New procedures of ergonomics design in a large oil company

This study presents the challenge involved in the negotiation and construction of a standard process in a major petroleum company that has the purpose of guiding the implementation of ergonomic studies in the development of projects, systemising the implementation of ergonomics design. The standard was created by a multi-disciplinary working group consisting of specialists in ergonomics, who work in a number of different areas of the company. The objective was to guide "how to" undertake ergonomics in all projects, taking into consideration the development of the ergonomic appraisals of work. It also established that all the process, in each project phase, should be accompanied by a specialist in ergonomics. This process as an innovation in the conception of projects in this company, signals a change of culture, and, for this reason requires broad dissemination throughout the several company leadership levels, and training of professionals in projects of ergonomics design. An implementation plan was also prepared and approved by the corporate governance, complementing the proposed challenge. In this way, this major oil company will implement new procedures of ergonomics design to promote health, safety, and wellbeing of the workforce, besides improving the performance and reliability of its systems and processes.     

Schools must include faculty and staff in sexual violence prevention efforts

Creating a normative campus environment intolerant to sexual violence is important for prevention. While prevention initiatives focusing on students are vital, faculty and staff have a central role in supporting and sustaining a comprehensive strategy for preventing campus sexual violence. Nationwide, colleges and universities recently implemented campus climate surveys. At Emory, we decided to survey faculty and staff as well as students, motivated by our use of an ecological framing of campus sexual violence. Faculty and staff are long-term members of the community, and can provide stability and continuity that reinforces prevention efforts prioritized for students. We recommend that schools use a trauma-informed approach to guide the involvement of faculty and staff in prevention. We encourage colleges and universities to consider the experiences and needs of their faculty and staff, as professionals who serve as leaders on campus and as those who guide students through their academic experiences.     

Control charts for monitoring the median in non-negative asymmetric data

Statistical Methods & Applications - Control charts are commonly used for monitoring the mean of processes. However, there are practical applications in which asymmetric data are the standard....     

Contested attachments: rethinking adoptive kinship in the era of open adoption

Since its legal inception in 1926, adoption work has been centrally concerned with the matter of the adopted child's ‘first’ or prior life, whilst also focussed on achieving a new and secure substitute family for that child. Adoptive kinship has been formed through this dual and contradictory concern, a concern that has produced diverse policies and practices over the last 90 years. Drawing on Foucault's concept of technologies of the subject, this paper is an exploration of adoptive kinship within the new context of open adoption, a set of practices that more actively promotes the involvements of the adopted child's former family. These practices both promote a radical reworking of adoptive kinship, as well as confirming its more orthodox moorings. Drawing on an adoption archive study, the paper concludes with an analysis of letterbox contact to explore how far this form of open practice transforms adoptive kinship in the contemporary era.     

Family Migration: The Role of Children and Education in Family Decision‐Making Strategies of Polish Migrants in London

Poland’s accession to the European Union in May 2004 brought many new possibilities and opportunities for Polish migrants to the United Kingdom. However, the focus on individual migrants has underestimated the complex roles of families in migration strategies and decision making. This paper brings together data from two studies of Polish migrants in London. In 2006–2007, we carried out a qualitative study, Recent Polish Migrants in London. That research examined how families may be reconfigured in different ways through migration, for example, transnational networks and splits within families. While the study participants represented varied examples of family reunification, they also revealed the complex decision making processes about leaving, staying, rejoining and returning. In our most recent study, Polish Children in London Primary Schools, we interviewed parents, who had migrated with children, about their experiences and expectations of London schools. This study revealed that the age of children was usually a factor in family migration decision making. There was a common expectation that younger children could easily adapt to a new school and learn English quickly. Drawing on the findings of these two studies, this paper will explore firstly, the variety of family migration strategies and secondly, the factors that inform migrants’ decisions to bring their families (especially children) or to leave them back home. Finally, the paper concludes by considering some of the policy implications of our findings.     

Online learning: New educational environments in order to respect cultural diversity through cooperative strategies

This paper discusses the possibilities provided by new virtual scenarios for the development of cooperative learning as a pedagogical approach to diversity. Computermediated communication demands a redefinition of the educator's roles and basic tasks. Facilitating learning by means of providing motivating activities and arranging tasks in a cooperative way becomes the teacher's main task. We shall present some strategic proposals for cooperative learning that can be developed through the Internet either as complementary or alternative activities to present tasks. While working in a cooperative way in virtual settings, educators need to take into account some factors that can improve the way students organize activities and communicate amongst themselves. Finally, we reflect on some of the lessons we have learned from our experience monitoring online courses. Este artículo plantea las posibilidades que ofrecen los nuevos entornos virtuales para el desarrollo del aprendizaje cooperativo como principio metodológico ante la diversidad. Las características de la comunicación mediada por ordenador implica una reformulación de los roles y tareas básicas de los educadores, cuya función principal consiste en facilitar el aprendizaje, proponiendo experiencias motivadoras y organizando las tareas de forma colaborativa. Presentamos algunas propuestas de estrategias para el aprendizaje cooperativo que pueden desarrollarse a través de Internet, bien como actividades complementarias al trabajo presencial o como alternativa. A la hora de trabajar cooperativamente en entornos virtuales es necesario tener en cuenta una serie de factores que pueden mejorar la organización y comunicación entre los alumnos. Por último se apuntan algunas de las lecciones aprendidas tras la experiencia de tutorización de cursos online.     

Gypsy Children's Schooling and Intercultural Attitudes in Spain

In this article we start by briefly describing the educational situation of Gypsies in Spain. Centuries of marginalisation has left deep scars, and despite various educational compensatory programmes the vast majority of Gypsy children still fail in school. We argue that any viable solution to the problem will require a greater flexibility of the educational system and a democratisation of the school structure and organisation, in order to better reflect the diversity of the school population. We end the article by discussing the importance of teaching intercultural attitudes, and we place this discussion within a theoretical framework provided by Fishbein and Ajzen's Reasoned Action Model.