Different development trends in working life and increasing occupational stress require new work environment strategies

This article has a two-fold purpose. First, it provides an explanation for the increase in occupational stress and sick leaves in Sweden in terms of the structural and organizational conditions. Second, it discusses measures that address these issues. Results of a study of 72 establishments are presented. The study investigated these establishments at both the organizational and individual employee level. It examined management strategies and working conditions in the establishments, classifying these elements by type of operations and company position. Both classifications point to differences in how work is organized and in working conditions. The results indicate that management technologies distribute risks between segments of the labor market, thus, also between different groups of the labor force. The developments were most favorable in high tech and knowledge-based operations. The situation was least favorable in labor-intensive services and, the most negative development had taken place in human services. Establishments serving as contractors appeared to organize their work differently from those with core activities. Working conditions in contracting businesses were particularly problematic. Since organizational changes work differently from one company to the next, there is a need to develop a variety of strategies for enacting change in the work environment. This article proposes strategies for different segments of the labor market. These strategies are adapted to the particular problems facing each segment.     

Applying Lee-Carter under conditions of variable mortality decline

The Lee-Carter method of mortality forecasting assumes an invariant age component and most applications have adopted a linear time component. The use of the method with Australian data is compromised by significant departures from linearity in the time component and changes over time in the age component. We modify the method to adjust the time component to reproduce the age distribution of deaths, rather than total deaths, and to determine the optimal fitting period in order to address non-linearity in the time component. In the Australian case the modification has the added advantage that the assumption of invariance is better met. For Australian data, the modifications result in higher forecast life expectancy than the original Lee-Carter method and official projections, and a 50 per cent reduction in forecast error. The model is also expanded to take account of age-time interactions by incorporating additional terms, but these are not readily incorporated into forecasts.     

Sexual diversity in urban Norwegians

The purpose of this study is to describe homosexual and heterosexual experiences in terms of sexual fantasies, sexual attraction, sexual conduct, and falling in love in an urban Norwegian population. In 1997, a random sample of 5,000 persons (18-49 years) was drawn from the population register in Oslo to participate in a sexual behavior survey. Data collection was carried out by means of postal questionnaires and 45% responded. The results indicated that exclusive homosexuality was rare in the population. One exception was the prevalence of homosexual fantasies in women. Compared to respondents who had had exclusively heterosexual contact, respondents reporting bisexual contacts had a significantly higher number of lifetime sex partners, higher frequency of anal and oral sex and masturbation, and lower age at orgasm and masturbation debut. What significantly separated the groups of exclusive heterosexuals, bisexuals, and exclusive homosexuals were attitudes towards various expressions of sexuality and number of lifetime sex partners.     

The impact of an integrated family planning program in Russia

In 1995, the U.S. Agency for International Development implemented an integrated program of family planning education and services in six Russian cities to increase physicians' and women's contraceptive knowledge and change current contraceptive use. Large population-based surveys of women ages 15-44 were carried out at the beginning of project implementation (in 1996) and 3 years later in two project sites and a comparison site. Results from these surveys indicate that project activities affected women's knowledge of family planning methods, and caused women to have more favorable attitudes toward modern contraception. In addition, abortion rates decreased in project sites while remaining virtually unchanged in the comparison site. Because of uneven implementation of project interventions in the demonstration sites, however, the intervention's actual impact on abortion rates remains unclear.     

An assessment of outcomes following parents' participation in a child abuse prevention program

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes following participation in the ESPACE parents' workshop. A group of 55 parents who participated in the program, implemented in elementary schools in the Quebec city region, was compared to a group of 217 parents who did not attend the prevention workshop. The results revealed that attending parents suggested more adequate interventions to the vignette depicting a hypothetical situation of sexual abuse compared to nonattending parents. Attending parents are found to be more likely to suggest interventions sustaining the child in her own problem-solving process, seek help from specialized agencies, and attempt to offer emotional support to the victim. Data also reveal that the parents workshop has a positive outcome on knowledge. While the workshop is associated with beneficial outcomes, attendance rates are low. The findings are discussed in the context of identifying means to foster parent involvement in the prevention of child abuse.     

Child sexual abuse evaluations: adherence to recommendations

Sixty-eight parents of children with alleged child sexual abuse (CSA) were surveyed 4 months after visiting an interdisciplinary CSA evaluation clinic in order to examine the extent to which recommendations were recalled and implemented. Of those parents for whom specific recommendations were provided, 9% recalled recommendations for medical follow-up, 79% recalled recommendations for child therapy, and 43% recalled recommendations for parental therapy. Families were more likely to receive and adhere to recommendations when there were behavioral problems and a strong indication of CSA. To improve communication with families, the reasons for recommendations must be clearly conveyed, and possible barriers to implementation should be anticipated and addressed. In addition, recommendations need to be realistic, and professionals need to facilitate the implementation of their treatment plan.     

Meeting report--National Institute on Aging Workshop on the Comparative Biology of Aging

This Perspective is a summary of the Comparative Biology of Aging Workshop that was held in February 2002 by the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, MD. Participants discussed ways to exploit similarities and differences in aging among diverse species to learn more about critical factors that affect aging and regulate life expectancy in animals. The aim of the workshop was to stimulate new approaches to understanding the molecular bases for differences in aging rates and life expectancy among species.     

田野作业与现实研究

以搜集和记录作为标志远古时代的“化石”而保存在我们生活中的各种生活方式和现象为目标的民族学田野作业,对于重拟历史,也就是说,对于认识整个历史,对于揭示从远古时代到今天的各民族文化进化的道路,无疑是非常有益的。因此,研究古代的学者能够以客观、可靠的资料来补充史料。诚然,这些资料往往包含在复杂和矛盾的文化习俗的“长河”中,这种现象是由于历史过程中各种因素的影响而形成的。当然,对于这些资料,应该批判     

希特勒是怎样上台的?

历史学家指出,历史的演变常常取决于一些偶然的事件和人物。 在当代世界史中最大的事莫过于希特勒和他的纳粹党在德国当政了。这事的影响可说是直到冷战结束始在现实政治中消退。但是并没有什么必