Changes in Social Exclusion Indicators and Psychological Distress Among Homeless People Over a 2.5-Year Period

Although homelessness is inherently associated with social exclusion, homeless individuals are rarely included in conventional studies on social exclusion. Use of longitudinal survey data from a cohort study on homeless people in four major Dutch cities (n = 378) allowed to examine: changes in indicators of social exclusion among homeless people over a 2.5-year period after reporting to the social relief system, and associations between changes in indicators of social exclusion and changes in psychological distress. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to investigate the associations between changes in indicators of social exclusion and changes in psychological distress. Improvements were found in various indicators of social exclusion, whereas financial debts showed no significant improvement. Changes in unmet care needs, health insurance, social support from family and relatedness to others were related to changes in psychological distress. This study demonstrated improvements in various indicators of social exclusion among homeless people over a period of 2.5 years, and sheds light on the concept of social exclusion in relation to homelessness.     

Invisible golden girls? Post-feminist discourses and female ageing bodies in contemporary television fiction

Abstract

The popular television series The Golden Girls (1985–1992) seems to be an exception in the history of the representation of third-age women femininities and bodies in television fiction. This series about four mature women living in the same house in Miami made ageing women visible in television representations. Older women are generally invisible in popular television fiction. Despite this absence, a discourse on ageing and femininities is present in all sorts of popular media texts. We will question post-feminist discourses on ageing bodies and femininities. Are the post-feminist claims regarding ageing bodies present in popular television fiction? Moreover, are these discourses represented by the portrayal of ageing bodies? We will analyse the representations of ageing femininities in television fiction labelled as “post-feminist television fiction.” The series Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, and Girls will be studied using a textual analysis to look for discourses on ageing female bodies and their particularities in relation to post-feminism. We distinguished a limited set of three sets of discourses (losing femininity, masking of ageing, and the wisdom of ageing) on ageing femininities. Although ageing feminine bodies are absent, a discourse on ageing, “good” ageing, and acceptance of ageing is present in the narration in all three series. The discourse on the masking of ageing, however, is predominant.     

Modeling human-bed interaction: the predictive value of anthropometric models in choosing the correct bed support

The sleep system (i.e. the combination of mattress and bed base) is an important factor of the sleep environment since it allows physical recuperation during sleep by providing proper body support. However, various factors influence the interaction between the human body and the sleep system. Contributing factors include body dimensions, distribution of body weight and stiffness of the sleep system across the mattress surface. During the past decade, the rise of several new bedding technologies has made it increasingly difficult for the consumer to select a proper sleep system. Therefore, this study presents a method to model human-bed interaction in order to objectively predict the ideal sleep system for a particular individual. The proposed method combines a personalized anthropometric model with standardized load-deflection characteristics of mattress and bed base. Results for lateral sleep positions show a root mean square deviation of 11.9 ± 6.1 mm between modeled spine shapes and validation shapes, derived from 3D surface scans of the back surface. The method showed to be a reliable tool to individually identify the sleep system providing superior support from a variety of possible mattress-bed base combinations.     

Effects of extended work shifts on employee fatigue, health, satisfaction, work/family balance, and patient safety

12-hour shifts are quickly spreading in Europe. From our multivariate analysis concerning 25,924 European nurses, including twenty explanatory variables simultaneously, we found that work schedule itself is not a major determinant factor. Nurses aim to choose or accept night shifts or 12-hour shift in order to reduce their work/home conflicts, however, at the expense of the patient's safety, as well as their own health and safety. Therefore, it is important to develop measures, such as extended child care, association of nurses to the elaboration of their rota, 9- or 10-hour shifts in the afternoon, allowing naps during night shifts, and reduction of changing shifts with short notice. Work schedules must be organized in order to allow time for shift handover, social support and team building.     

Does team lifting increase the variability in peak lumbar compression in ironworkers?

Ironworkers frequently perform heavy lifting tasks in teams of two or four workers. Team lifting could potentially lead to a higher variation in peak lumbar compression forces than lifts performed by one worker, resulting in higher maximal peak lumbar compression forces. This study compared single-worker lifts (25-kg, iron bar) to two-worker lifts (50-kg, two iron bars) and to four-worker lifts (100-kg, iron lattice). Inverse dynamics was used to calculate peak lumbar compression forces. To assess the variability in peak lumbar loading, all three lifting tasks were performed six times. Results showed that the variability in peak lumbar loading was somewhat higher in the team lifts compared to the single-worker lifts. However, despite this increased variability, team lifts did not result in larger maximum peak lumbar compression forces. Therefore, it was concluded that, from a biomechanical point of view, team lifting does not result in an additional risk for low back complaints in ironworkers.     

Police encounters among a community sample of children and youth accessing mental health services

Generally, within the Canadian context, scholarship on police encounters with persons living with mental illness has focused on the experiences of adults and not children and youth. In this article, we present preliminary work of a secondary data analysis of intake statistics collected over a 5-year period (2009–2014) and a thematic content analysis of qualitative intake notes collected over a 2-year period (2009–2011) about police involvement among a community sample of children and youth accessing mental health services. Of 8,920 intakes completed, 1,449 children and youth, birth to 24 years old, had had police involvement at the time of accessing mental health services. Over the 5 years, the average number of young people with police involvement at the time of accessing mental health services was 16%, or one in six children and youth. Analysis of the qualitative intake notes revealed two main reasons for police involvement: (1) support in the home for a distressed child, and (2) concerns about a child’s conduct and behaviors in the community. The implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.     

Policymaking from a Gender+ Equality Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article discusses policymaking from a gender+ equality perspective. It connects the knowledge from various subfields ranging from development planning, to feminist policy studies, to works on gender mainstreaming. By connecting different but convergent feminist subdisciplines, it draws a picture of the field of gender+ and policymaking. Central in this analysis are the questioning of gender+ bias in the policy process and the development of strategies to mainstream gender into policymaking. By delineating the boundaries of research on gender and policymaking, the article addresses existing challenges and reflects on gaps and promising terrains of study that could further develop and establish the field of feminist policy studies.     

Preschool-aged children's responses to unfairness and subsequent sharing behavior in dyadic contexts

Recent research implicates the importance of social and contextual factors in children's fair behavior. Here, we explored the social and emotional influences that might contribute to fair behavior in young children. We examined 79 pairs of 3- to 5-year-old children (N = 158; 85 female; M = 4.3 years; Range = 3.03–5.54) in a naturalistic sharing interaction to measure their verbal, emotional, and behavioral responses to an unfair distribution of rewards, as well as their subsequent sharing behavior. Children who received fewer rewards responded verbally, behaviorally, and emotionally as predicted, protesting the unfair distribution. However, children who received more rewards either failed to notice their partner's responses, or they failed to consider these responses when given the chance to behave prosocially and correct the unfair distribution. The only cue that predicted prosociality was a negative affective response from the disadvantaged peer.     

A capital theory approach to migrants' views and engagement with climate adaptation in the region of origin: A qualitative study in Belgium

Combining insights from migration and climate adaptation studies, this study examines how migrants living in Belgium contribute to climate adaptation in their region of origin, based on 29 qualitative interviews with migrants in Belgium. The findings varied considerably, depending on the region of origin, the main driver of migration and the possibility of returning. The results show that both the knowledge and capacity to contribute to climate adaptation in the region of origin depends on the forms and degrees of capital individuals have, both in the immigrant country and region of origin. Migrants with more cultural capital in the region of origin had more transnational bonding and bridging ties, resulting in more opportunities to contribute to the development of the region. However, as many of the interviewees originated from urban areas, their actions were oriented more towards waste, pollution and life domains other than climate adaptation. This contrasts with migrants with less formal cultural capital. Due to specific living conditions, they were more familiar with local climate impacts. Their transnational bonding social ties increased this knowledge and familiarity with the need for climate adaptation. Nevertheless, the high costs of integration into the immigrant society and a lack of cultural and economic capital limits this group's capacity to contribute to climate adaptation initiatives in the region of origin. Bringing the concept of ‘migrant capital’ into the study of climate adaptation fills a gap in the literature on environmental migration, and especially engages with discourses that frame migration as an adaptation strategy.     

Real versus Nominal Convergence: National Labour Markets and the European Integration Process

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates the role of national labour market characteristics for the chances of successful transition to EMU in Europe as well as for its viability The conclusions are rather pessimistic Although overlooked by the Maastricht Treaty the need for real convergence (I e convergence of real macroeconomic variables like unemployment) is emphasized as a major condition for success However current labour market characteristics in the EC make it quite unlikely that this condition will be fulfilled We show that the implementation of the Maastricht programme might turn into an obstacle to monetary unification