Differential predictors of academic achievement: individual and familial factor interactions with community poverty

We present an analysis of the contexts within which adolescents graduate from high school and enroll in college. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health show that adolescents’ school engagement, maternal academic monitoring, and community poverty significantly interact to explain differences in high school graduation and college enrollment rates (n?=?7100). To examine this association, we performed weighted logistic regression analyses, controlling for gender, race, block level unemployment, and block level median income. Findings suggest that protective factors can help youth overcome the challenges associated with community poverty and achieve academically in low and medium levels of poverty, but that youth in high-poverty contexts may need more resources to reach higher levels of academic attainment.     

Issues concerning scientific production of including people with disabilities at work

This article presents the results of a survey carried out on leading periodicals in the areas of Ergonomics, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, the aim of which was to identify scientific publications on the inclusion at work of people with disabilities. The survey of articles published on this topic in the following journals was conducted in December 2010: Applied Ergonomics, Ergonomics, the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Disability and Rehabilitation, and the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. The survey covered issues published between 2000 and 2010 and was conducted electronically using the CAPES Periodicals Portal. To collect the articles, it was necessary to check the articles published in each of the issues of each volume of these periodicals. This is how the articles on the topic in question were found. There were 27 articles on the topic of inclusion at work of people with disabilities, of which 13 were published in the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation and 12 in Disability and Rehabilitation. Thus, it is clear that the issue in question is still a subject that is seldom dealt with in these publications and it is noted that only two articles were published in Ergonomics journals in this period, thus confirming the paucity of scientific publications on this subject.     

A method to investigate drivers' acceptance of Blind Spot Detection System®

Lately, with the goal of improving road safety, car makers developed and commercialised some Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) which, through the detection of blind spot areas on the vehicle's sides, could help the drivers during the overtaking and the change lane task. Despite the possible benefits to reduce lateral crashes, the overall impact on road safety of such systems have not been deeply studied yet; notably, despite some researches have been carried out, there is a lack of studies regarding the long-term usage and drivers' acceptance of those systems. In order to fill the research gap, a methodology, based on the combination of focus groups interviews, questionnaires and a small-scale field operational test (FOT), has been designed in this study; such a methodology aims at evaluating drivers' acceptance of Blind Spot Information System? and at proposing some ideas to improve the usability and user-friendliness of this (or similar) device in their future development.     

Redefining membership: restrictive rights and categorisation in European Union migration policy

This article analyses European Union (EU) policy-making on the rights of third-country nationals (TCN) against the backdrop of theoretical literature on the transformation of citizenship. The aim is to evaluate why and to which extent EU policy expands citizenship rights to TCNs, thus redefining the criteria for membership in the European polity. The research emphasises the role of norms and frames in policy-making and is based on secondary sources, primary documents and semi-structured interviews. The analysis reveals how the combination of a principled conflict over citizenship and a strategic conflict over competence led to a legal framework characterised by ‘restrictive rights’ and ‘politics of categorisation’. ‘Restrictive rights’ means that membership rights are granted to TCN in principle, but subject to very restrictive conditions. ‘The politics of categorisation’ refers to the political construction of migrant categories that are subject to different rights-regimes. Both phenomena have the ambiguous effect of enabling the expansion of rights to non-citizens while at the same time creating new lines of division and mechanisms of exclusion.     

Longitudinal Factor Analysis of Public Expenditure Composition and Human Development in Brazil After the 1988 Constitution

The way public policies are managed in Brazil has changed since the 1988 Federal Constitution. This study aimed to identify how changes in the structure of public expenditure composition at Brazilian federal states influenced local human development in these states. The states’ public expenditures were categorized according to their nature as spending indices whereas human development was measured through a human development index (HD). To verify the relationships between these variables, an accounting-social theoretical model was created and estimated through latent growth modeling (LGM). The LGM measurement period comprised five administration cycles of the Brazilian states (1988–2011). Variables were measured on data of the second year of state government term; their mean initial values and growth rates were recorded. Results show that, influenced by policies of centralized regulation promoted by the federal government, only the social spending growth rates had statistically significant effect on the human development growth rate, although not considered of great magnitude. Among mean initial values, the most significant was that of minimum spending (SIm), which denotes the direct impact of the Fiscal Accountability Law [Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal, in Portuguese] on human development improvements. The mean initial value of economic spending also showed a positive and significant effect on HD growth rate.     

A study of material composition disclosure practices in green footwear products

This work is based on the study of pioneering sustainable product development initiatives, and the analysis was guided by the cradle-to-cradle concept, which sees the waste of a given process as raw material for another, just like it happens in nature. Several studies on human factors have focused on factory conditions and workers dealing with product assembly. This research, however, relates more to consumer behavior, product use and end-of-life. The purchase of more environmentally- friendly products, in particular, is heavily influenced by the information made available by the companies. In this scenario, this article discusses three early but notable efforts on green product development, focusing on the disclosure practices adopted by the companies regarding the composition of their products. Research and data collection has focused on the footwear industry, whose products satisfy a basic human need and are ubiquitous worldwide. The use of hazardous materials and chemicals in shoe manufacturing, particularly the use of chromium - a highly toxic element - in addition to toxic solvents and adhesives and non-recyclable synthetic materials can pose serious risks to human health and the environment, even though the consumer usually is not aware of all the relevant characteristics of this kind of product.     

Does the Person‐of‐the‐Therapist Training (POTT) Promote Self‐Care? Personal Gains of MFT Trainees Following POTT: A Retrospective Thematic Analysis

As we recognize how taxing our profession can be, therapist's self‐care has become a salient topic in mental health. However, we are still discerning how to promote self‐care in our practice and in training. In this paper, we present a study on the personal gains that MFT students experienced after participating in the Person‐of‐the‐Therapist Training (POTT). We propose that the reported changes (better understanding of self, change to self, relational changes, and change as a process) constitute improvements in the trainees’ well‐being, and can therefore be considered self‐caring behaviors and practices. We state that models like POTT, that focus on embracing our vulnerability, can help clinicians be more caring toward ourselves. We conclude this paper by presenting clinical and training recommendations.     

A Bayesian approach for zero-modified Skellam model with Hamiltonian MCMC

Statistical Methods & Applications - In this paper is presented the zero-modified poisson difference and present possible applications of them in the analysis of paired count data. The...     

Portuguese Scientists’ Migration: a study on the 2008 crisis aftermath

In the economic and social aftermath of the 2008 crisis there has been an important and growing new wave of highly qualified Portuguese emigration comprising scientists. No or very few public policies have been designed to reverse this phenomenon, risking the consequences of brain drain. International literature argues that professional reasons are central to scientists’ decision to migrate, even after the 2008 crisis. Spending some time in a foreign country to study, research, or teach, is perceived as a common step in an individual academic trajectory and an advantage for a successful professional career in academia. It is also encouraged by European Union policies. Twelve individual portraits of Portuguese scientists living in central Europe reveal how important other factors are to the migration decision‐making process. These factors include the economic crisis, student mobility programmes, and the current Portuguese scientific system revision.     

Estimating the population proportion in modified ranked set sampling methods

In this paper, proportion estimators and associated variance estimators are proposed for a binary variable with a concomitant variable based on modified ranked set sampling methods, which are extreme ranked set sampling (ERSS), median ranked set sampling (MRSS), percentile ranked set sampling (Per-RSS) and L ranked set sampling (LRSS) methods. The Monte Carlo simulation study is performed to compare the performance of the estimators based on bias, mean squared error, and relative efficiency for different levels of correlation coefficient, set and cycle sizes under normal and log-normal distributions. Moreover, the study is supported with real data application.