School-based prevention of bullying and relational aggression in adolescence: the fairplayer.manual

The fairplayer.manual is a school-based program to prevent bullying. The program consists of fifteen to seventeen consecutive ninety-minute lessons using cognitive-behavioral methods, methods targeting group norms and group dynamics, and discussions on moral dilemmas. Following a two-day training session, teachers, together with skilled fairplayer.teamers, implement fairplayer.manual in the classroom during regular school lessons. This chapter offers a summary of the program's conception and underlying prevention theory and summarizes the results from two evaluation studies. Standardized questionnaires showed a positive impact of the intervention program on several outcome variables.     

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) increases insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in sedentary aging men but not masters’ athletes: an observational study

Introduction: The aim of this investigation was to examine the impact high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in active compared with sedentary aging men.

Methods: 22 lifetime sedentary (SED; 62?±?2 years) and 17 masters’ athletes (LEX; 60?±?5 years) were recruited to the study. As HIIT requires preconditioning exercise in sedentary cohorts, the study required three assessment phases; enrollment (phase A), following preconditioning exercise (phase B), and post-HIIT (phase C). Serum IGF-I was determined by electrochemiluminescent immunoassay.

Results: IGF-I was higher in LEX compared to SED at baseline (p?=?0.007, Cohen’s d?=?0.91), and phase B (p?=?0.083, Cohen’s d?=?0.59), with only a small difference at C (p?=?0.291, Cohen’s d?=?0.35). SED experienced a small increase in IGF-I following preconditioning from 13.1?±?4.7 to 14.2?±?6.0?μg·dl^?1 (p?=?0.376, Cohen’s d?=?0.22), followed by a larger increase post-HIIT (16.9?±?4.4?μg·dl^?1), which was significantly elevated compared with baseline (p?=?0.002, Cohen’s d?=?0.85), and post-preconditioning (p?=?0.005, Cohen’s d?=?0.51). LEX experienced a trivial changes in IGF-I from A to B (18.2?±?6.4 to 17.2?±?3.7?μg·dl^?1 [p?=?0.538, Cohen’s d?=?0.19]), and a small change post-HIIT (18.4?±?4.1?μg·dl^?1 [p?=?0.283, Cohen’s d?=?0.31]). Small increases were observed in fat-free mass in both groups following HIIT (p?d?=?0.32–0.45).

Conclusions: In conclusion, HIIT with preconditioning exercise abrogates the age associated difference in IGF-I between SED and LEX, and induces small improvements in fat-free mass in both SED and LEX.     

Student homicidal violence in schools: an international problem

School homicides have been become a worldwide phenomenon. In the decade following the Columbine shooting there have been at least forty similar events in other countries. This article addresses the international scope of this problem and some of the complex conceptual issues that make student homicidal violence difficult to define and study. Meaningful research on risk and protective factors that can inform evidence-based preventive models is summarized.     

Muslim and Non‐Muslim Differences in Female Autonomy and Fertility: Evidence from Four Asian Countries

On the basis of research on paired Muslim and non‐Muslim communities selected in India, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, the authors test the hypothesis that greater observed Muslim pronatalism can be explained by less power or lower autonomy among Muslim women. Indeed, wives in the Muslim communities, compared to the non‐Muslim ones: 1) had more children, 2) were more likely to desire additional children, and 3) if they desired no more children, were less likely to be using contraception. However, the authors do not find that Muslim communities consistently score lower on dimensions of women's power/autonomy. Thus, aggregate‐level comparisons provide little evidence of a relationship between lower autonomy and higher fertility. Individual‐level multivariate analysis of married women in these paired settings similarly suggests that women's autonomy differentials do not account for the higher fertility, demand for more children, and less use of contraception among Muslim wives. These results suggest that explanations for Muslim/non‐Muslim fertility differences lie elsewhere.     

Feminism,militarism, and attitudes toward the role of women in the military

Attitudes toward the role of women in the military require the reconciliation of two often conflicting beliefs: those toward the roles and rights of women and those toward the military. This article explores the relationships between positive attitudes toward women’s roles throughout society, or feminism, and positive attitudes toward defense spending, or militarism, both with each other and with attitudes toward gender integration in the military. Results of this analysis show there to be a negative relationship between feminism and militarism, a positive relationship between feminism and gender integration, and a negative relationship between militarism and gender integration. The results of multiple regression analysis show that feminism is the strongest predictor of attitudes toward gender integration, while militarism is weak in its predictive ability. The author argues that the issue of women in the military is more one of women’s equality than of national defense and that policy discussions should be structured accordingly. She is currently conducting research which examines how women in the United States military employ strategies to manage gender and sexuality. This research provides evidence for the claim that gender is not simply a role or an attribute, but that gender is created and recreated through our interactions with others.     

The twelve-hour shift in the north American mini-steel industry

The twelve-hour shift is now widely practiced in the chemical and petroleum industries but has not spread to many other continuous operations, in part because of the belief that the stress and heat in heavy metals precluded its use there. The innovators who created the mini-steel industry, however, have adopted this shift widely. This article, based principally upon a 1988–89 survey, supplemented in 1990 by a survey of additional Canadian plants, examines the experience of the mini-steel industry with the twelve-hour shift and finds that managements consider it a “definite plus,” particularly in terms of employee relations. The posture of the United Steelworkers, is, however, ambivalent, with reservations about the shift by national and some local officials, and support by other local officials. Professor Emeritus of Management and former Director, Industrial Research Unit, and Chairman, Labor Relations Council. David O. Northrup conducted the interviews and made important suggestions regarding the study.     

Fathers-The Secondary Partners: Professional Perceptions and Fathers' Reflections

SUMMARY. The following is an account of a research project exploring the recollections of seven fathers at the time of the birth of their children with Down's Syndrome. It discusses the disclosure of diagnosis and subsequent contacts the fathers made both professionally and socially during the period following both in the hospital and at home. This is combined with the personal recollections of one father, not part of the original study, whose child was born with special needs. The implications for both professional practice and fathers are highlighted. Whilst there is an acknowledgement that the project was small scale, the conclusions will raise challenging issues for further discussion both among professionals and individual members of families.     

Robust analysis of variance

SUMMARY For the c -sample location problem with equal and unequal variances, we compare the classical F -test and its robustified version-the Welch test-with some nonparametric counterparts defined for two-sided and one-sided ordered alternatives, such as trend and umbrella alternatives. A new rank test for long-tailed distributions is proposed. The comparison is referred to level alpha and power beta of the tests, and is carried out via Monte Carlo simulation, assuming short-, medium- and long-tailed as well as asymmetric distributions. It turns out that the Welch test is the best one in the case of unequal variances but in the case of equal variances special non-parametric tests are to prefer.     

Analyzing the Efficient Execution of In‐Store Logistics Processes in Grocery Retailing—The Case of Dairy Products

In this article, we examine in‐store logistics processes for handling dairy products, from the incoming dock to the shelves of supermarkets and hypermarkets. The efficient execution of the in‐store logistics related to such fast‐moving, sensitive, and essential items is challenging and crucial for grocery retailers' sales, profits, and image. In our empirical study, we survey in‐store logistics processes in 202 grocery supermarkets and hypermarkets belonging to a major retail chain in central Europe. Using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) and simulation, we facilitate process benchmarking. In particular, we identify ways of improving in‐store logistics processes by showing the performance impacts of different managerial strategies and tactics. The DEA results indicate different efficiency levels for different store formats; the hybrid store format of the small hypermarket exhibits a comparatively worse performance in the analyzed execution of in‐store logistics processes. The process simulation analysis reveals that the strategic and tactical design of in‐store logistics processes (such as store locations/layouts, capacity management, reorder time, order period, and safety stock factors) lead to substantial service performance improvements (such as higher on‐shelf availability combined with reduced inventory obsolescence costs). The results also show marginal improvements in the performance figures when delivery delays and damage to products are reduced.