Apoyo social percibido: su efecto protector frente a los acontecimientos vitales estresantes

Resumen

Este estudio examina la relación entre apoyo social percibido, eventos vitales estresantes y depresión en una muestra (N = 74) perteneciente a la comunidad de Aranjuez. Como se hipotetizó, aparecen efectos directos significativos del apoyo social y de los eventos vitales sobre la depresión. Sin embargo no se obtuvieron efectos de interacción significativos, no apoyando nuestros resultados la hipótesis del efecto protector en el caso del apoyo social percibido. Este tipo de apoyo, en vez de simplemente proteger al individuo frente al impacto negativo del estrés, puede ser importante por sí mismo en la reducción de la sintomatologia depresiva.     

Window strikes: bird collisions in a Neotropical green city

Urban Ecosystems - Window strikes are among the most worrisome causes of bird mortality. Being responsible for billions of avian deaths, bird-window collisions have been widely studied in the US...     

Functional connectivity in urban landscapes promoted by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ramphastos toco</Emphasis> (Toco Toucan) and its implications for policy making

The scarcity of green areas in urban landscapes hinders connectivity among sites reducing the flux of organisms and seed dispersal. Ramphastos toco is an effective plant disperser in tropical landscapes, playing an important role in conserving plant connectivity. In this study we combined two methods of landscape connectivity analysis, in a way not yet explored, to assess the potential contribution of Ramphastos toco to enhancing connectivity among urban vegetation patches. We used spatial modeling techniques to evaluate least cost routes, or those that facilitate bird movement through green urban areas, in Belo Horizonte, a city in Southeast Brazil. We also assessed the relative importance of forest patches for conserving both bird and seed dispersal fluxes using the integral index of connectivity. The resulting least cost route of greater accessibility for the species included in its course an important forest patch under environmental licensing for the construction of a residential condominium. The number of green urban areas covered by forest, of highest habitat quality for the species, summed to 155 patches. Of this total only 5.2% were relevant for regional connectivity, while the four most important patches are targeted by the city’s expansion plans. Ramphastos toco is an effective connector for tropical green urban areas given its adaptability, wide range of movement and seed dispersal effectiveness. We emphasize the need for incorporating ecological knowledge and the prioritization of green areas into city planning, since current expansion projects jeopardize forest patches that are crucial to the functional connectivity of the urban landscape.     

Place,space, networks,and the sustainability of collective action: the Madres de Plaza de Mayo

This article provides a framework for analysing social movements and explaining how collective action can be sustained through networks. Drawing on current relational views of place and space, I offer a spatialized conception of social networks that critically synthesizes network theory, research on social movements, and the literature on the spatial dimensions of collective action. I examine the historic and contemporary network geographies of a group of human rights activists in Argentina (the Madres de Plaza de Mayo) and explain the duration of their activism over a period of more than two decades with regard to the concept of geographic flexibility. To be specific, first I show how, through the practice of place‐based collective rituals, activists have maintained network cohesion and social proximity despite physical distance. Second, I examine how the construction of strategic networks that have operated at a variety of spatial scales has allowed the Madres to access resources that are important for sustaining mobilization strategies. Finally, I discuss how the symbolic depiction of places has been used as a tool to build and sustain network connections among different groups. I conclude by arguing that these three dimensions of the Madres’ activism account for their successful development of geographically flexible networks, and that the concept of geographic flexibility provides a useful template for studies of the duration and continuity of collective action.     

A practical approach to the assesment of manual handling equipment for cargo: multinational abrasives in Brazil

The Manual Handling of Loads is an activity present in virtually all production system, when developed without ergonomic principles of design and sizing can generate several instances of discomfort and musculoskeletal disorders. This work was carried out to measure, set limits and risks and guide specifications for the cargo handling carts in a specific company, tracing the anthropometric profile of the productive population and performing a quantitative evaluation of forces and design models of cars used in the company.     

Application of ergonomics principles in underground mines through the Occupational Safety and Health Management System--OSHMS OHSAS 18.001:2007

The underground mining activity is regarded as one of the activities that cause most accidents, deaths and illnesses in the world, highlighting the coal mines. This study examined how ergonomics principles can help improve this environment, reduce the number of accidents and occupational diseases, train and empower workers and leaders and humanize the activities of the duty cycle of an underground mine. For this, it was developed a conceptual model of safety managing and health at work for the underground mining through the incorporation of ergonomics principles in the Occupational Safety and Health Management System and OHSAS 18001 (2007). The elaboration of the model was based on analysis of the environments and stages of work in underground mines and the PDCA cycle to ensure continuous improvement.     

Aging effects on joint proprioception: the role of physical activity in proprioception preservation

Throughout the human life span the functions of several physiological systems dramatically change, including proprioception. Impaired proprioception leads to less accurate detection of body position changes increasing the risk of fall, and to abnormal joint biomechanics during functional activities so, over a period of time, degenerative joint disease may result. Altered neuromuscular control of the lower limb and consequently poor balance resulting from changes in the proprioceptive function could be related to the high incidence of harmful falls that occur in old age subjects. There is evidence of proprioception deterioration with aging. Regular physical activity seems to be a beneficial strategy to preserve proprioception and prevent falls among older subjects. Some studies have demonstrated that the regular physical activity can attenuate age-related decline in proprioception. This paper reviews the evidence of age effects on joint proprioception. We will discuss the possible mechanisms behind these effects and the role of regular physical activity in the attenuation of age-related decline in proprioception.     

The emancipation of disability studies in Portugal

Despite the interest of the social sciences in issues of exclusion and inequality, the question of disability, as a key issue of reflection, remains absent from many academic areas. The emergence of disability studies owes much to contexts in which the activism of disabled people has revealed the structural conditions that oppress and neglect experiences of disability. Bearing in mind the specific features of the Portuguese socio-political environment, two lines of inquiry are developed in this text. Firstly, what are the challenges faced by Portuguese academics in making disability a central issue, enabling it to confront the silencing of the voices and experiences of disabled people in society? Secondly, how important is it for research to engage with an ethical and political paradigm that supports the rights of disabled people?     

Evil Tidings: Are Reorganizations more Successful if Employees are Informed Early?

Organizations represent deliberately designed social contexts that are characterized by multi-level hierarchies. Interests and opportunity structures at each level usually do not overlap. We suggest that one of the reasons why intentional change efforts often fail to reach their objectives is because they are likely to trigger competing social mechanisms at different levels of the hierarchy. In order to illustrate this argument, we analyze the consequences of timely communication of planned organizational changes on perceived success of reorganizations. Two competing mechanisms are derived and tested with data from a telephone survey (carried out in 2003), among a sample of n = 412 Dutch business organizations that performed a reorganization. The commitment perspective predicts that early announcement of reorganization plans to middle management increases the likelihood of reorganization success, since it increases commitment and empowers middle management. The influence mechanism predicts that early information of non-managerial employees decreases the likelihood of reorganization success, because it enables employees to use the information to their own advantage, anticipate on the strategies of management, and organize opposition against the plans. We found that timely communication with middle management indeed increases chances for success, whereas timely communication with employees correlates with reorganization failure. However, not communicating with employees has an even stronger negative effect on reorganization success. No evidence could be found for our argument that the severity of the reorganization’s expected negative effects on the workforce moderates both mechanisms.     

A little too much of the buchenwald touch? Military radiation research at the university of Cincinnati, 1960–1972

From 1960 through 1972, Dr. Eugene Saenger oversaw the experimental administration of lethal and near‐lethal doses of radiation to hospital patients at the University of Cincinnati. These experiments were funded by the US Department of Defense, and were specifically designed to acquire military information on the effects of radiation in combat soldiers. Although Saenger's research was terminated after public exposure in 1971, a full and detailed account has not been available until now. The account provided by the President's Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) in their Final Report of 1995 was incomplete. Our account is based on a reanalysis of all the material available to ACHRE, including highly critical peer reviews by U.C. faculty members. We also present, for the first time, several case histories taken from the medical records of Dr. Saenger's subjects.