Deciding to use the emergency room: a qualitative survey of older veterans

Increasing use in the past decade has created pressure for hospital emergency rooms (ERs). Healthcare provided through an ER is expensive and is not designed to meet the complex needs of an older, chronically-ill population. ER visits are presented as the outcome of a decision-making process. Thirty veterans who had visited the ER in the previous year were asked about their decisions to use the ER. Their responses reflected four distinct approaches to ER use, which are characterized by frequency (frequent/infrequent) and risk for social isolation (low/high). Appropriate interventions by social work personnel might reduce inappropriate use of the ER and enhance the care of this vulnerable population.     

Gender inequalities in European unemployment benefit systems

The most important structural change which has occurred on the labour market over the past 30 years is the sustained and continued growth of female labour supply. Two-earner couples have become a majority in most European countries and lone parents, mostly women, are also on the rise. On the other hand, since 1975, labour market policies have altered the quality and nature of employment in Europe by promoting atypical forms of employment where women are overrepresented. The analysis has shown us that atypical employment results in restricted access to unemployment benefits. Moreover, combining the presence of more stringent conditions with derived rights results in more and more women being dependent upon their spouses for financial as well as social protection and can even have a disincentive effect on formal labour market participation.     

Eating Its Own: The Whistleblower's Organization in Vendetta Mode

This paper reports on Australia's largest whistleblower study. Specifically it focuses on the experiences of whistleblowers in the Queensland public sector during the Goss Labor government's first term. Rather than being affirmed as good citizen-workers when they took disclosures of wrongdoing to their supervisors within the units in which they worked, the whistleblowers encountered obstruction and vilification. Their experiences offer a rare check-up on the state of workplace dissent.     

Epidemical spread of scientific objects: An attempt of empirical approach to some problems of meta-science

The paper deals with problems of prediction of spreading out of scientific objects, such as theories, hypotheses, methods etc. Two models for predicting changes in number of publications dealing with the given subjects in consecutive years are suggested; these models are based on the theory of epidemics.     

Quantitative Risk Estimation for a Legionella pneumophila Infection Due to Whirlpool Use

Quantitative microbiological risk assessment was used to quantify the risk associated with the exposure to Legionella pneumophila in a whirlpool. Conceptually, air bubbles ascend to the surface, intercepting Legionella from the traversed water. At the surface the bubble bursts into dominantly noninhalable jet drops and inhalable film drops. Assuming that film drops carry half of the intercepted Legionella, a total of four (95% interval: 1–9) and 4.5×10⁴ (4.4×10⁴ – 4.7×10⁴) cfu/min were estimated to be aerosolized for concentrations of 1 and 1,000 legionellas per liter, respectively. Using a dose‐response model for guinea pigs to represent humans, infection risks for active whirlpool use with 100 cfu/L water for 15 minutes were 0.29 (～0.11–0.48) for susceptible males and 0.22 (～0.06–0.42) for susceptible females. A L. pneumophila concentration of ≥1,000 cfu/L water was estimated to nearly always cause an infection (mean: 0.95; 95% interval: 0.9–～1). Estimated infection risks were time‐dependent, ranging from 0.02 (0–0.11) for 1‐minute exposures to 0.93 (0.86–0.97) for 2‐hour exposures when the L. pneumophila concentration was 100 cfu/L water. Pool water in Dutch bathing establishments should contain <100 cfu Legionella/L water. This study suggests that stricter provisions might be required to assure adequate public health protection.     

Puerto rican drug users’ experiences of physical and sexual abuse: Comparisons based on sexual identities

This study integrates the results of quantitative and qualitative methods to elucidate the association between sexual identity and physical and sexual abuse among Puerto Rican drug users. A structured questionnaire was administered to 800 subjects in New York and 399 in Puerto Rico. A total of 93 subjects (7.9%) self‐identified as homosexual or bisexual. Gay males were significantly more likely than heterosexual males to report first occurrence of physical abuse by a family member in childhood. Both gay and bisexual males were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report first experiencing unwanted sex in childhood and intimate partner physical abuse later in life. Lesbians were more likely than female heterosexuals to report unwanted sex in childhood. Qualitative data were collected through in‐depth life histories with 21 subjects and suggest that gay and lesbian subjects perceive antihomosexual prejudice on the part of family members as one cause of childhood physical and sexual abuse.     

Nutrient intake in day workers and shift workers

Abstract

The 24-h dietary intake, nutritional status parameters and psychosomatic factors of two-shift, three-shift and day workers were compared. Estimations of the dietary intake (across a work cycle) were made by use of a nutrient database. No significant differences were found between the groups for a large number of nutritional variables: intake of energy; intake and percentage of energy from protein, fat, total carbohydrates and sucrose; intake of coffee; and intake and density of vitamins and minerals. Only minor differences were found between the groups with regard to the quantitative intake of alcohol and calcium, and with regard to the quality of the diet (percentage of energy from alcohol, density of calcium). The groups differed significantly with respect to attitude towards work hours (three-shift workers being most negative in their attitude) and sleep disturbances (shift workers being most negative). The three-shift workers were more evening-oriented and they had higher concentrations of glucose in their blood. It was concluded that work hours not related to nutritional intake—at least not when total amounts across time are considered. It was also concluded that work hours were not related to Body Mass Index or blood lipids: triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol.     

Class and ideological orientations revisited: an exploration of class‐based mechanisms

Studies of the relationship between class position and political outlooks still only have a limited understanding of the class‐related mechanisms that matter for ideological orientations. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms that link class position and left/right and authoritarian/libertarian orientations. Besides main factors such as income, career prospects, job security, education, class origin and class identification, the significance of work‐related factors such as work autonomy, working in a team, a physically demanding job and a mentally demanding job is studied. The findings are based on a survey specifically designed for this purpose and collected in Sweden in 2008/2009. A great deal of the association between class position and left/right orientations is explained by socio‐economic conditions; different classes sympathize with policies that will benefit them economically. Another important factor is class identification. Work‐related factors also have relevance, but the effect of class position on left/right orientations works mainly through the remuneration system. Class position is also related to authoritarian/libertarian orientations. However, this relationship is less explained by socio‐economic position per se, but is rather an effect of the educational system and its allocation of the workforce into different class positions. It also turns out that work‐related factors do not explain the class effects; however, a physically demanding job shows a unique effect. Overall, our findings suggest that besides factors such as class position, income, education and class identification, we need to consider work‐related aspects to derive a more complete understanding of the distribution of ideological orientations in Western societies.     

Perceptions of efficacy in the use of contemporary film in social work education: An exploratory study

This article discusses the use of contemporary film in social work education, including the theoretical rationale for the inclusion of film from the perspective of narrative and adult learning theory as well as the application of the case method to the use of film. The student viewpoint and perspective is provided through the results of an exploratory research study with 109 Baccalaureate social work students who completed a survey questionnaire following a classroom activity involving a contemporary film. Analysis of the quantitative data and qualitative comments indicates that students believe that film is a beneficial adjunct to textbook and lecture content.