State of scientific knowledge about the need of recovery time at specific workplaces and recommendations for further research

Research activities to determine the need of recovery time at work were mainly performed in the 1970s and 1980s. Previous studies were largely based on expert opinions or were generated within small and non-representative groups. Often, laboratory experiments were carried out with a low number of subjects. Especially during the last decade, only little additional scientific knowledge was generated on this topic. The very resource intensive development of more detailed results based on the existing level of scientific knowledge is assumed as one reason for this. In general, it seems to be reasonable to continue further research on the knowledge generated in previous studies, but implement larger samples and more representative groups. Besides, according to monotonous manual work, more research is especially needed regarding relative operating forces and operation frequencies taken grip conditions and hand/body position into account.     

Interventions to prevent needle stick injuries among health care workers

Needle stick injuries (NSIs) are frequently reported as occupational injuries among health care workers. The health effects of a NSI can be significant when blood-to-blood contact occurs from patient to health care worker. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the number of NSIs decreased among health care workers at risk in one Dutch academic hospital after introduction of injection needles with safety devices in combination with an interactive workshop. In a cluster three-armed randomized controlled trial, 23 hospital divisions (n=796 health care workers) were randomly assigned to a group that was subjected to the use of a 'safety device plus workshop', to a group that was subjected to a 'workshop only' or to a control group with no intervention. The combined intervention of the introduction of needle safety devices and an interactive workshop led to the highest reduction in the number of self-reported NSIs compared to a workshop alone or no intervention. For practice, the use of relatively simple protective needle safety devices and interactive communication are effective measures for reducing NSI's.     

Evaluation of a personal safety program with Latino preschoolers

This study evaluated a personal safety educational program designed for Latino families attending preschools in a large metropolis. Seventy-eight children who participated in the Kids Learning About Safety program were compared to 45 control children. Compared with controls, participating children demonstrated enhanced ability to recognize inappropriate touches, learned correct genital terminology, were able to recognize the inappropriateness of touch requests made by "good" people, demonstrated higher levels of personal safety skills, and learned general safety rules. Gains in knowledge were maintained at three-month follow-up testing for all content areas except genital terminology. Although feedback provided by participating families was positive, recruiting participants and maintaining attendance at sessions was difficult. Discussion includes recommendations for future research and engagement of this population.     

No One Is Immune: A Community Education Partnership Addressing HIV/AIDS and Older Adults

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of new HIV diagnoses among people aged 50 to 64 in the United States, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in just 7 years (by 2015) 50% of those living with AIDS will be aged 50 or older. To address this public health concern, viable HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment options for individuals over the age of 50 are necessary. This article discusses the No One Is Immune initiative that planned, implemented, and coordinated evidence- based HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs specifically tailored for middle-aged and older adults. Guided by the health belief model, an educational conference entitled "Sexuality, Medication, and HIV/AIDS in Middle and Later Adulthood" was conducted along with research activities that assessed HIV/AIDS knowledge gained using both qualitative and quantitative measures. This project can be replicated by other providers within the aging network.     

Exercise self-regulation among older women participating in a heart disease-management intervention

Using behavioral self-regulation processes may facilitate exercise among older women with heart disease. Data from women in a heart disease-management program (n = 658, mean 73 years), was used to explore associations among exercise self-regulation components (i.e., choosing to improve exercise and observing, judging, and reacting to one's behavior) and exercise capacity. General linear models showed that choosing exercise predicted higher exercise self-regulation scores postprogram and 8 months later. In turn, these scores predicted greater improvements in exercise capacity concurrently and 8 months later. Interaction analyses revealed that the effect of self-regulation on exercise capacity was stronger among women who chose to work on exercise.     

W(h)ither the academy? An exploration of the role of university social work in shaping the future of social work in Europe

A controversial proposal to pilot the training of child protection social workers through an intensive work-based route in England is being supported and funded by the UK Government. Frontline, the brainchild of a former teacher, locates social work training within local authorities (‘the agency’) rather than university social work departments (‘the academy’) and has stimulated debate amongst social work academics about their role in shaping the direction of the profession. As a contribution to this debate, this paper explores the duality of social work education, which derives its knowledge from both the academic social sciences and the experience of practice within social work agencies. While social work education has traditionally been delivered by the academy, this paper also explores whether the delivery of training in the allied professions of probation and nursing by ‘the agency’ is equally effective. Finally, this paper explores the Helsinki model which achieves a synergy of ‘academy’ and ‘agency’. It suggests that there are alternative models of social work education, practice and research which avoid dichotomies between the ‘academy’ and the ‘agency’ and enable the profession to be shaped by both social work academics and practitioners.     

‘America’ in Indian Advertising: Change and Impact

The aims of this article are threefold: One, to focus on the advertising and marketing communications situating the presence of the USA in India. Two, to address three issues concerning the where, how, and impact dimensions of marking the US presence in Indian advertising. In that process an attempt will be made to integrate three aspects of advertising, namely: marketing, media, and linguistics. Three, to account for US corporate culture as it manifests itself in advertising. Central to our discussion are two product types: consumer products (e.g. Coke, Pepsi, Kellogg’s cereals, or Cadbury’s chocolates) and socially-sensitive, or ‘taboo’, products (e.g. condoms, alcohol, and breath fresheners).     

Illegal Aliens,Criminals, and Hypersexual Spitfires: Latin@ Youth and Pedagogies of Citizenship in Media Texts

This article aims to broaden the ways we conceptualize citizenship and implement citizenship education in social studies. To do so, the authors explore media texts as a curricular and pedagogical site for teaching lessons about citizenship. Specifically, the authors investigate how media drafts the boundaries of citizenship for Latin@ youth, and influences how young people come to understand who is and who is not perceived as a citizen entitled to rights and freedoms. Media texts, like formal social studies curricula, are powerful and enduring educators that shape how students know the world and imagine their place in it. Therefore, this article addresses how social studies teachers can integrate media texts into the classroom to explore representations of Latin@s and the impact that media has on our citizenship identities and experiences.     

Pure Gold for Broken Bodies: Discursive Techniques Constructing Milk Banking and Peer Milk Sharing in U.S. News

Technological advances provide increased ability to transfer human tissues—blood, organs, milk—from one body to another. This article analyzes mechanisms of reality construction in U.S. news to construct shared human breast milk. Articles used typifications and human interest stories to convey participants as victims, lay heroes, and villains. Milk banking was portrayed as institutionally integrated through associations, expert testimonies, and formalized procedures, making banked milk “pure gold.” Peer sharing was portrayed as institutionally opposed through institutional warnings, expert testimonies, informal procedures, and hypothetical atrocities, making peer milk “fool's gold.” Findings suggest that “biovalue” of human milk is interconnected with institutional processing.     

The sexual in Chinese sociology: homosexuality studies in contemporary China

Through a meta‐literature review, this paper examines the changing contours of Chinese sociology of homosexuality in contemporary China. It unfolds the different theoretical orientations and methodologies that construct the modern male homosexual subject under major socio‐economic and political changes. Chinese sociology of homosexuality started in the reform era and has been dominated by Western knowledge production and the political ideology of the communist party‐state. Fused with the bio‐medical model and the state's modernization project in the 1980s–1990s, the sociological study adopted a functionalist and positivistic approach with survey‐based methodology in the main which focused on the etiology of homosexuality. A new transnational knowledge production of sociology of homosexuality has formed since the 2000s which has shifted towards a constructivist/ post‐structuralist approach and reflexive qualitative methodology. The new sociological study examines the rise of male (as well as female) homosexual identity in China, questions the hetero/homosexual binary and discusses how an individual makes sense of homosexual identity to form same‐sex intimate relationships. By tracing the epistemology of homosexuality in contemporary China, this paper rethinks the dominance of the Western construction and the role of the state in shaping the knowledge of homosexuality and proposes alternative spaces for theorizing Chinese sexual identities, desires and practices.