Sheretta
Published: October 2014

Educational policy in the United States has evolved over the last hundred years to address a vast range of issues, including creating a universal system of primary and secondary education, trying to ensure equity and access for students, preparing youth for the workforce, preparing youth for postsecondary education, improving academic outcomes, and school safety. The following summarizes key historical trends, judicial rulings, and legislative milestones that have helped form educational policy in the United States. The current role and potential for social work engagement in macro level advocacy for educational policy is also discussed. Special attention is given to current challenges.
Employee Assistance Programs
Authors: Akabas Sheila H.
Published: October 2014

Employee assistance programs (EAPs), or membership assistance programs when sponsored by unions, are designed to improve worker productivity and motivation by responding to problems that workers experience which interfere with job performance and satisfaction. Now a ubiquitous characteristic of American workplaces, the programs are largely staffed by social workers. This entry discusses their historic development, extent, scope, structure, how they are perceived and utilized by different racial and gender populations, and the dilemmas and challenges facing EAPs as they try to define their role, function, and best practices amid emerging trends in the world of work.
Environmental Justice
Authors: Erickson Christina L.
Published: October 2014

Environmental justice in social work is the study and practice of assuring all people are protected from environmental burdens and are able to live, work, learn, and play in safe and healthy communities. Reducing the burdens and increasing the benefits of nature and human-made infrastructures are important social work efforts toward environmental justice. Awareness of environmental injustices followed the social movements of Civil Rights, recognition of environmental degradations, and efforts to save large swaths of land and endangered species in the Wilderness Act. Environmental justice is intertwined with social and economic justice, and the pursuit engages social workers in local to international struggles for access to nature’s benefits, and freedom from hazards that are shielded from people who are economically wealthy. Moreover, environmental justice calls wealthy individuals and communities to realign resource consumption to reduce environmental degradation and increase environmental sustainability.
Agency-Based Research
Authors: Epstein Irwin , Kapp Stephen A.
Published: October 2014

This entry reviews agency-based research and the unique demands created by the organizational context where this activity resides. Three primary stakeholder groups are identified: administrators and program managers, supervisors, and direct service workers and clinicians. Possible uses of agency-based research by each of the respective stakeholder groups are described. Finally, the role of service consumers in agency-based research is discussed.
Feminist Macro Social Work Practice
Authors: Hyde Cheryl A.
Published: October 2014

Feminist macro practice is based on principles derived from the political and social analyses of women’s movements in the United States and abroad. As a practice approach, feminism emphasizes gendered analyses and solutions, democratized structures and processes, diversity and inclusivity, linking personal situations with political solutions, and transformative actions. Feminist practice is in concert with a multisystemic approach; it complements and extends strength-based social work. It requires that the practitioner be relational and open to other ways of knowing and understanding.
Forensic Social Work
Authors: Rome Sunny Harris
Published: October 2014

Forensic social work is a practice specialty that involves interaction with the courts. It has emerged as an important field in the past several decades. Forensic social workers often are involved in making recommendations regarding competency, involuntary commitment, risk of violence, and alternative sentencing. They conduct forensic interviews and psychosocial assessments, and testify as expert witnesses. They also provide treatment to court-ordered offenders. Their influence is felt in cases of domestic violence, child maltreatment, custody, mental health, immigration, elder abuse, divorce, visitation, foster care, adoption, criminal and juvenile justice, substance abuse, and probation and parole.
Foster Care
Authors: Everett Joyce E.
Published: October 2014

Social work has long been involved in child foster care. Though its initial involvement de-emphasized the importance of infant–caregiver attachment, Bowlby’s theory of attachment is particularly relevant for child-welfare practice. This entry chronicles the history of child foster care and describes the evolution of legislation most pertinent for the provision of foster care. The characteristics of children in foster care since 2000 and the dynamic flow of children entering and exiting care are described. A brief account of foster care services and future trends in the field are highlighted.
Alaska Natives
Authors: Kastelic Sarah (Hicks)
Published: October 2014

Alaska Natives represent less than 1% of the U.S. population but reside in more than 229 Native villages and account for 40% of federally recognized tribes. Most Alaska Native communities shared common Euro-American contact experiences: exposure to western religions, education, and disease. Historical trauma contributes to many of the social welfare problems Natives experience today: low educational attainment, unemployment, inadequate health care, substance abuse, and violence. Service delivery mechanisms, lack of cultural appropriateness, and isolation compound these pressing issues. Locally delivered social welfare services that take into account traditional Native worldviews, values, languages, and intergenerational relationships are effective in addressing many of these issues.
Genetics
Authors: Weiss Joan O.
Published: October 2014

The recent explosion of genetic and genomic knowledge that was a product of the Human Genome Project has extraordinary implications for social workers and their client population. Genetics and genomics are interdisciplinary fields. Their scope reaches beyond the doctor’s office and beyond medical professionals. Social workers must recognize how vital their role is in helping clients come to terms with being at risk for a genetic condition or facing the uncertainty of a genetic diagnosis in the family. Understanding the psychosocial and ethical implications of genetic testing is important for all social workers, no matter where they are practicing. Social workers need to know the basics of genetics and genomics and take an active part in protecting their clients from genetic discrimination.
Globalization
Authors: Verdooner Elise
Published: October 2014

Globalization is the key social, economic, political, and cultural process of our time with widespread impact and implications. From early migration and sharing of cultures over years of movement to the instantaneous sharing of information over the internet with the click of a button, globalization has influenced every aspect of our lives and our histories. This entry defines globalization, provides a brief history of its dynamic processes, summarizes its complex and contradictory correlates and consequences, and offers, from a social work point of view, a balanced assessment of this powerful multidimensional process that is sweeping the contemporary world. Concluding with a discussion of the implications for social workers.
Harm Reduction
Authors: Davis Diane Rae
Published: October 2014

Harm reduction is a helping strategy that attempts to alleviate the social, legal, and medical consequences associated with unmanaged addiction, and in so doing, limit the harms, such as infectious disease (HIV, hepatitis), violence, criminal activity, and early death, without necessarily attempting to “cure” the addiction. While abstinence may be an ideal outcome from a harm reduction standpoint, abstinence is viewed as only one of several means of improving a person's life. Harm reduction strategies are well known in the U.S. through methadone maintenance and syringe-exchange programs, and are increasingly relied on in the treatment of co-existing disorders.
Hospice
Authors: Raymer Mary , Reese Dona J.
Published: October 2014

Hospice social workers are essential members of the interdisciplinary team that provide biopsychosocial and spiritual care to terminally ill patients and their significant others during the last 6 months of life. Hospice philosophy emphasizes symptom control, quality of life, patient self-determination, and death with dignity. Hospice social workers must be skilled in providing evidence-based interventions including direct client services; collaboration with the interdisciplinary team; community outreach; developing culturally competent services; and advocating for policy change on the organizational, local, and national levels.
Humanistic Therapies
Authors: Grogan Jessica , Richardson Frank C.
Published: October 2014

The Humanistic Psychology Movement, which began in 1962 and flourished throughout the 1960s and 1970s, exercised a strong influence over the development of social work assessment and practice. Defined by its distinctive research methodologies, based on the phenomenology of Husserl and Heidegger and in the consideration of subjective, experiential elements, humanistic psychology contributed to the modern practice of qualitative and survey-oriented research. Its health and growth orientation, antihierarchical emphases, and affirmation of the inherent strengths of human nature also greatly impacted therapeutic practice. Specific therapeutic orientations that arose from the movement include person-centered counseling, existential therapy, Gestalt counseling, transactional analysis, and the strengths perspective.
Human–Other Animal Bond
Authors: Risley-Curtiss Christina
Published: October 2014

A growing body of research attests to the negative and positive relationships that humans have with other animals. Operating from the profession's ecological perspective, which requires one to look at people in social and natural environments, social work researchers, educators, and practitioners must join other disciplines in incorporating human–other animal relationships into their work. This entry presents information on three specific areas that will help maximize the profession's ability to help clients: other animals as family, animal abuse, and the positive impact of relationships with animals.
Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Immigrants in the United States
Authors: Potocky Miriam , Naseh Mitra
Published: October 2014

This article presents introductory information on asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants in the United States, including distinctions among them, major regions of origin, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics, challenges in social, economic, and cultural adaptation, and best practices for social work with these populations.
Income Distribution
Authors: Blau Joel
Published: October 2014

Income distribution is defined both as the process of distributing income to individuals and families and as the statistical consequences of that distribution. After examining the measurement issues that enter into this distribution, the discussion highlights the evidence for rising inequality in the United States. It finds the top quintile, and even more starkly the top 5% and 1% of all households, to have secured most of the gains. Identifying neoliberalism, the heightened power of business, and the effects of globalization as the primary causes for this shift, income distribution is then correlated with other social welfare policy issues such as economic growth, health, and political democracy.
Income Security
Authors: Ozawa Martha N.
Published: October 2014

The United States is undergoing tremendous changes in economic conditions and in demographics. However, the concept of income security and income security measures are often the reflections of the country's long-held value system regarding tolerance of the size of the welfare state and the choice of strategies for dealing with income security for certain segments of the population. Furthermore, the U.S. Constitution prevents the federal government from federalizing the financing of many income-security programs. Because of the traditional belief system, together with the constitutional constraints, the approach taken to address the current problems is often ineffective and obsolete. This entry provides a glimpse of how income policy is developed in the United States with inappropriate assumptions and rationality.
Interdisciplinarity and Social Work
Authors: Mizrahi Terry , Korazim-Kőrösy Yossi
Published: October 2014

Social workers have had a major role in participating in and promoting work with those in different disciplines and professions. Collaboration between social workers and those in other disciplines is essential given the complexity of sectors and settings in which the profession operates. Various terms have been used that have different meanings: multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinarity. Moreover, social work as well as other professions and applied disciplines also use the term interprofessional for cross-boundary collaborations. In multidisciplinary practice, social workers practice with those in other disciplines and professions but for the most part continue to pursue their own intervention aims. Interdisciplinarity links social work to other disciplines within complex domains of practice. It includes a blending and combining of those practices distinctive within each of the disciplines in pursuit of a common set of outcomes about an agreed upon social problem. It also requires the integration of knowledge and action, and the formation of a common agenda of practice, guided by compatible if not identical goals. Transdisciplinarity is the newest of the three terms. It connotes transformative outcomes that go beyond professional boundaries and include other stakeholders to effect particular change with real-world consequences. The lines among the three are blurred, mutable, and, at times, inconsistent, overlapping, and changing. Challenges and barriers remain, although opportunities have increased to move beyond monodisciplinary practice in all practice domains.
International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)
Authors: Hall Nigel
Published: October 2014

The International Federation of Social Workers is an international organization representing the interests of social workers around the world. This organization works in cooperation with global regional social work bodies, national organizations, and other associations to organize international events, publish policy statements, encourage cooperative initiatives, and link to other international bodies. It is active in human rights and social development and in the promotion of best practices and high professional social work standards.
Interprofessional and Partnered Practice
Authors: Aronoff Nina L.
Published: October 2014

This is an overview of interprofessional and partnered practice and how these are connected to and further the purposes of social work practice. This brief summary locates several models of collaborative practice in social work and also delineates the ways in which partnered practice provides an overarching paradigm that includes and also extends these approaches, describing a philosophy of practice that speaks to today's imperatives for change in the world.
Intervention Research
Authors: Soydan Haluk
Published: October 2014

This entry regards intervention research as an essential part of social work as a profession and research discipline. A brief history of intervention research reveals that use of intervention research for the betterment of human conditions is contemporary with the genesis of modern social science. Advances in intervention research are attributed to the comprehensive social programs launched during the 1960s in the United States. A contemporary and generic model of intervention research is described. It is argued that it is ethical to use intervention research and unethical not to use it. Assessment of some of the recent advances in policy making and science gives an optimistic picture of the future of intervention research.
Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Carlson Bonnie E.
Published: October 2014

Intimate partner violence—physical, emotional, or sexual abuse experienced in both heterosexual and same-sex relationships—has emerged as a significant and complex social problem warranting the attention of social workers. Numerous risk factors have been identified in individual perpetrators and victims, as well as at the level of the relationship, community, and society. Partner violence has diverse consequences for female victims, as well as for perpetrators and children who are exposed to it. Although many female victims do seek help and end abusive relationships, seeking help from professionals such as social workers is often a last resort.
Foundations in Future Directions for Social Work Leadership
Authors: Bailey Darlyne , Bonner Kimberly B. , Uhly Katrina M. , Wilen Jessica S.
Published: October 2014

The concept of leadership has evolved from focusing on innate abilities, to learned skills, to understanding that leadership is composed of both skills and abilities. Recently, theorists and practitioners have identified elements of effective leadership within social work organizations. These areas of knowledge, skills, and values encourage social work leaders to recognize their organizations as living systems within an interdependent world and aid them in connecting humanistic intentions with effects. Both acknowledgment and enactment of these leadership competencies are essential for all organizational members to engage in effective dialogue and action. Social workers, regardless of their organizational titles, can learn and hone these qualities in social work training programs and continuing professional development opportunities, as well as through practical field experiences for effective leadership in the field.
Legal System
Authors: Madden Robert G.
Published: October 2014

The law is a powerful force in all aspects of contemporary U.S. society. The legal system furnishes the context and procedures for the creation and enforcement of laws to resolve disputes, to protect rights, and generally to maintain order. Social workers are expected to understand the basic workings of the legal system generally, in addition to having knowledge of specific laws relevant to their area of practice. Knowledge of the legal system provides the foundation to support social workers to undertake social justice initiatives, to give voice to vulnerable client populations, and to work for legal rules that support good social work practice and positive outcomes for the clients and communities served.
Licensing
Authors: Nienow Mary C. , Sogabe Emi , Randall Amanda Duffy
Published: October 2014

Social work regulation in the United States emerged during the early 1930s, and now every state in the country has some form of social work licensing. The primary purpose of such regulation is to protect the public from incompetent or unethical practitioners by ensuring a minimal level of competence. Each state determines the qualifications a social worker must possess and defines what constitutes social work practice. Regulatory boards are also established through state authority as a means of holding professionals accountable. Boards provide an accessible system for the public to file complaints of wrong-doing by social workers. Despite regulation in every state, very few states have established a separate category of regulation for social workers engaging in macro practice. Macro practice social work activities may be found in state statute, but do not comprise the common understanding of regulated social work practice. The impact of regulation on macro practice social workers is an area needing further exploration and attention within the field.