Comfort aspects important for the performance and safety of kitesurfing

Equipment used in sports is of great importance, especially when the equipment is in direct contact with the athlete or is important for safety. In the sport kitesurfing environmental factors and the equipment design are crucial for the comfort and safety. The participants' choice and opinion of equipment can show which factors are considered most important for the performance and to reduce risk for injury. This study has evaluated self-reported information from the participants about what equipment they use, comfort of the equipment and if the equipment has contributed to any injuries. The methods used were questionnaires (n=206) and interviews (n=17), which in combination allows to assess the problem both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that supported leading edge kites are most frequently used, with a waist harness and foot straps to attach the feet. The choice of kite type was mainly based on the discipline of riding for the respondent. Some issues concerning comfort of riding and injury risk the respondents did relate to the design of harness and foot straps. The information from this study can be used for development strategies for industry manufacturers and for further studies in the area of equipment design and biomechanics.     

Statistical Process Control and Condition‐Based Maintenance: A Meaningful Relationship through Data Sharing

This paper focuses on the close relationship between statistical process control and preventive maintenance (PM) of manufacturing equipment. The context is very general: a production process that is characterized by multiple distinct operational states and a failure state. The operational states differ in terms of operational/quality costs and/or the proneness to complete failure. The times of shift from the normal operational state to an inferior one and the times to failure are random variables, not necessarily exponentially distributed. The process is monitored with a control chart with the purpose of quickly detecting shifts to an inferior operational state due to the occurrence of some unobservable assignable cause. At the same time, the information collected from the process may be used to re‐schedule the planned PM, if there is evidence that a failure is imminent. The two mechanisms are obviously related, especially if they are based on measurements of the same critical process characteristic. Yet, they are typically treated independently. We develop a fairly general mathematical model for the joint optimization of the control chart parameters and the maintenance times. Numerical investigation using this model shows that ignoring the close relationship between process control and maintenance results in inefficiencies that may be substantial. It also provides practical insights about the effects of some key problem characteristics on the optimal joint design of process control and maintenance.     

“Apparently I've Got Low Self‐Esteem”: Schoolgirls' Perspectives On a School‐Based Public Health Intervention

This article focuses on a psycho‐educational programme, DISA, currently practised in the Swedish schools to prevent girls from developing depressive symptoms. We draw on group interviews with schoolgirls to explore how they describe DISA and how an understanding of the programme is constructed through their arguments. We demonstrate how the girls' version of DISA highlights a contradiction in the intervention that is traceable to the theoretical underpinnings of the programme and the mix of traditions — treatment and prevention — that constitute the intervention. We discuss problematic aspects of DISA and outline implications for policy practice.     

Twentieth-Century Museums of National History and Literature in Contemporary Russia

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 forced museums and other guardians of the nation's cultural heritage to reassess their priorities and develop new, nonideological missions in presenting their collections to the public.     

Can Both Low and High Self‐esteem Be Related to Aggression in Children?

This study examined the opposing hypotheses that either low or exaggerated but disputed self-esteem is related to aggression in 652 12-year-old schoolchildren. Children provided peer nominations of social acceptance and of physical aggression, self-ratings of global self-worth and of social satisfaction. Teachers rated aggressive behavior and internalizing problems. Exaggerated but disputed self-esteem was conceptualized as discrepancies between self and peer evaluations of social satisfaction and of social acceptance, respectively, in combination with peer rejection. The main results showed that both low levels of global self-worth and exaggerated but disputed self-esteem were related to aggression. The findings indicated that, depending on how self-esteem is conceptualized, aggressive children may appear to have both a low and a high self-esteem. Regarding gender differences, exaggerated self-esteem was more strongly related to aggression in boys than in girls.     

The Gendered Machine: Concept Car Development at Volvo Car Corporation

This article examines the treatment in the media of the first concept car development project managed by female engineers and designers. The study is based on a critical discourse analysis methodology in which the production of social institutions and beliefs are conceived of as being based on written and spoken statements and utterances. The discursive production of statements not only has intangible effects but also implies material consequences. The study shows that although the project aimed at highlighting and using competencies among the female co‐workers and to position Volvo as a progressive company, the media coverage in many cases draws on gendered stereotypes and commonsense beliefs. As a consequence, it demonstrates that stepping outside gendered forms of expression is a complicated matter and therefore a more elaborated vocabulary remains to be developed in both the media and industry.     

The Effect of Early Cognitive Ability on Earnings Over the Life‐Cycle

This paper utilizes information on cognitive ability at age 10 and earnings information from age 20 to 65 to estimate the return to ability over the life‐cycle. Cognitive ability measured at an early age is not influenced by the individual's choices of schooling. We find that most of the unconditional return to early cognitive ability goes through educational choice. The conditional return is increasing for low levels of experience and non‐increasing for experience above about 15–25 years. The return is similar for men and women, and highest for individuals with academic education. Only a small part of the return can be explained by higher probability of having a supervisory position.     

Cross-Cultural Adaptation,Validity and Reliability of the Escala Pessoal de Resultados

The present article aims to examine the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of Personal Outcomes Scale the Escala Pessoal de Resultados (EPR). This scale represents an instrument to measure the quality of life (QOL) in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). The study was initiated with the application of international guidelines in cross-cultural adaptation, culminating with an evaluation of 10 experts for the quantitative evidence of the content validity. All EPR’s items were considered relevant and there was a moderated agreement (k > .40) among the experts in the calculation of Cohen’s kappa, finding some coefficients’ that are considered as an excellent agreement (k > .75). In test field, our sample comprised 335 adults with ID on level of intermittent and limited support needs, even as the respective proxies. The scale showed an excellent internal consistency (α = .94). EPR’s construct validity indexes are also reported and discussed. The study provides EPR as a valid instrument for assess the QOL in ID field, and the scale seems to be useful for improvement of Portuguese rehabilitation practices and services.     

Human mobility and environmental degradation: Shaping rural Morocco

Environmental degradation constitutes a disruptive force in man-made and natural systems. The projected duplication of the frequency and duration of meteorological drought will contribute to a situation of water scarcity, which is expected to negatively impact the agricultural sector. This study focuses on Souss-Massa, Morocco, a leading agricultural region, and it seeks to map how human mobility fits within a wider adaptation response to environmental degradation. Over 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with internal migrants and members of rural communities on the perceived impacts of environmental degradation and human mobility. Most of the interviewees perceive a reduction in the available water, and the agricultural sector is the most severely affected by those changes. Internal migration is the most frequent adaptation strategy mentioned, and the remittances it originates are supporting the communities of origin facing a deterioration of agricultural output.