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The current workforce composition of the academy is comprised of multiple generational cohorts, Traditionalists, Leading Edge Boomers, Trailing Edge Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials. Despite the plethora of research identifying a myriad of differences in the way these generational cohorts approach work and social activities little attention has been paid to their perceptions of the psychosocial aspects of the academic work environment. The present study used the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II to assess job perceptions of 434 academic personnel across four generational cohorts. A direct discriminant function analysis revealed Trailing Edge Boomers perceived a greater effort-reward imbalance than Traditionalists/Leading Edge Boomers and Generation Xers, and Millennials perceive less imbalance than all other generations. There were also generational group differences in perceived stress and health. These results draw attention to the value of knowing the generational composition of a higher education institution in order to take into account the unique needs of each generational cohort when planning ways to improve recruitment, retention, and productivity of administrators, faculty and staff.

The nature of stress social work students experience, and the ways they cope have been studied since the 1990s. Recent academic efforts and research have increasingly focused on the need for self-care among students. However, studies related to the role of student resilience and spirituality amidst stress have been limited. The available studies point to the resilient capacities of students and the need for recognizing student agency. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine stress experienced by social work students and its relationship to their resilience and spirituality. The study participants (n = 80) were drawn from social work students at two public universities in the U.S. Participants completed an online survey consisting of the Perceived Stress Scale, Connor-Davidson's Resilience scale, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and demographic questions. The results indicated that 51.2% of the participants experienced high levels of stress with the major stressors being academic, finances, family, and mental health. The results also indicated an inverse weak correlation between resilience and perceived stress, and a positive weak correlation between spiritual well-being and perceived stress (p < 0.01). Implications of the study to educators and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teaching of research is a well-established core component of social work curricula around the world. While educators in social work recognize the value, and need for research they have encountered persistent discomfort and reluctance from students to recognize this need. Practitioners in the field of social work often share this reserve either due to limited self-efficacy with regard to research knowledge and skills or practical constraints. With the growing need for practice-based knowledge, accountability and evidence-based practices to drive outcomes and service effectiveness, it is becoming imperative to not only prepare future social work professionals with the required skill sets but also support current professionals to meet these expectations. This paper showcases a pedagogical endeavor with an undergraduate research course in an American rural university, designed and implemented to create and support research-minded professionals through student-agency research partnerships. Through a collaborative, service-oriented learning, students have gained a new appreciation for research and agency connections while agencies have welcomed the path created to pursue their research agenda. This experience has valuable implications for research capacity building, and for community engaged research empowering future and current professionals to suitably use research toward effective and meaningful service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current workforce composition of the academy is comprised of multiple generational cohorts, Traditionalists, Leading Edge Boomers, Trailing Edge Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials. Despite the plethora of research identifying a myriad of differences in the way these generational cohorts approach work and social activities little attention has been paid to their perceptions of the psychosocial aspects of the academic work environment. The present study used the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II to assess job perceptions of 434 academic personnel across four generational cohorts. A direct discriminant function analysis revealed Trailing Edge Boomers perceived a greater effort-reward imbalance than Traditionalists/Leading Edge Boomers and Generation Xers, and Millennials perceive less imbalance than all other generations. There were also generational group differences in perceived stress and health. These results draw attention to the value of knowing the generational composition of a higher education institution in order to take into account the unique needs of each generational cohort when planning ways to improve recruitment, retention, and productivity of administrators, faculty and staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This story on interprofessional collaboration had a truly serendipitous beginning motivated by the bane of being in academia, "publish or perish." What unfolded seemed a deliberate coming together of a group of faculty sharing a passion for working with older populations and a desire to promote better health for the community. Representing the disciplines of social work, recreation, gerontology, nursing, anthropology, and psychology in a regional, rural, comprehensive university, our collaboration transcended multiple facets to discover pathways that would impact regional health status. Beginning with one faculty member's drive to connect with others inclined to take on research, and the chancing upon an article addressing chronic disease self-management by another faculty member, the group snowballed to initiate a university-community partnership. This partnership, at multiple levels, helped forge a series of group-oriented chronic disease selfmanagement workshops in the community for people experiencing chronic illness. This article shares how this collaboration played out over three years and the valuable lessons learned as we looked for ways to sustain this resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]