What is Sexual Satisfaction? Thematic Analysis of Lay People's Definitions

Sexual satisfaction is an important indicator of sexual health and is strongly associated with relationship satisfaction. However, research exploring lay definitions of sexual satisfaction has been scarce. We present thematic analysis of written responses of 449 women and 311 men to the question “How would you define sexual satisfaction?” The participants were heterosexual individuals with a mean age of 36.05 years (SD = 8.34) involved in a committed exclusive relationship. In this exploratory study, two main themes were identified: personal sexual well-being and dyadic processes. The first theme focuses on the positive aspects of individual sexual experience, such as pleasure, positive feelings, arousal, sexual openness, and orgasm. The second theme emphasizes relational dimensions, such as mutuality, romance, expression of feelings, creativity, acting out desires, and frequency of sexual activity. Our results highlight that mutual pleasure is a crucial component of sexual satisfaction and that sexual satisfaction derives from positive sexual experiences and not from the absence of conflict or dysfunction. The findings support definitions and models of sexual satisfaction that focus on positive sexual outcomes and the use of measures that incorporate items linked to personal and dyadic sexual rewards for both men and women.     

What Survey Data Reveal about Price and Wage Rigidity in Portugal

This paper exploits the information collected from a survey conducted on a sample of Portuguese firms to study the patterns of firms’ price and wage adjustments and the extent of nominal price and wage rigidities. The evidence shows that the frequency of price changes varies substantially across sectors and depends on the intensity of competition, the share of labor costs and firms’ price reviewing behavior. The results also suggest that the constraint imposed by the presence of downward nominal wage rigidity is less important in firms where the fraction of permanent and high‐skilled workers is lower and the share of flexible pay components is higher.     

Dopamine Genes and Pathological Gambling in Discordant Sib-Pairs

Pathological gambling (PG) is an impulse control disorder that has been considered as a behavioral addiction. Recent studies have suggested the involvement of the dopaminergic system in addictions and impulse control disorders and associations of dopamine receptor genes (DRD1, DRD2, and DRD4) and PG have been reported. In the present study, 140 sib-pairs discordant for the diagnosis of PG (70 males and 70 females on each group) were recruited through the Gambling Outpatient Unit at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo and were assessed by trained psychiatrists. A family-based association design was chosen to prevent population stratification. All subjects were genotyped for dopamine receptor genes (DRD1 -800 T/C, DRD2 TaqIA RFLP, DRD3 Ser9Gly, DRD4 48bp exon III VNTR, DRD5 (CA) repeat) and the dopamine transporter gene (SCL6A3 40 bp VNTR). Our results suggest the association of PG with DRD1 -800 T/C allele T (P = .03).     

Effects of variations in water quantity and quality in the structure and functions of invertebrates’ community of a Mediterranean urban stream

Urban Ecosystems - Urban streams provide important ecosystem services to cities’ population, from the maintenance of urban biodiversity, temperature, humidity and air quality to improving...     

Rainfall interception capacity of tree species used in urban afforestation

Afforestation is inserted in the urban environment and interferes directly in the surface runoff. In order to quantify the rainfall interception by tree species, an experiment was carried out in the city of Uruaçu, Goiás, Brazil, with the four most common tree species in the urban afforestation of the region. The species chosen were the Mangifera indica (mango tree), the Caesalpinia peltophoroides (sibipiruna tree), the Pachira aquatica (munguba tree) and the Licania tomentosa (oiti). In order to register precipitation, ten pluviographs were used. They are capable of measuring precipitation over time in terms of duration, volume, and intensity. For events with a mean cumulative precipitation of 16.7 mm, the mean values of interception found in each species were: Mangifera indica - 8.0 mm; Pachira aquatica - 7.4 mm; Licania tomentosa - 7.2 mm; and Caesalpinia peltophoroides - 4.8 mm. The research confirms the importance of studies related to the identification of the species’ individual characteristics that interfere in the rainfall interception capacity and that can consequently contribute to urban drainage actions. In addition, it proves the existence of variations of rainfall interception in relation to rainfall events and during their occurrences and emphasizes the need for a careful definition of the species that will compose the urban afforestation.     

Ergonomic intervention methods for inclusion of people with disabilities at work: Brazilian scene

The aim is to identify ergonomic intervention methods used for including people with disabilities (PD) in the Brazilian labor market, with emphasis on discussion of methods to analyze the fit between the worker and the workplace. Methods to evaluate the fit of the worker to the workplace identify the capabilities and limitations of PDs and the demands of work, combining these data, and comparing them, in order to obtain a detailed analysis of the fit were drawn from national and international publications. These show that the use of specific methods for PDs and others focused on the general population. Mutatis mutandis, there is a need for complementary tools to address this segment. Thus, for the Brazilian scenario, it is essential to develop specific methodological tools to assess the capabilities of a PD so that they may better interact with their job.     

Including the people with disabilities at work: a case study of the job of bricklayer in civil construction in Brazil

The aim of this paper is to present the results of the evaluation of the job of bricklayer in the construction industry to determine the profile of workers with disabilities who could perform this function and what adjustments are needed. The methods and techniques used in the field study were: direct observation of the activities and the environment, interviews with bricklayers on building sites, a video and photographic record of tasks being carried out to analyze the job of bricklayer, software resources were used. This study set out the disabilities most commonly caused by work accidents in the civil construction industry and simulated the conditions of the individuals to determine whether they could perform the activities of this function and what adaptations are needed. It was observed that workers with hearing impairments could perform activities without any change in the workplace and individuals who had had a leg or foot amputated need to use appropriate prostheses to perform the activities of the function. Thus, it was shown that the activity of professionals with experience in Ergonomics is essential since, by the activity of gathering data and analysing the physical, cognitive and organizational requirements of jobs and by collecting data on and analysing the functional capabilities of the worker with a disability, adaptations to jobs can be adequately defined.