Biomechanics of the heel-raise exercise

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether increases in internal (muscular) demand would be proportional to increases in the external demand during heel-raise exercise. Seven male (mean age 74.9 +/- 4.8 years) and 9 female (mean age 74.4 +/- 5.1 years) older adults performed both double-leg heel raises and single-leg heel raises under 3 loading conditions (no external resistance and +5% and +10% of each participant's body weight). Kinematic and kinetic dependent variables were calculated using standard inverse-dynamics techniques. The results suggest that although the single-heel raise led to increases in peak net joint moments, power, and mechanical-energy expenditure (MEE), it did so at the expense of range of motion and angular velocity. In addition, increasing the external resistance by 5% of participants' body weight did not elicit significant changes in either the power or the MEE of the ankle joint. These effects should be considered when prescribing these exercises to older adults.     

Implementation of a Data Communication System for the Adriatic-Ionian Sea Area

This paper presents the state of the art for communication of data and information between the various participants in the port community, as well as between the port administrations themselves. It also presents an innovative application of a port community communication platform in the Adriatic-Ionian corridor. The system is accessible by both electronic data interchange and Internet and has been applied on a pilot status in the ports of the Adriatic, Ionian, and part of Northern Aegean Sea areas. This has been initially developed as part of a number of EU-cofunded projects within the INTERREG/CADSES programme of DG REGIO (projects TRANSLOGNET, GILDA, GILDA-NET). The system has been designed to improve primarily the efficiency and safety of intermodal transport and to contribute to the better integration of the Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean Seas into the European transport networks.     

A model of collaborative programming to address wildlife issues: The northeast wildlife damage management research and outreach cooperative

Wildlife abundance has grown for several species that are adapted to human-dominated landscapes. Overabundant wildlife may cause nuisance concerns and property damage, or spread zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus, particularly at the suburban-rural interface of many communities. Consequently, wildlife damage management has become an important component of the wildlife profession. The complicated biological and human dimensions of human-wildlife conflicts often require partnerships between state and federal agencies, universities, local governments, communities, and private wildlife control professionals. The Northeast Wildlife Damage Management Research and Outreach Cooperative (WDM Coop) was formed to enhance coordination and collaboration among wildlife agencies, universities, and other cooperators to promote consistent, multi-state approaches for resolving wildlife-related concerns. During 2001–2004, 12 projects have been funded to examine issues associated with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), black bear (Ursus americanus), Canada geese (Branta canadensis), and beaver (Castor canadensis). These projects have focused on a diverse array topics from community-based efforts to control deer populations, to aversive conditioning techniques for black bears. The Northeast Fish and Wildlife Agency Directors decided to exclude projects focusing on zoonotic diseases and human health issues from the list of WDM Coop activities. There have been focused efforts concerning human dimensions inquiry and outreach publications for wildlife management professionals. As state fish and wildlife agency budgets grow tighter and staff numbers are reduced, we believe more regional centers or wildlife management cooperatives will be formed to meet the increasing demand for services from multiple states with shared issues and concerns.     

Micro Ruptures and Repairs in the Beginning Phase of Cross-Cultural Psychotherapy

The article discusses misunderstandings and misattunements that occur in the beginning phase of cross-cultural psychotherapy. Sources of micro ruptures are outlined, including client maladaptive patterns, therapist misunderstandings, cross-cultural misunderstandings due to cultural variations, and asymmetrical power relations involving the impact of prior experiences or current therapy practices. Multiple clinical vignettes illustrate the rupture/repair process, drawing on Safran and Muran’s (2000) list of direct and indirect techniques.     

Race and Loss of Privilege: African American/White Differences in the Determinants of Job Layoffs From Upper-Tier Occupations

Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics supports predictions from the minority vulnerability thesis concerning the determinants of job layoffs among African Americans and Whites who work in upper-middle-class occupations. Specifically, after controlling for seniority, layoffs for African Americans are relatively unstructured by traditional stratification-based causal factors, namely, background socioeconomic status, human-capital credentials, and job/labor market characteristics. Analyses also indicate that racial differences in the determinants of layoffs are more pronounced in nonservice-based than service-based firms in the private sector and in the private sector relative to the public sector.     

Comparing drug use between welfare-receiving arrestees and non-welfare-receiving arrestees

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) symbolized a comprehensive change to the nation's welfare system. Despite several provisions within PRWORA that focus on the use of illegal drugs, few studies have attempted to identify the prevalence of illegal drug use among welfare recipients. Moreover, no scholarly works have compared rates of drug use in welfare-receiving populations to those of non-welfare-receiving populations with an objective measure of drug use. In the current study, urine specimens were collected from 1,572 arrestees interviewed through Houston's Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program in 1999. Drug positive rates are compared between welfare-receiving arrestees (n = 116), non-welfare receiving arrestees living below the poverty level (n = 539), and non-welfare receiving arrestees living above the poverty level (n = 917). Welfare-receiving arrestees were more likely to be female, older, less educated, and to test positive for opiates and benzodiazepines than the other subgroups. Implications for welfare reform policy are discussed in light of the current findings.     

Welfare Reform and Immigrant Participation in Welfare Programs

This article examines the impact of the 1996 welfare reform legislation on welfare use in immigrant households. Although the data indicate that the welfare participation rate of immigrants declined relative to that of natives at the national level, this national trend is entirely attributable to the trends in welfare participation in California. Immigrants living in California experienced a precipitous drop in their welfare participation rate (relative to natives). Immigrants living outside California experienced roughly the same decline in participation rates as natives. The potential impact of welfare reform on immigrants residing outside California was neutralized because many state governments responded to the federal legislation by offering state‐funded programs to their immigrant populations and because the immigrants themselves responded by becoming naturalized citizens. The very steep decline of immigrant welfare participation in California is harder to understand, but could be a by‐product of the changed political and social environment following the enactment of Proposition 187.

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Social roles,context and evolution in the origins of depression

This paper reviews the author's research on the social origins of depression begun in the early 1970s. It emphasizes the importance of taking account of the context and meaning of proximal causal factors by the use of investigator-based ratings using intensive interviews and the need to extend research to cover a whole lifetime. The implications of the research program that has involved some twenty inquiries in a variety of cultural settings is discussed in terms of the importance of both a comparative and an evolutionary perspective concerning meaning that bring together the biology involved in an evolutionary perspective emphasizing a common human nature with one that takes account of cultural and individual differences. In short an approach that take seriously a biopsychosocial perspective.