Boredom: Where the Future Isn't

This article examines the experience and meaning of boredom in modern society. Boredom is understood as an experience of a lack of momentum or flow in a person's life. Boredom is conceptualized as an interactional phenomenon that is inextricably connected to social rhythm. The communication of boredom is examined with respect to its consequences in self and motive presentation. The article also describes those features of contemporary American life that appear to facilitate the experience and communication of boredom.     

Current Views on the Oral Bioavailability of Inorganic Mercury in Soil: Implications for Health Risk Assessments

Due to the presence of mercury at a number of major contaminated sites in the United States, the bioavailability of inorganic mercury in soil following ingestion has emerged as an important public health issue. Studies of the leachability/solubility of inorganic mercury in soil have shown that it is largely immobile, thereby suggesting that it will not be readily available for absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Ignoring the effect of the soil matrix on decreasing bioavailability may result in a substantial overprediction of risks due to ingestion of contaminated soil. This paper discusses current knowledge about the oral bioavailability of inorganic mercury in soil and offers suggestions about how these data may be applied in human health risk assessment. Though precise estimates are not available, in vivo and in vitro estimates of the bioavailability of different inorganic mercury species in different matrices suggest that the bioavailability of mercury in soil is likely to be significantly less, on the order of at least three- to tenfold, than the bioavailability of mercuric chloride, the species used to derive the toxicity criteria for inorganic mercury. Because bioavailability can vary significantly with soil type, soil aging, the presence of co-contaminants and other factors, it is suggested that whenever the fiscal aspects justify a more precise estimate of bioavailability, site-specific estimates be developed. To develop a database for identifying a less expensive and more efficient method for estimating bioavailability, it is suggested that in vivo studies be conducted concurrently with in vitro studies. However, due to the lack of precision associated with the derivation of the most widely-used health guidance value for inorganic mercury (the US EPA RfD), additional work to address the uncertainties in the RfD is recommended.     

Coping with transition through organisation: Techiman Market,Ghana

This paper examines the effects of transition to a market-driven economic model upon the activities of women traders in Techiman Market, Ghana. The experience suggests that trading associations, with their regulation of trading relationships and social provision for members, can under specific conditions, preside over considerable expansion and innovation in the trading system with possible benefits for farmers and urban consumers. Some of those specific conditions are the result of government policy on infrastructural investment and price deregulation. The authors describe the background of Techiman Market, women traders' organizations, indigenous traders' associations, the control of trade, social support networks, and externally-funded alternative organizations.