Constructing the Nature Experience: A Semiotic Examination of Signs on the Trail

This paper is an exploratory examination of the role of signs perceived along nature trails in parks and wooded settings and the ways in which they shape the nature experience for individuals. Literature was examined to define what it means to experience nature, the values and meanings people place on nature, hikers’ expectations, and tourism and park management practices. Sign objects, their underlying meanings, and the interpretation of signs along the trail were examined in the context of the existing theory based on semiotics, particularly the work of Peirce. Through a series of hikes, we found that signs contribute to the satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and meaning making in outdoor environments. Areas for further investigation are discussed.     

Heart checks in college-aged students link poor sleep to cardiovascular risk

Objective: To describe the relationships between the cardiovascular health, lifestyle behaviors, and lifestyle beliefs among college-aged students.

Participants: Seven hundred and twenty-nine college-aged students participated between October 2016 and April 2017.

Methods: Heart checks, consisting of a cross-sectional survey and biometric screening, were conducted on a large Midwestern university campus.

Results: A small proportion of students (24.5%) engaged in the recommended 150+ minutes of physical activity per week and 7.9% consumed 5+ servings of fruit/vegetables daily. Half (49.6%) slept 7 hours or less per night. Biometric screenings found that 26.4% of the students had high stress, 31.9% were overweight or obese, and 17.3% had prehypertension or hypertension. Less sleep was significantly associated with higher risks of being stressed, being overweight/obese, and having elevated blood pressure.

Conclusions: Early detection, treatment, and education is critical to identify individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease and to promote healthy lifestyle changes before heart disease develops or progresses.     

Family values and labor force participation: Ireland in international perspective

The large-scale entry of married women into the workforce has been a striking feature of the post-war period, particularly in the United States, Britain, and other Anglo-Celtic nations. Theory implies that this should happen in all developed nations. But there is a counter-example: Ireland. To discover whether this is truly an exception, we analyze data from large, representative samples of Ireland, the USA, Britain, and Australia (pooled n=8,240). We find that Irish are not especially traditional; they are especially devout, but the difference persists when this is controlled. Strikingly, the behavior of Irish immigrants is indistinguishable from other Anglo-Celts in their new societies. Thus it seems that Irish exceptionalism arises from an institutional setting uniquely hostile to women’s employment. She is currently coordinating a multi-national research project assessing the extent of ethnic discrimination in different societies. She and Jonathan Kelley are continuing their long-run international, comparative project on economic culture with special reference to inequality. He and M.D.R. Evans conduct their omnibus International Social Science Surveys, which include as their International Survey of Economic Attitudes, their Bioethics surveys, the Australian National Social Science Survey, and others. They are completing a book on time use and subjective well-being in later life. She researches intergenerational social mobility and occupational careers with special reference to gender, and also studies socio-political attitudes and their sources, particularly using International Social Survey Program data.     

Von Redelisten und Reißverschlüssen — Erfahrungen einer Trainerin mit der politischen Gremienarbeit

Ohne Zusammenfassung Dr. phil. Bernadette Grawe ist in eigener Praxis freiberuflich t?tig als Supervisorin (DGSv), Organisationsberaterin und Trainerin für Gruppendynamik (DAGG). Ingrid Stahmer ist Sozialarbeiterin (seit 1965) und Trainerin für Gruppendynamik im DAGG (seit 1974). Nach ihrem (freiwilligen) Ausstieg aus der Politik ist sie wieder freiberuflich als Trainerin und im Coaching für Führungskr?fte t?tig.     

"If I'm not allowed to put my family first": challenges experienced by women who are caregiving for family members with dementia

In this study of 26 employed, West Texas women caregivers, we found that women worried that they would not be able to give their family members the care they deserved because of the multiple demands placed on them. Women actively negotiated working conditions to achieve flexibility. Women who did not have access to flexibility often changed jobs until they had working conditions that provided it. Work provided a respite and a chance to feel some measure of control. In spite of the importance of work to them, these women paid costs for balancing both roles.     

Transition and Adjustment to Professional Identity as a Newly Qualified Social Worker

This article discusses the lived experience of professional identity during the transition from student to newly qualified practitioner. Current literature emphasises the first year of practice as an important time of transition to a job-role as student social workers move into postqualification practice. However, little research has explored how professional identity is experienced during this significant transition period. A phenomenological research project was undertaken with 17 newly qualified social workers in Australia. Three in-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with each participant across the first 12 months postqualification period. Participants described how they resolved personal, relational, and professional questions about becoming and being a qualified social worker. The findings indicate a need for educators, employers, supervisors and the profession to consider how to better integrate professional identity within curricula, policy, and systems of support, including supervision.