Women's provisioning work: counting the cost for women living on low income

This paper reports on a research project that uses the concept of provisioning as a starting place in understanding the activities women in marginalized communities undertake to provide for themselves and members of their households and neighborhoods. This project explores the household and collective provisioning undertaken by women who are all part of formal community organizations in Canada. The work women do is explored from the dimension of women's relationships of responsibility. This vantage point uncovers a complex web of activity including paid employment, voluntary work, care work, exchanges of goods and services, community work, and self-provisioning. In addition, the provisioning strategies that women use when public resources are scarce are explored. In the face of significant cutbacks in public provision of goods and services, women are engaging in a complex network of activities in order to compensate through private provisioning for resources that are no longer available through public provisioning. The policy context in which these strategies are pursued is explored as well as the way in which risky policies produce risky coping strategies.     

Balancing Household Needs: The Non-food Needs of Food Pantry Clients and Their Implications for Program Planning

In 2009, over 33 million different people used food pantries to supplement their basic food needs. Food pantries are increasingly called upon to provide non-food items. What is unknown is how going without basic household products affects families. This exploratory study aimed to identify personal household products food pantry clients are most likely to find essential for basic living, the consequences for going without, and strategies to procure basic products. Twenty-five food pantry clients were interviewed. Three classes of products were identified: survival, keep the household together, and “make do” products. Consequences of going without basic products include stress, personal degradation, and engaging in illegal activities. Program recommendations include distribution planning and incorporating an awareness of different family coping strategies.     

Moral Schemas in Articulation and Intuition: How Religious People Evaluate Human Reproductive Genetic Technologies

As new and more effective human reproductive genetic technologies (RGTs) rapidly develop, religious voices remain an important part of public discussion about the moral standing of such technologies. Here, we compare how individuals from different religious traditions evaluate disease RGTs (detecting genetic diseases in vitro) when compared to enhancement RGTs, allowing parents to select features of a child. Findings are gleaned from analysis of 270 interviews with individuals from 23 Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious organizations, with supporting data from a national survey of more than 10,000 Americans. We find that respondents engage in clearly defined discursive moral reasoning to evaluate the propriety of disease RGTs while moral intuitions manifest themselves in responses to enhancement RGTs. We argue that schemas provide resources for moral discourses while also shaping moral intuitions expressed through emotions. Our results have implications for how religious people respond to new technologies when their institutional and denominational structures do not have readily discernable moral frameworks to guide responses.     

Best practices for physical activity programs and behavior counseling in older adult populations

Physical activity offers one of the greatest opportunities for people to extend years of active independent life and reduce functional limitations. The article identifies key practices for promoting physical activity in older adults, with a focus on those with chronic disease or low fitness and those with low levels of physical activity. Key practices identified: (a) A multidimensional activity program that includes endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility training is optimal for health and functional benefits; (b) principles of behavior change including social support, self-efficacy, active choices, health contracts, assurances of safety, and positive reinforcement enhance adherence; (c) manage risk by beginning at low intensity but gradually increasing to moderate physical activity, which has a better risk:benefit ratio and should be the goal for older adults; (d) an emergency procedure plan is prudent for community-based programs; and (e) monitoring aerobic intensity is important for progression and motivation. Selected content review of physical activity programming from major organizations and institutions is provided.     

Back to work: vocational issues and strategies for Canadians living with HIV/AIDS

Much has been written since the first appearance of HIV/AIDS in 1981 about its effects on the Canadian health care and social services systems. However, researchers have given limited attention to issues of entry or re-entry to the competitive job market for HIV positive individuals. The emergence of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) has allowed a significant number of persons who are HIV positive to experience a major recovery in health and energy. This increase in physical health has in turn led to a re-examination of the possibility of returning to former types and levels of activity, including the prospect of going back to work or entering the competitive workforce for the first time. The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the issues and concerns that impact HIV positive individuals' attempts to return to or enter the competitive workforce, particularly those relating to disability policies and public insurance. Data from in-depth interviews with a sample of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) are used to help illustrate the disconnect between these policies and the lived experiences of PHAs. Also discussed are the opportunities for Canadian policies and practices to employ a functional definition of disability and a philosophy of early intervention in vocational rehabilitation.     

Recognition of Nonverbal Communication of Affect Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Recognition of facial expressions and vocal prosody was examined using the Diagnostic Assessment of Nonverbal Accuracy 2 (DANVA-2) and the Carolina Older Adult Test of Nonverbal Communication (COAT-NC) for 24 individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 24 matched controls. Results demonstrated that participants without TBI scored significantly higher than participants with TBI when presented with adult photo and voice stimuli. No significant group difference was noted with child photo and voice stimuli. Both groups scored significantly higher on photo subtests than on voice subtests for child and younger adult stimuli. For older adult stimuli, both groups scored significantly higher on the voice subtest than on the photo subtest. For the subjects with TBI, a significant relationship was found between scores on the voice subtests and a functional measure of cognition and communication.     

Healthy Organizations,Unhealthy Communities?

Nonprofit organizations are an important part of local social networks that connect individuals and organizations and enhance the capacity of communities to solve social problems. However, the commercialization of nonprofit organizations influences their ability to contribute to this social capital. We reason that commercialization of a nonprofit organization may reduce its ability to contribute to social capital if it weakens its social networks; makes its network of relationships less stable; reduces the size, diversity, or involvement of its governing board; or reduces its level of voluntary participation.     

Social networks of knowledge production in Brazilian psychology: comparing sub-areas

The social processes underlying the production of scientific knowledge make it an inherently social endeavor. The interaction between systems of thought and affiliation has been subject of the sociology of science, with remarkable developments in studies on the structure of scientific fields based on social networks analysis. Although psychology is one of the pioneer fields investigated in this literature, there is scarcity of research on psychology. The objective of this paper is to describe the social networks’ dynamics of knowledge production in psychology in Brazil, comparing association patterns among its sub-areas. For this purpose, 395 researchers responded an electronic questionnaire about their relationships. Networks of nine psychology sub-areas were analyzed for structural properties (i.e. density, centrality) and relational exchanges (the connecting roles of boundary spanners and central connectors). Findings showed different structures and connectivity patterns between networks, but most of these areas configure as small worlds. Discussion explores implications of these findings for the production of knowledge within areas, and for the national production of psychological knowledge as a whole, with effects on the international projection of knowledge produced in Brazil.     

A meta-ethnographic study of health care staff perceptions of the WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Health Initiative

BackgroundImplementation of the Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) is associated with increases in breastfeeding initiation and duration of exclusive breastfeeding and ‘any’ breastfeeding. However, implementation of the BFHI is challenging.AimTo identify and synthesise health care staff perceptions of the WHO/UNICEF BFHI and identify facilitators and barriers for implementation.MethodSeven qualitative studies, published between 2003 and 2013 were analysed using meta-ethnographic synthesis.FindingsThree overarching themes were identified. First the BFHI was viewed variously as a ‘desirable innovation or an unfriendly imposition’. Participants were passionate about supporting breastfeeding and improving consistency in the information provided. This view was juxtaposed against the belief that BFHI represents an imposition on women's choices, and is a costly exercise for little gain in breastfeeding rates. The second theme highlighted cultural and organisational constraints and obstacles to BFHI implementation including resource issues, entrenched staff practices and staff rationalisation of non-compliance. Theme three captured a level of optimism and enthusiasm amongst participants who could identify a dedicated and credible leader to lead the BFHI change process. Collaborative engagement with all key stakeholders was crucial.ConclusionsHealth care staff hold variant beliefs and attitudes towards BFHI, which can help or hinder the implementation process. The introduction of the BFHI at a local level requires detailed planning, extensive collaboration, and an enthusiastic and committed leader to drive the change process. This synthesis has highlighted the importance of thinking more creatively about the translation of this global policy into effective change at the local level.