Psychophysiological stress reactions,trapezius muscle activity,and neck and shoulder pain among female cashiers before and after introduction of job rotation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the introduction of a job rotation model on supermarket cashiers, with respect to psychophysiological stress reactions, muscle activity of the trapezius muscle (which covers the upper back, the neck and the shoulder), and musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and shoulders. Thirty-one female cashiers were investigated before and after job rotation was introduced. Before the reorganization the participants were only performing cash register work at the checkout counters. After the reorganization they shifted between cash register work and work in different departments in the supermarket. At follow-up the participants, all right-handed, had a significantly lower diastolic blood pressure, and surface electromyography (EMG) showed a significantly decreased muscle activity in the trapezius muscle on the left side. Musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck and shoulders were only partly changed, and there was no change in prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, which was around 70%. From questionnaires, but not from self-ratings during work, it was found that the introduction of job rotation had been experienced as positive in several regards, although the perceptions of stress and hurry were the same at follow-up.     

A Methodology to Implement Box-Cox Transformation When No Covariate is Available

Box-Cox transformation is one of the most commonly used methodologies when data do not follow normal distribution. However, its use is restricted since it usually requires the availability of covariates. In this article, the use of a non-informative auxiliary variable is proposed for the implementation of Box-Cox transformation. Simulation studies are conducted to illustrate that the proposed approach is successful in attaining normality under different sample sizes and most of the distributions and in estimating transformation parameter for different sample sizes and mean-variance combinations. Methodology is illustrated on two real-life datasets.     

Mismatch in the Norwegian Labour Market 2003–2013: Did Immigrants Make a Difference?

For the Norwegian economy, 2003–2013 was a period of large growth and big business cycle fluctuations. The aggregate uv-curve reflects this and shows a reduction in both the vacancy rate and the unemployment rate from 2003 to 2013, suggesting improved labour market matching over the period. The inclusion of Eastern European countries in the European Union in 2004 and 2007 caused an increasing influx of foreign job seekers. I quantify regional and occupational mismatch, and make a distinction between natives and immigrants. Indicators show no reduction in mismatch over time, which therefore cannot account for the increased labour market efficiency that the uv-curve suggests. However, ‘footloose’ immigrants seem to have adapted better than ‘rooted’ natives to the structure of labour demand in the regional dimension, and thus to have contributed to a lower level of mismatch than would have resulted without immigrants. In the occupational dimension immigrants made no significant difference. Levels and differences in employment and unemployment among and between immigrants and natives were not well explained by their education levels or types.     

Violent mobilities: men,masculinities and road conflicts in Sweden

This article focuses on violence(s) in traffic space as a gendered problem. It draws upon qualitative online studies and interviews with cyclists about their experiences of motorists’ violent practices, including cyclists’ negotiations of anti-cyclist discourses and their coping strategies. It is argued that automobility makes it possible for certain men to perform their ‘right to the road,’ including gender-identity-shaping practices, and that this has the negative effect of violating cyclists’ bodily integrity. It follows that a shift from cars to more sustainable mobilities also demands related shifts in masculinities and men’s practices in the context of transport and traffic.     

The magic in the (extra)ordinary: Intensive validation to recalibrate the life-worlds of adolescents exposed to abuse

This qualitative case study aimed to explore environmental circumstances and interactional processes that appeared to be relevant for the dynamics of resilience in adolescents exposed to child abuse. Fieldwork at a learning and coping centre for children and their families was combined with semi-structured interviews with adolescent participants aged 12 to 18 years. A critical realist approach was used to unpack what has been called the ‘ordinary magic’ of resilience. We found that intensively validating qualities of both the environment and relationships seemed to be driving components for resilience. Borrowing ideas from the sociometer theory, we propose that particularly the consistent intensiveness may offer a recalibration of the adolescents' immediate life-worlds, in terms of how they perceive the people they meet and the environments they step into. In keeping with the transactional-ecological model of resilience, we suggest that such a recalibration leads to altered social agency that becomes visible through their immediate social participation.