The southern Lowland Maya hilltop center of Kinal is shown to be a human-modified watershed. The broad paved surfaces of the elevated central precinct acted as runoff-catchment areas directing precipitation into gravity-fed channels and reservoirs. In a geographical zone affected by an extended dry season and away from permanent water sources, Kinal demonstrates the components of a rainfall-dependent water-management system characteristic of other large sites in the region.
This paper serves a dual purpose. First it is an introduction that aims to frame a set of papers that describe and discuss the process of co-creation in a variety of archaeological projects. We discuss the challenge of community engagement in public archaeology and offer co-creative practice as a method for improving our relationships with descendant communities and the general public. We begin by providing a definition of public archaeology and a brief overview of its evolution over the last few decades. Second, we discuss co-creation’s origins and utilization in the museum and business sectors, where the process is applied to address challenges similar to those archaeologists face. We then demonstrate how co-creation fits into the public/applied archaeological framework. We argue that co-creation must be both co (that is, share power in some way) and creative (that is, not just do the same things better, but do something new). Within this framework, we discuss how co-creation aligns with and informs current trends in public archaeology practice drawing from the case studies included in this issue. We conclude that co-creation has an important place on the collaborative continuum and can help our discipline become more responsive to the needs of our many publics.
Nursing home (NH) residents have high psychosocial needs related to illness, disability, and changing life circumstances. The staff member with the most expertise in addressing psychosocial needs is the social worker. However, federal regulations indicate that only NHs with 120+ beds need hire a social services staff member and that a "qualified social worker" need not have a social work degree. Therefore, two-thirds of NHs are not required to employ a social services staff member and none are required to hire a degreed social worker. This is in stark contrast to NASW professional standards. Reporting findings from this nationally representative sample of 924 social services directors, we describe the NH social services workforce and document that most NHs do hire social services staff, although 42% of social services directors are not social work educated. 37% of NHs have a degreed and licensed social worker at the helm of social services. The odds of hiring a degreed and licensed social workers are higher for larger NHs, especially if not-for-profit and not part of a chain. NH residents deserve psychosocial care planned by staff with such expertise. Quality of psychosocial care impacts quality of life.
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