Contribution of mental workload to job stress in industrial workers

This study's central objective is to determine how several individual, organizational and ergonomic factors influence the relationship between job stress and mental workload for workers in an electronics company. A cross-sectional study was made as a test of hypotheses regarding that relationship. The sample is composed of 95 workers, of both sexes, from the electronics industry in the metropolitan zone of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Ergonomic conditions were evaluated with the Ergonomic Evaluation List, stress was evaluated by administering the SWS-Survey to groups of subjects, and mental workload was evaluated with the NASA-TLX Workload Index. Using Cochran's and Mantel-Haenzsel statistics, the odds ratio for each of the independent variables was {e}stimated as a risk factor for job stress, and analysis was later conducted by means of logistic regression for those risks found to be significant. Of the 95 worker participants, 26.3% presented a high level of job stress and 17.9% of the workers were found to present high levels of mental workload. The results show that working hours, mental demand, temporal demand, and frustration when faced with a given task may be considered risk factors for job stress.     

Mothers' strategies for protecting children from batterers: the perspectives of battered women involved in child protective services

During in-depth, individual interviews, seventeen battered women involved in the public child welfare system discussed the effects of domestic violence on their children, and their strategies for protecting and supporting them. Most mothers articulated the detrimental effects of domestic violence on their children and coherent strategies to protect them physically, but described difficulties supporting young children psychologically. Collectively, mothers reported a number of apparently useful strategies for supporting children's psychological resilience. Implications for intervention are discussed.     

The development of core competencies for the practice of marriage and family therapy

In response to a series of national policy reports regarding what has been termed the "quality chasm" in health and mental health care in the United States, in January 2003, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy convened a task force to develop core competencies (CC) for the practice of marriage and family therapy (MFT). The task force also was responding to a call for outcome-based education and for the need to answer questions about what marriage and family therapists do. Development of the CC moves the field of MFT into a leading-edge position in mental health. This article describes the development of the CC, outcomes of the development process for the competencies, and recommendations for their continued development and implementation.     

European Mobilities or Poverty Migration? Discourses on Roma in Germany

This article discusses the discursive framing of displacement and legitimacy for Roma migrants living in Germany to explore distinctions between “economic” and “forced” migration. Despite efforts towards their inclusion at the EU level, there has been an escalation in anti‐Roma sentiment across Europe simultaneous with increased transnational mobility. Based on media analysis and ethnographic research spanning 2011 to 2013, the inconsistencies and ironies associated with distinctions between voluntary and forced migration – and the consequences of this distinction for experiences in a host country – are illustrated using three cases. These highlight the range of reactions to Roma as “poverty migrants” (with its a priori assumption about welfare needs) to “bogus” or illegitimate refugees, even when fleeing desperate circumstances. These framings, and the inconsistencies they inherently entail, highlight investment in European identity and citizenship as migrants are defined, categorized, and managed by states seeking to curtail population movements deemed problematic.     

Comparative Risks of Cancer from Drywall Finishing Based on Stochastic Modeling of Cumulative Exposures to Respirable Dusts and Chrysotile Asbestos Fibers

Sanding joint compounds is a dusty activity and exposures are not well characterized. Until the mid 1970s, asbestos‐containing joint compounds were used by some people such that sanding could emit dust and asbestos fibers. We estimated the distribution of 8‐h TWA concentrations and cumulative exposures to respirable dusts and chrysotile asbestos fibers for four worker groups: (1) drywall specialists, (2) generalists, (3) tradespersons who are bystanders to drywall finishing, and (4) do‐it‐yourselfers (DIYers). Data collected through a survey of experienced contractors, direct field observations, and literature were used to develop prototypical exposure scenarios for each worker group. To these exposure scenarios, we applied a previously developed semi‐empirical mathematical model that predicts area as well as personal breathing zone respirable dust concentrations. An empirical factor was used to estimate chrysotile fiber concentrations from respirable dust concentrations. On a task basis, we found mean 8‐h TWA concentrations of respirable dust and chrysotile fibers are numerically highest for specialists, followed by generalists, DIYers, and bystander tradespersons; these concentrations are estimated to be in excess of the respective current but not historical Threshold Limit Values. Due to differences in frequency of activities, annual cumulative exposures are highest for specialists, followed by generalists, bystander tradespersons, and DIYers. Cumulative exposure estimates for chrysotile fibers from drywall finishing are expected to result in few, if any, mesothelioma or excess lung cancer deaths according to recently published risk assessments. Given the dustiness of drywall finishing, we recommend diligence in the use of readily available source controls.     

Adaptation and Validation of the Polymorphous Prejudice Scale (PPS) - A Short Form In a Sample of Heterosexual Chilean College Students

ABSTRACT. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to present the psychometric characteristics of a short form of the Polymorphous Prejudice Scale (PPS; Massey, 2009), which was adapted and validated in a heterosexual Chilean population. PPS is a multidimensional measure of sexual prejudice. Methods: A nonprobabilistic (convenience) sample consisted of 422 college students. Results: Findings reveal a shortened 16-item form, grouped in four subscales, with all of the items referring to new forms of sexual prejudice. The findings showed differences based on gender, religiosity and geographic location, as hypothesized. Conclusions: Results are discussed in relation to the strengths and weaknesses of the short form of the PPS.     

Identifiability and Comparison of Estimation Methods on Weibull Mixture Models

In this article, the finite mixture model of Weibull distributions is studied, the identifiability of the model with m components is proven, and the parameter estimators for the case of two components resulted by several algorithms are compared. The parameter estimators are obtained with maximum likelihood performing calculations with different algorithms: expectation-maximization (EM), Fisher scoring, backfitting, optimization of k-nearest neighbor approach, and random walk algorithm using Monte Carlo simulation. The Akaike information criterion and the log-likelihood value are used to compare models. In general, the proposed random walk algorithm shows better performance in mean square error and bias. Finally, the results are applied to electronic component lifetime data.     

Patterns of Gaze Between Parents and Children in European American and Mexican American Families

Mutual gaze has been shown to be a valuable channel of nonverbal communication. To examine mutual gaze between parents and children, 43 European American (EA) and 57 Mexican American (MA) families were coded on the occurrence of talking and gaze during a brief discussion. MA families showed lower levels of father-to-child gaze, mother-to-son gaze, and child-to-father gaze than EA families. MA families also showed less father–child mutual gaze, as well as less mother–child gaze for sons than EA families. Child gaze aversion was more common in European American families. Levels of gaze, father–child mutual gaze, and child gaze aversion all were positively correlated with acculturation. The importance of research exploring possible differences in function and meaning of gaze across cultural groups is emphasized.

Trends in late-life disability in Taiwan, 1989-2007: the roles of education, environment, and technology

This analysis offers the first strong evidence of trends in late-life disability in an emerging economy. For the population of Taiwan aged 65 and older, consistent measures of limitations in seeing, hearing, physical functions, instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and activities of daily living (ADLs) were available for three to six survey waves, depending on the outcome, from 1989 to 2007. Limitations in seeing, hearing, and IADLs declined substantially, but trends were mixed for physical functions and flat for ADLs. The remarkable reduction in difficulty telephoning, an IADL, may reflect changes in telecommunications infrastructure and highlights the roles of environment and technology in disability outcomes. Trends for urban residents were more advantageous than those for rural residents for seeing and hearing, but less so for physical functions and IADLs. Were it not for the substantial increase in educational attainment, trends in all outcomes would have been less favourable.