Direct observation of computer workplace risk factors of college students

Recently, researchers have reported high musculoskeletal symptom prevalence at several US colleges. Since ergonomic interventions have been shown to prevent and reduce disability, it is important to identify the risk factors for developing symptoms among college students. A nested case-control study was completed to determine computer-related ergonomic risks associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. A trained observer completed ergonomic assessments on 52 randomly selected cases and controls. More than 75 percent (cases and controls combined) of the population was exposed to nine potential postural strains including: arms not along side during keying or mousing; lower back not supported; not having chair accessories; computer monitor not adjustable; mouse being too high or low; hand/wrist/forearm in contact with the desk edge; lack of wrist support; and keyboard not being adjustable. Cases and controls were equally likely to have substantially elevated risks but because the sample was small and lacked power, no risks were statistically significant. Since many known risk factors were prevalent in cases and controls, more research is required to evaluate and prevent injury in this population.     

Evolutionary Theory and Historical Fertility Change

Probably no issue divides social scientists and natural scientists more demonstrably than their attitudes on the value of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The present essay suggests the role that Darwinian theory can play in the study of human fertility. After examining the nature of Darwinian theory, the essay considers research carried out on fertility by biologists and anthropologists with methods based on it and possible reformulations of demographic methods and analyses that could benefit fertility research. It ends with suggestions for further research to explore the value of Darwinian approaches to demographic issues.     

Foster care and the educational attainment of Jamaican children

Though informal fostering, the placement of children in the care of relatives or friends, is common in developing countries little research has been performed to ascertain its implications for the welfare of foster children. Previous studies on fostering are generally concerned with the circumstances that result in fostering. We investigate the relationship between foster care and educational opportunities and achievement. The relationship between fostering and a childs educational achievement is crucial because education has a strong influence on the long-term welfare of the individual. Our findings are unique in that we redefine foster care to exclude children living with their biological father. This redefinition results in significantly different findings on the effect of foster care on the educational investment of the household towards foster boys. Under the new definition foster boys are significantly more likely to be educationally disadvantaged.     

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP — FALSE PREMISES AND DANGEROUS FOREBODINGS

As a reaction against neo‐liberalism, Social Entrepreneurship has been promoted as the solution to welfare problems brought about by social change and persistent unemployment. The Social Entrepreneurship Movement (SEM) proposes the reconstruction of welfare by building social partnerships between the public, social and business sectors. Major aspects of this agenda include non‐profit organisations undertaking entrepreneurial ventures and the pooling of government welfare funding under the control of local communities. In this paper we argue that the SEM literature is based on two false premises: the failure to understand the true causes of mass unemployment, and the assumption that the government faces financial constraints in the provision of welfare services. We also argue that implementation of the SEM proposals would erode the rights‐based eligibility to universal welfare services based on the principle of social justice. We also conclude that the SEM is indistinguishable from neo‐liberalism and as such does not represent a viable solution to unemployment and the welfare needs that accompany it.     

The Witch-Hunt Metaphor (And Accusations against Residential Care Workers)

Correspondence to Mr Chris Beckett, Anglia Polytechnic University, School of Community Health and Social Studies, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK. Summary This Critical Commentary examines the widespread use of themetaphor of the witchhunt in relation to child sexual abuseinvestigations when they are perceived as being unjustified.The use of this metaphor can be seen to be part of a backlash,part of a widespread desire to discredit the evidence that sexualabuse is widespread. However, it is argued here that the metaphoris actually quite apt in the case of the recent wave of convictionsof residential care workers, where the methods used have beenquite suspect—and genuinely reminiscent in some respectsof those used in historic witch hunts. It is suggested thatlegitimate child protection will ultimately be the loser ifthis is not addressed.     

Policing Victorian Public Transport: Extending the Police Domain

In Victoria, responsibility for policing the public transport system was recently transferred to the Victoria Police, the official rationale for this development relied on the notion of a crime crisis and the need for a ‘crackdown’ on transport security. However, a more convincing explanation for this transfer can be found in Transport Department mismanagement, bureaucratic bungling, and alleged criminal activities of railway investigation officers. On a broader and more disturbing level, this case is consistent with an increasing capacity of the State to extend formal control into new social sites under the guise of controlling a ‘crime crisis’.     

Variations of Sexual Scripts Relating to Concurrency by Race,Class, and Gender in South Africa

It is unclear whether higher rates of sexual partner concurrency in Black South Africans are due to socioeconomic or cultural factors. We used a nationally representative sample of 9,728 individuals aged 16 to 55 from a study conducted in 2009 to examine how the norms pertaining to concurrency and the practice of concurrency vary by race, class, and gender. The percentage of men reporting point concurrency was 14%, 6.5%, and 2.5% in Blacks, coloreds, and Whites, respectively (p < 0.001). These percentages increased to 45.7%, 24.7%, and 11.7%, respectively, for those reporting lifetime concurrency (p < 0.001). In all the racial groups, men exhibited more favorable attitudes toward concurrency than women did. For a range of indicators, White men and women had less favorable attitudes toward concurrency than Black men and women. These differences remained after controlling for a range of confounding variables. In the adjusted logistic regression model, reported concurrency in men was associated with a younger age, Black race, being in the lowest income tertile, not being in a stable relationship, and expressing various positive attitudes toward concurrency.     

Demand Growth in Services: A Discrete Choice Analysis of Customer Preferences and Online Selling

The selling of perishable services (e.g., hotel rooms, airline seats, and rental cars) online is increasingly popular with both retailers and consumers. Among the innovative approaches to online sales is opaque selling. First popularized by Priceline.com's name‐your‐own‐price model, opaque selling hides some attributes of the service (notably, brand and specific location) until after the purchase decision, in exchange for a discounted price. This means that a branded “product” is being sold as somewhat of a commodity, but the brand “name” is protected by the opaque model. The attraction of this model for retailers is that they are presumably able to increase their revenue stream, albeit at a lower rate, by selling rooms that otherwise would remain in inventory. In this article, we outline the development and analysis of an online choice survey to understand consumer preferences among three types of online distribution channels: regular full information sales channels, and opaque sales channels with or without consumer bidding. A Multinomial Logit model is employed to analyze the data and measure the consumer trade‐offs between price and other attributes of the product. We use the estimated model to calculate the incremental demand and revenue created by using an opaque channel simultaneously with regular full information channels. On balance, we find that correctly priced opaque channels can add to hotels revenue streams without undue cannibalization of regular room sales.     

Leadership in Educational Change

With the imperative placed on schools in recent years to improve, the leadership of educational change has increased in significance. The research reported here explored and analysed the change processes in 32 schools in South Wales that have made significant changes to improve pupil achievement. Various triggers initiated the improvement journey and the schools faced numerous challenges. Although the improvement journey was variously configured, there appeared to be sequential stages: pre-acceleration, acceleration and post-acceleration. The organizational leadership needs in those different stages were diverse and in schools where change had been successfully engineered, leadership was enacted differently with diverse themes emerging in the various phases. The findings have important implications for the leadership of change in a range of institutions such as those in the public and voluntary sectors which have multiple and often conflicting objectives, a multiplicity of stakeholders and are staffed by professionals. The paper illustrates the changing nature of leadership in the journey of organizational change which may help to explain the absence in the literature of the characteristics or the key actions that are the essence of good leadership. The paper concludes by modelling the dimensions of improvement that the leader must influence at an institutional and individual level to bring about educational change. These dimensions are effectiveness, reflective capability and adaptive capability.