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.     

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.     

Child Support,Father–Child Contact,and Preteens’ Involvement with Nonresidential Fathers: Racial/Ethnic Differences

This study examined how child support, frequency of contact with children, and the relationship between nonresidential parents influenced preteens’ reports of the involvement of fathers and mothers in their life. Data are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) that has followed the children of NLSY mothers from birth into their twenties. Results showed that increases in child support and in contact with the child over time after separation are linked to a better coparental relationship when children are age 11 or 12. This better relationship between parents is, in turn, associated with greater involvement of both mothers and nonresidential fathers with their children.     

The relationship between adverse childhood experiences,health and life satisfaction in adults with care experience: The mediating role of attachment

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with a plethora of negative outcomes. Research has also found that adults who were separated from parental care and lived in alternative care settings during childhood have high levels of ACEs and are more likely to have poor outcomes. A growing body of research has supported the importance of attachment as a mechanism underlying the relationship between ACEs and adult wellbeing. However, little work has examined the role that attachment may play in the outcomes of adults who resided in residential and foster care during childhood. The current study examined the role of attachment avoidance and anxiety in the associations between ACEs and mental health, physical health, and life satisfaction in a sample of 529 adults with alternative care experience from 11 nations. Attachment avoidance partially mediated the relationship between ACEs and life satisfaction, mental health, and physical health. Attachment anxiety partially mediated the relationship between ACEs and life satisfaction and mental health, but not physical health. Taken together, the present study suggests that both attachment anxiety and avoidance play important, but unique, roles in understanding the relationship between ACEs and health and wellbeing for adults with care experience. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

The Slut-Shaming Instrument: Preliminary validation,correlates, and links with psychological distress among adolescent girls

Despite social awareness of the problem of slut-shaming for adolescent girls, no existing measure captures this construct. Using data from a sample of 202 girls from Québec, Canada (ages 14–17; 68% White), preliminary validation is provided for the Slut-Shaming Instrument, a seven-item measure of negative peer experiences related to being perceived as too sexually active, sexualized, or flirtatious. The measure showed strong psychometric properties including good reliability and factor structure, expected associations with daily experiences of slut-related victimization and sexual harassment, and links with number of sexual partners and other forms of peer victimization. Slut-shaming was associated with distress accounting for these other forms of victimization (including sexual harassment), suggesting the pertinence of addressing this type of gender-based victimization.