Living in the city: school friendships,diversity and the middle classes

Much of the literature on the urban middle classes describes processes of both affiliation (often to the localities) and disaffiliation (often from some of the non‐middle‐class residents). In this paper, we consider this situation from a different position, drawing on research exploring whether and how children and adults living in diverse localities develop friendships with those different to themselves in terms of social class and ethnicity. This paper focuses on the interviews with the ethnically diverse, but predominantly white British, middle‐class parent participants, considering their attitudes towards social and cultural difference. We emphasize the importance of highlighting inequalities that arise from social class and its intersection with ethnicity in analyses of complex urban populations. The paper's contribution is, first, to examine processes of clustering amongst the white British middle‐class parents, particularly in relation to social class. Second, we contrast this process, and its moments of reflection and unease, with the more deliberate and purposeful efforts of one middle‐class, Bangladeshi‐origin mother who engages in active labour to facilitate relationships across social and ethnic difference.     

The Clinical Relevance of Divergence in Adolescent–Parent Reports of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety

This study examines associations between adolescent problem behaviors and adolescent–parent disagreement in ratings of adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms. Adolescent–parent dyads (N?=?463; mean age?=?12.68 years; 48.5% female; 78.2% White and 21.8% non-White) reported on adolescent depression and anxiety using parallel scales from the Youth Self Report (Achenbach et al., J Emot Behav Disord 10:194–203, 2002) and the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach and Rescorla, The manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles, University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Burlington, 2001) across four waves. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the relationship between discrepancy scores and adolescent behavioral outcomes: incidence of adolescent past-year substance use (alcohol use, binge drinking, marijuana use, and nonmedical use of controlled medications), delinquency, self-harm behavior, and aggression. Findings showed that larger adolescent–parent divergence scores of depression were associated with higher odds of marijuana use, non-medical use of controlled medications, alcohol use, binge drinking, in-school delinquency, illegal behavior, self-harm behavior, and clinically significant levels of aggressive behavior. Results further revealed that larger divergence scores on anxiety were associated with higher odds of in-school delinquency, illegal behavior, self-harm behavior, and clinically significant levels of aggressive behavior. Adolescent–parent reporting discrepancy on adolescent’s depression and anxiety symptoms may be indicative of adolescent’s social, emotional, and behavioral problems, and the disagreement may signal further need for assessment of the adolescent.     

Design and implementation of a novel tool addresses the greatest cause of wrist injuries at Bayer Healthcare

Sanitary clamp wingnut manipulation is the fifth most frequent cause of injuries in the production areas of the Bayer Healthcare site in Berkeley, California. Task analysis showed that manual manipulation of clamp wingnuts had concurrent multiple risk factors, including: awkward postures, high forces, contact stresses, and high frequency. Task elimination was not an option. Several tools on the market were researched and tried but it was found that no existing tools would alleviate the associated ergonomics risk factors. An interim tool found on the market was used as a short term solution until an optimal design could be manufactured. A tool was designed, fabricated, and tested in-house at the Bayer machine shop. The tool was originally designed to fit all variations of clamp wingnuts, but then was found to fit too loosely for some. By using a comparison between inventory and cost benefit analysis it was decided to standardize the wingnuts types leaving the two most common types. A final prototype of the tool fit these two types of wingnuts. The efficient methods by which clamps were replaced and how tools were implemented in cleanroom manufacturing areas are described in this paper. This ten month project potentially eliminated all of the ergonomics risk factors associated with clamping.     

New procedures for selecting the k-best exponential populations

Suppose exponential populations π_i with parameters (μ_i,σ_i) (i = 1, 2, …, K) are given. The σ_i can be unknown and unequal. This article discusses how to select the k (≥1) best populations. Under the subset selection formulation, a one-stage procedure is proposed. Under the indifference zone formulation, a two-stage procedure is proposed. An appealing feature of these procedures is that no statistical tables are needed for their implementation.     

Financial Intermediaries and Markets

A complex financial system comprises both financial markets and financial intermediaries. We distinguish financial intermediaries according to whether they issue complete contingent contracts or incomplete contracts. Intermediaries such as banks that issue incomplete contracts, e.g., demand deposits, are subject to runs, but this does not imply a market failure. A sophisticated financial system—a system with complete markets for aggregate risk and limited market participation—is incentive‐efficient, if the intermediaries issue complete contingent contracts, or else constrained‐efficient, if they issue incomplete contracts. We argue that there may be a role for regulating liquidity provision in an economy in which markets for aggregate risks are incomplete.     

回顾与展望:美国和平学的起源和发展

和平学是一个相对新兴和发展中的学科。从研究角度而言,和平学主要起源于欧洲国家,但大部分和平学课程却首先出现在美国。冷战后期,美国的和平学课程主要关注结构性、家庭和社会内部暴力问题。和平学的研究范围包括人际关系、组织关系和社会关系,超越了民族国家的界限,其价值基础和行动目的就是替代暴力。和平学的研究面临各种挑战,主要包括:关于和平的定义过分模糊;行政方面的支持不够;和平学还遭到政治偏见的批评。和平学有助于政治和经济政策的变化,为了促进这样的一个长时期的根本变化,需要营造一种和平的文化。     

Maternal Positive and Negative Interaction Behaviors and Early Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms: Adolescent Emotion Regulation as a Mediator

This study examined the relation between mothers' positive and negative interaction behaviors during mother–child interactions and the emotion regulation (ER) and depressive symptoms of their adolescent offspring. Event‐planning (EPI) and problem‐solving interactions (PSI) were observed in 163 mother–adolescent dyads, and adolescents also provided a self‐report of ER responses and depressive symptoms. Sequential analyses of mother–adolescent behaviors during the interaction tasks indicated that adolescents with more depressive symptoms were more likely to reciprocate their mothers' negative affective behaviors. Adolescents whose mothers displayed less positivity and more negativity (i.e., less frequent positive and more frequent negative behaviors) during the EPI displayed more emotionally dysregulated behaviors in the PSI and reported more frequent maladaptive ER responses. Adolescents whose mothers behaved negatively toward them more frequently during mother–adolescent interactions also reported more depressive symptoms. The frequency with which adolescents engage in maladaptive ER responses mediated the association between maternal negativity and adolescents' concurrent depressive symptoms.