How can multimodality be used to design usable interfaces in IPS2 for older employees?

Main objective of the recently started collaborative research project SFB/TR29 B4 is to provide cross-generational assistance to human operators working in industrial product-service systems (IPS(2)). By combining the ideas of action-specificity and multimodality a more immediate and purposeful reaction towards warnings is assumed. For this purpose, an action-specific warning system in form of a glove has been developed. It provides either visual, auditory or haptic feedback or a combination of all modalities. In a first study this prototype was compared with a conventional warning system, where multimodal devices were directly mounted to the machine. The test scenario used in this study is the 'changing of a spindle' on a replica of a micro milling machine. It was conducted with 42 participants. The experimental design is a within-design in terms of the two warning systems and a between-design concerning the three modalities and its combinations. Results of the two-way ANOVA with repeated measures on both factors 'system' and 'modality' show a significant main effect for the 'modality' and a significant interaction effect between both factors. Especially the haptic warnings on the action-specific glove were described as "that kind of warning, which evokes the fastest response".     

“No Matter What I Do They Still Want Their Family”: Stressors for African American Grandparents and Other Relatives

Grandparents and other relatives increasingly assume the role of primary caregiver to minor children. This study interviewed family members caring for children whose parents were not available due to parental incarceration, other involvement in the criminal justice system, and substance abuse-related issues. Interviews with 25 African American women examined the impact of caregiving including stress and depression. Stress included caregiver issues related to finances, time allocation, care responsibilities, and concerns about the absent parent, as well as issues specific to the children related to school concerns, child behavior, and emotional problems. These stresses were examined along with caregiver depression scores using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, which indicated more depression related to caregiver illnesses, older caregivers, and care for older and a larger number of children. This study suggests that caring for these children is both challenging and stressful, and caregivers are at risk for depression and other mental health concerns. Health and service providers should carefully assess the needs of caregivers when determining the needs of families where children are under care of nonparental relatives. Family-based services are needed that include caregiver supports as well as support for children.     

Fairtrade credentialism: towards understanding certified producer organizations’ perceptions of Fairtrade as a credential

ABSTRACT

Fairtrade is a transnational voluntary labelling initiative that aims to upgrade the social, economic, and environmental conditions of producers in developing countries. In this paper, we systematically translated, coded, and analysed open-ended responses from a global survey of Fairtrade producers to explore how Fairtrade operates as a credential. The credentialism literature sheds light on Fairtrade's ability to create social and economic mobility, the operation of positive and negative selection processes and the hidden curriculum. We conclude with research and policy recommendations, including the need for the research community and Fairtrade International to track and monitor initial conditions of Fairtrade producers and measure progress over time to improve understanding of how Fairtrade operates as a credential and structures the social and economic mobility of developing country producers.     

Attitudes Toward Divorce,Commitment, and Divorce Proneness in First Marriages and Remarriages

A random multistate sample of married individuals (N = 1,931) was used to explore whether more positive attitudes toward divorce and weaker commitment to marriage may contribute to the greater instability of remarriages than first marriages. Remarried adults, whether or not they brought children from a previous union into the remarriage, reported marital quality (happiness and conflict) equal to those in first marriages. They also reported more positive attitudes toward divorce, which were associated with higher divorce proneness (i.e., thinking about and taking actions toward divorce). Marriage type interacted with marital quality to predict divorce proneness, such that the association between low marital quality and divorce proneness was stronger for remarried individuals than for those in first marriages. This suggests that remarried adults may be more likely than adults in first marriages to take steps toward divorce when experiencing marital distress, possibly reflecting a weaker commitment to marriage.     

Psychiatric Impact of Gender-Related Abuse Across the Life Course of Male-to-Female Transgender Persons

The psychiatric impact of interpersonal abuse associated with an atypical presentation of gender was examined across the life course of 571 male-to-female (MTF) transgender persons from the New York City Metropolitan Area. Gender-related abuse (psychological and physical), suicidality, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision) major depression were retrospectively measured across five stages of the life course using the Life Chart Interview. Among younger respondents (current age of 19–39), the impact of both types of abuse on major depression was extremely strong during adolescence and then markedly declined during later stages of life. Among older respondents (current age of 40–59), the impact of both types of abuse on major depression was strong during adolescence and then marginally declined during later stages of life. The effects of both types of abuse on suicidality were weaker but more consistently observed across the life course among both the younger and older respondents. Gender-related abuse is a major mental health problem among MTF transgender persons, particularly during adolescence. As these individuals mature, however, the consequences of this abuse appear less severe, which may represent the development of moderately effective mechanisms for coping with this abuse.     

Development of Ethnic Identity in Young Adults from Immigrant Families: “I Want to Hold Onto My Roots,but I Also Want to Experience New Routes”

This article explores ethnic identity development among young adults from immigrant families from diverse countries of origin. Based on in-depth interviews with young women and men, the authors examined the formation of ethnic identity through childhood, adolescence, and into young adulthood. Analysis of the participants’ narratives revealed that, compared with fluent bilinguals, limited bilinguals reported weaker connections to their heritage culture. Most participants progressed through the model of ethnic identity formation, which was influenced by their family socialization and community context, and reported integrated or bicultural ethnic identities. Practitioners may use the experiences shared by our participants to inform their work with second-generation immigrant youth in varying stages of ethnic identity development.     

Mental Illness in Assisted Living: Challenges for Quality of Life and Care

ABSTRACT

An unknown number of mentally ill elders in the United States receive care in assisted living, along with persons facing physical or cognitive challenges. While dementia is familiar in assisted living, our data indicate that neither staff nor residents are prepared to work or live with the mentally ill. Challenges are created for professionals, since these residents bring diverse needs. Daily interresident interactions are also disrupted or stressful. Qualitative data describe the impacts on quality of resident life as well as care and management dilemmas identified within five assisted-living settings having varying presence of mental illness among residents.     

The Community College Nurse as an Occupational Health Nurse

Abstract

Objective: This multisite study assessed college student's perceptions and practices regarding carrying concealed handguns on campus. Participants: Undergraduate students from 15 public midwestern universities were surveyed (N = 1,800). Methods: Faculty members distributed the questionnaire to students in general education classes or classes broadly representative of undergraduate students. Results: Useable questionnaires were returned by 1,649 students (92%). The majority (78%) of students was not supportive of concealed handguns on campuses, and 78% claimed that they would not obtain a permit to carry a handgun on campus, if it were legal. Those who perceived more disadvantages to carrying handguns on campus were females, who did not own firearms, did not have a firearm in the home growing up, and were not concerned with becoming a victim of crime. Conclusions: The majority of students was not supportive of concealed handguns on campus and claimed that they would not feel safer if students and faculty carried concealed handguns.     

ON THE REGISTERS OF CARIBBEAN MEMORY OF SLAVERY1

From discourses elicited by the presence of a slave cemetery in Guadeloupe, the author distinguishes various registers of memory that offer a framework for understanding Caribbean identities. The absence of a meta-discourse is not seen as a vacuum or as a lack which would indicate the weakness of the collective ethos. Rather, it is interpreted through the multiplicity of narratives which replaces the Grand Narrative. This interpretation leads to a more empirically-informed constructivism trying to approach ‘mutiplicity’ on the basis of an account of what could be a multiple textual matrix. In time, this capacity to create several narratives is analyzed in relationship to a particular experience of power relations that has produced an alert critical consciousness which refuses to grant a meta-narrative any centrality and tends to create a multiply-segmented collectivity.