Is obesity stigmatizing? Body weight, perceived discrimination, and psychological well-being in the United States

We investigate the frequency and psychological correlates of institutional and interpersonal discrimination reported by underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese I, and obese II/III Americans. Analyses use data from the Midlife Development in the United States study, a national survey of more than 3,000 adults ages 25 to 74 in 1995. Compared to normal weight persons, obese II/III persons (body mass index of 35 or higher) are more likely to report institutional and day-to-day interpersonal discrimination. Among obese II/III persons, professional workers are more likely than nonprofessionals to report employment discrimination and interpersonal mistreatment. Obese II/III persons report lower levels of self-acceptance than normal weight persons, yet this relationship is fully mediated by the perception that one has been discriminated against due to body weight or physical appearance. Our findings offer further support for the pervasive stigma of obesity and the negative implications of stigmatized identities for life chances.     

Prediction and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect

A high-risk population was successfully identified by the use of perinatal screening procedures. These children encountered significantly different parenting practices than the low-risk "control" group. There were also significant differences between "High-Risk" and "Low-Risk" families on issues concerning social adjustment and mother/infant attachment. Five children in a "High-Risk Nonintervene" group required hospitalization for serious injuries thought to be secondary to abnormal parenting practices. There were no such hospitalizations in either a High Risk Intervene group or a Low Risk group. Labordelivery observations, and postpartum interviews and observations provided the most accurate predictive information; prenatal interviews and questionnaires did not add significantly. Perinatal assessment and simple intervention with families at high risk for abnormal parenting practices significantly improves the infants' chances for escaping serious hospitalized physical injury.     

Cost containment in complex social security systems: The limitations of targeting

Two aspects of the structure of existing social security systems limit the scope for containing costs by increasing targeting: the insurance principle, and the use of category membership to establish eligibility for benefits. The first aspect is antithetical to targeting because the most needy people are also the most likely to fail to establish an adequate contributions record. Some countries appear committed to maintaining the insurance principle because it is part of the fabric of the relationship between employers, employees and the State. The second aspect can be seen as an effective way of identifying groups whose income is likely to fall short of their needs. However, the primary function of category definition is to establish the legitimacy of claims—to examine why a shortfall of income in relation to needs has arisen, what personal responsibility the claimant bears, and what alternative mechanisms might be available. Several countries have revised category definitions in response to issues about the motivation and "deservingness" of claimants. We designate as "pseudo-targeting" reforms of this type, which are not likely to result in the allocation of a higher share of social expenditure to the worst-off. The scope for increasing targeting in existing systems is very restricted, reflecting the limitations of the concept. Non-categorical social assistance is the archetypal targeted benefit, and it has serious limitations. The obstacles to targeting are integral to the legitimation of social security. If targeting reforms undermine this legitimating structure, they risk undermining the claim on resources exercised by the social security system.     

Domestic Violence: A case of the Disappearing Victim?†

This article examines the current theoretical constructions of the phenomenon of domestic violence, and their therapeutic implications. It attempts to draw out the latent socio-political content of that theorizing, arguing that throughout the various approaches there is a consistent de-emphasizing of the woman's position as victim of the violent act. An alternative analysis is offered, one which recognizes gender inequality as fundamental to any understanding of domestic violence, and the implications for therapeutic work in this area are briefly explored.     

Ebola Virus Dose Response Model for Aerosolized Exposures: Insights from Primate Data

This study develops dose–response models for Ebolavirus using previously published data sets from the open literature. Two such articles were identified in which three different species of nonhuman primates were challenged by aerosolized Ebolavirus in order to study pathology and clinical disease progression. Dose groups were combined and pooled across each study in order to facilitate modeling. The endpoint of each experiment was death. The exponential and exact beta-Poisson models were fit to the data using maximum likelihood estimation. The exact beta-Poisson was deemed the recommended model because it more closely approximated the probability of response at low doses though both models provided a good fit. Although transmission is generally considered to be dominated by person-to-person contact, aerosolization is a possible route of exposure. If possible, this route of exposure could be particularly concerning for persons in occupational roles managing contaminated liquid wastes from patients being treated for Ebola infection and the wastewater community responsible for disinfection. Therefore, this study produces a necessary mathematical relationship between exposure dose and risk of death for the inhalation route of exposure that can support quantitative microbial risk assessment aimed at informing risk mitigation strategies including personal protection policies against occupational exposures.     

The Community Asset Transfer of Leisure Facilities in the UK: A Review and Research Agenda

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This paper reviews recent work on community asset transfers (CAT): a transfer of management of facilities from the public...     

Circular economy and the city: an urban political economy agenda

ABSTRACT

The circular economy (CE) has become a matter of urban development. A literature review shows that the CE debate is biased toward technology-driven industrial change, while bracketing broader socio-political interests. We address this gap by exploring the political economy of scale of the CE. Looking into the case of Brussels (Belgium), a city that has recently adopted the CE as part of its socio-economic strategy, we explore how the anticipated transition to a ‘circular city’ chimes with long-standing urban development agendas. While there is little evidence of stable growth coalitions between corporate and political elites, we argue that the CE provides an ‘urban sustainability fix’ by selectively incorporating ecological goals in urban governance strategies. We further scrutinise the landscape of diverse and heterogenous CE practices in food and transport, highlighting how they are regulated and organised, what labour conditions they offer, and how they are anchored in urban space.