The functional capacity of healthcare workers with history of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS) complicated with avascular necrosis--case report

Two years after the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, 128 healthcare workers continued to present with musculoskeletal complaints and 38 workers were diagnosed with avascular necrosis (AVN) in different joints. 13 healthcare workers were referred to six designated Physiotherapy Departments of the Hospital Authority for a tailor-made standardized Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) from 2004 to 2005 on a voluntary basis. Job analysis, workers' self-perceived disability and functional capacity, non-material handling tests, and the cardiopulmonary fitness test were performed. Retrospective review of the FCE data showed that there were 17 AVN of hips, 16 AVN of knees, 3 AVN of shoulders. All patients had AVN of lower limb joints. Nearly full ranges of movement (ROM) were observed in the knees involved, but the hip range was decreased for most subjects suffering from hip AVNs. Most workers (n=12) could not complete the cardiopulmonary test due to intolerable joint pain. Six workers' self-perceived physical demands level (PDC) matched with the physical demands level identified by the FCE. 12 healthcare workers attained a sedentary physical demands level and were unable to match with their previous job demands. One staff was classified as light physical demands and managed his original duty. Four workers had returned to work at the time FCE was performed. The tailor-made FCE added information to facilitate the return-to-work planning for the staff. Four more workers returned to work with modified duties one year after the FCE.     

Supporting family life: A survey of homeless shelters

Survey data from a national sample of homeless family shelters (N=59)were analyzed to describe the family support programming available to residents. Data were reported on facility and resident characteristics and family support programming, as well as on facility admission criteria and program participation requirements. Four independent variables (length of stay, shelter capacity, sponsorship, and program philosophy) were examined for their relationship to the family-oriented services offered. Facilities sheltered an average of 17 families, with a range of 2–200; the average length of stay for families was slightly over 5 months. Regarding family programming, services of an educational nature were more popular than those focused on providing support or therapy/intervention; services to parents to further adult development were more often offered than those either directed to parents in their parenting roles or to the family as a unit. Virtually all shelters (98%) applied eligibility criteria to families seeking admission. The most common reasons for exclusion were active drug (86%) and alcohol (83%) abuse by a family member; 40% also refused acceptance to families with adolescent males. Seventy-eight percent of facilities mandated participation in some support services. Smaller shelters operated with greater numbers of exclusions (¯x=5.98773; p<.05);larger shelters had higher percentages of mandatory family programming (¯x= 9.21823; p<.06).These findings shed light on shelter directors' beliefs about the etiology of family homelessness and proper steps to solve the problem.     

Welcome to the Real World of Clinical Research

Perhaps we should take a deep breath! We have successfully gained approval from three Area Health regions for a multi‐centre study, which assesses the effectiveness of a group program for parents of children with challenging behaviour. Each Ethics Committee had to have its say, and change a few things, but we were able to jump their hurdles without (we thought) over‐complicating a relatively no‐frills project. We were also extremely lucky that the project had received funding from the Centre for Mental Health. Without funding, it would have been difficult to afford essential research goodies, such as questionnaires at $2.50 per form, or even paper, adding up to several thousand dollars.     

Food Sovereignty and the Recognition of New Rights for Peasants at the UN: A Critical Overview of La Via Campesina's Rights Claims over the Last 20 Years

Abstract

This article explores how human rights framing by the transnational agrarian movement La Via Campesina (LVC) has evolved over the last 20 years. It discusses how the movement has worked towards institutionalizing new categories of rights, such as the ‘right to food sovereignty’ and the ‘rights of peasants’, thereby contributing to the creation of new human rights standards at the United Nations (UN). It also critically addresses some of the challenges the movement has been confronted with when framing its demands in terms of rights. Its overall argument is that LVC has managed to tap the potential of the rhetoric of rights to find common ground, thanks to its innovative use of non-codified rights. This has enabled activists to ‘localize’ human rights and make them meaningful to their various contexts. However, it contends that further advancing the movement's goals will require serious consideration of some of the key limits of the human rights framework.     

School students' views on school councils and daily life at school

This article reports a survey conducted in schools in Great Britain and Northern Ireland during 1997–8 with 2,272 students aged seven to 17 years. The 24‐page booklet questionnaire included six groups of questions about school councils. The question of whether pupils who have a council see it as effective was cross‐tabulated with a range of other questions, in order to examine associations between students' views about their school councils with their views on other aspects of school. About half the students reported that they had a school council. Of these, the ones who thought their council was effective generally had positive views about their school's social and academic activities, whereas the ones who said their council was ineffective generally had more negative attitudes. Some schools find that creating an effective school council can considerably improve standards of behaviour, but this process has to involve further changes in systems and relationships in the school. Simply introducing a token council can increase students' scepticism. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Granny” au pairs in online French news media: a crueller shade of optimism?

This article examines the French media representation of low-cost live-in “granny” au pairing services available to French families in France and abroad. It argues that the French news broadcast media repackage “granny” au pairing as positive ageing while underplaying its status as work. The media not only gloss over the low (or no) payment these older single women receive, but also sidestep the precarious economic conditions which motivate them to undertake this work. Instead of portraying au pairs as underpaid workers, it promotes au pairing as “good-life fantasies” and au pairs as active agers. “Granny” au pairs are framed as glamorous, adventurous tourists, or as devoted super grannies. Following Lauren Berlant’s notion of “cruel optimism,” I argue that the media promote these fantasies despite the lack of evidence of reciprocity in the au pairs’ surrogate family relations and working arrangements. There is a sense of cruel optimism in the way these fantasies deny the reality of au pairing as work, assume that older citizens should find private solutions for inadequate pensions, and reinforce the idea that constant activity is what is required of older single women.     

Exploring the use of hip hop music in participatory research studies that involve youth

This article explores the use of hip hop in participatory research studies. The article was informed by a research process that explored the identity construction process of female late adolescents who identified strongly with hip hop music. Hip hop music constituted an integral component of the research process, as it was used to stimulate participation. It was also used to prompt reflection and engagement with the Self. Participatory research methods, namely drawings and lyric inquiry, were used in conjunction with hip hop music to elicit narrative data. The findings illustrate that the use of hip hop music was beneficial as it prompted profound engagement with the Self. Hip hop music provided the participants with spaces within which they could reflect on and articulate the continual, interactional and situational dimensions of their lives. These reflections ultimately initiated agency, as it prompted them to contemplate empowerment and liberation. As such, we argue that hip hop music can serve as transformative data-generation stimulus in participatory research projects involving adolescents who identify with this genre.