Is Part‐time Employment Here to Stay? Working Hours of Dutch Women over Successive Generations

The Netherlands combines a high female employment rate with a high part‐time employment rate. This is likely to be the result of (societal) preferences as the removal of institutional barriers has not led to higher working hours. We investigate the development of working hours over successive generations of women using the Dutch Labour Force Survey 1992–2005. We find evidence of a strictly increasing propensity to work part‐time and a decreasing propensity to work full‐time for the generations born after the early 1950s. Our results are in line with results of studies on social norms and attitudes. It seems likely that without changes in (societal) preferences part‐time employment is indeed here to stay.     

The effects of backpack load carrying on dynamic balance as measured by limits of stability

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to determine if standing dynamic balance was affected by carrying a backpack. SUBJECTS: Data was obtained from 50 healthy college students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Limits of stability was assessed using the Smart Equitest Balance Master System(R). Reaction time, movement velocity, end point excursion, maximum excursion, and directional control were measured to evaluate movement, with and without a loaded backpack. DATA ANALYSIS: Reliability was established using an Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (2,1). MANOVA was utilized to analyze the effect of the backpack. SUMMARY DATA: Movement velocity significantly decreased during backpack loaded trials (p=0.004). Directional control was significantly different with respect to direction (p=0.006). No significant difference in reaction time, maximum excursion, or end point excursion was observed with backpack loading (p=0.10-0.93). CONCLUSION: This study concludes that backpack load carrying has an effect on movement velocity and directional control.     

Hospitalizations for fall-related injuries among active-duty Army soldiers, 1980-1998

Data from the Total Army Injury and Health Outcomes Database (TAIHOD) were used to describe 28,352 fall-related hospitalizations among active-duty Army soldiers between 1980 and 1998. Soldiers who were younger than age 26, single, and had a high school education or less were at greatest risk. Falls from a height were more likely to be fatal than other types of falls, accounting for 88% of all fatalities. In cases where duty status was known, 64% of the falls took place while the soldier was on duty and half of these occurred during training. The most common type of fall during training was fall from a height (37%). Falls on stairs and ladders accounted for 49% of all off-duty falls. Future research should include identification of specific behavioral and occupational risk factors for falls, particularly those occurring during training activities, and falls occurring off duty.     

重归优雅

时装界的一股复古风悄然而至，时间定格在上个世纪的50年代，脱离了二战的阴影，女装被重新定义为美丽，优雅。简洁的线条与典雅的设计，中和了牛仔的中性硬朗，同时不失成熟女性的妩媚与感性。2004年CAROLINE秋冬系列带领人们穿越记忆，回到那个甜美的年代。     

A Sociological Analysis of the Presidential Staff*

All chief political executives face the management problem of controlling their subordinates in order to direct the activity of the state. The author argues that the presidential staff emerged in this country as a strategy of control because of expanding state functions and an increasingly entrenched officialdom—the same conditons that gave rise to personal staffs in patrimonial administrations. The presidential staff's organization structure underlies its distinctive capabilities for centralizing and extending the personal control of the executive. The author compares dimensions of staff organization with dimensions of bureaucratic structure. She suggests why an important personal political staff emerged in the United States in this century but in no other advanced western democracy.     

Les pathologies hypermodernes: expression d'une nouvelle normalité?

Speaking about “hypermodern pathologies” aims to show the relation between features of the “hypermodern society” and different types of pathologies associated with these characteristics. Globalisation and the greater overall flexibility of the economy, the revolution in communication technologies and consequent need for ever-greater reactivity, the triumph of market logic and the disintegration of all limits that had previously overseen the construction of individual identities have led to the emergence of a compulsive individual, whose behaviour is marked by excess: an individual with no resources outside of his own person, whose sensations have overtaken his sentiments.

Physical and psychic pathologies affecting the hypermodern individual reflect the functioning of this society: attachment pathologies such as the addiction to substances designed to increase performance; eating disorders such as obesity and anorexia which also constitute ways of experimenting with the last remaining limits, those of the body; and professional “overheating” pathologies linked to the “hyperfunctioning” required of individuals, which compels them to an ever-quicker work rhythm, exhausts their limits and leads them to brutal disconnections.

In this article, I explain how these pathologies are the expression of changes in the normal/pathologic balance. They indicate the appearance of a new kind of normality, especially belonging to our contemporary society and linked to the adaptation skills that this society requires of individuals.     

Addressing spiritual development in youth development programs and practices: opportunities and challenges

If strengthening children's moral and spiritual selves is the most important challenge facing youth-serving organizations in the United States today, three things are required to respond: a clear road map of where to go and how to get there, a critical mass of champions prepared to lead the way, and candid readiness assessments and strategies for individuals and organizations ready to take on this work. More clarity is needed on defining the concepts of spiritual development and spirituality, the boundaries and bridges needed between religious and secular organizations, and the activities and practices that are both effective and allowable under separation of church and state. Immediate steps to take include engaging frontline workers across sectors and identifying strategies for integrating spiritual development into youth practice.     

Introvision als Entspannungsverfahren – Auflösung von chronischen Nackenverspannungen durch Konstatierendes Aufmerksames Wahrnehmen und Introvision –

According to current research, chronic back tensions – in contrast to other tensions – cannot be reduced permanently and significantly by existing relaxation techniques like for instance the “Progressive Muscle Relaxation” technique. The goal of the presented pilot study called “Eine empirische Untersuchung zur Auflösung von muskulären Dauerverspannungen durch Introvision als Methode der pädagogisch-psychologischen Intervention” was to show, based on a first survey, whether muscle tension, especially in the neck area, could be dispersed permanently or at least clearly reduced by another intervention process namely the “Konstatierende Aufmerksame Wahrnehmen” (attentive establishing perception) and introvision. A control group design with measuring repetitions (N = 17) and with pre-, post- und follow-up measurements could show that, during a five week introductory course, in combination with three individual consultations, a significant reduction (EMG and questionnaire) of neck tensions could be achieved.