Still-births among the offspring of male radiation workers at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant: detailed results and statistical aspects

Summary. This study investigates whether there was evidence of increasing risk of still-birth with increasing paternal exposure to ionizing radiation received during employment at the Sellafield nuclear installation before the child was conceived. A significant positive association is found between the total paternal preconceptional exposure to external ionizing radiation and the risk of still-birth (after adjustment for year of birth, social class, birth order and paternal age, odds ratio at 100 mSv 1.24 (95% confidence interval 1.04–1.45)). A summary of the principal scientific findings of this study has been published in the Lancet . This paper describes in detail the statistical methods that were used in the investigation and presents the results in full.     

Pleasing the students: teachers' orientaton to classroom life in adult education

It is noted that existing sociological research on classrooms has focused too narrowly on compulsory schooling with the result that we have no data showing the rituals and routines of Adult Classrooms or the ways that teachers cope and resolve them. The paper presents fieldnote and interview data from a small ethnographic study of the two Adult Evening classes. The data suggest that in contrast to the teacher of school aged pupils, who seeks control and discipline, ‘pleasing students’ is the major orientation to classroom life of the evening class teacher. Do not say, the people must be educated when after all you only mean amused, refreshed, soothed put into good spirits and good humour or kept from vicious excesses. (Newman, 1873).     

Differences in preferred level of arousal in two sub-groups of problem gamblers: A preliminary report

Twelve problem poker machine players and thirteen horse race gamblers (20 males and 5 females; age range 28–69) completed a series of questionnaires which assessed levels of anxiety, their preferred state of arousal and their motivations to gamble. As predicted, problem poker machine gamblers were found to be more anxious and reported avoiding arousal more frequently than the horse race gamblers. Alternately, problem horse race gamblers were found to prefer heightened levels of arousal and appeared to gamble to achieve these optimal levels of arousal. However, there was no difference between the groups on proneness to boredom. The present results provide evidence which is consistent with the Reversal theory and its application to the field of problem gambling.     

The emergence of an Alpine environmental expertise

This article reports on the findings of research carried out on conflicts concerning major transport infrastructure projects in the Southern Alps. These conflicts were analyzed as delineating the gradual emergence of an environmental expertise network. Rather than fighting the administration and/or the transport operator in the field of transport, some opponents try to relocate the expertise into the field of the environment so as to catch the experts in the different administrations off guard. This resulting Alpine environmental expertise is based on the constitution of trans‐Alpine associative networks and the emergence of a constantly more supportive and structuring notion: sustainable development. In this article, we analyze the manner in which this notion is diffused and how it gradually builds up its definition in the course of action. The Alpine Agreement plays a major role in this operationalization: it constitutes a multilateral semantic point of reference for a variable Alpine policy and has influenced both major trans‐Alpine associative networks and official French land transport policy.     

Multilevel community health promotion: How can we make it work?

The need for multilevel, comprehensive health promotion programmeshas become widely accepted, as has the importance of communityapproaches. However, many health promotion programmes focuson change at the individual level, no doubt partly due to thedifficulty of implementing all-inclusive health promotion. Thispaper discusses two strategies for guiding multilevel projects:multiple methods for community assessment and charting projectactivities by level of change (a possibility framework). Thesestrategies help ensure a multilevel focus and provide valuableinformation that can assist with the implementation of multilevelhealth promotion research projects in specific community contexts.Our primary purpose, therefore, is not to focus on theory orresearch findings. Rather, our goal is to make visible two strategiesthat have been helpful in one health promotion research projectin Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.     

Real Men,Real Women,Real Lives? Gender issues in learning disabilities and challenging behaviour

This article seeks to define gender issues and explores the significance of these issues for challenging behaviour in the field of learning disability. It is argued that lack of awareness about these issues contributes to the development of challenging behaviour and to difficulties in identifying the needs expressed through these behaviours, whatever their origin. Specific areas examined include models of residential provision for adults, prioritisation of service activities, attribution processes (needs identification), and the sexuality of people with learning disabilities. In each area issues are raised and the implications for service practice defined.     

The Contribution of NPOs to Family Policy Formulation in EU Member and Applicant States

This paper examines the role of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the process of family policy formulation in eight member states and three applicant states of the European Union. Drawing upon interviews with representatives from the nonprofit sector, the author argues that the experiences of NPOs in family policy-making vary considerably between countries because of the way state–nonprofit relations operate. Social origins theory illustrates why these variations exist by pointing to broad societal influences on the nonprofit sector, but new empirical evidence presented here suggests that, in a particular policy field, other factors, such as the significance of the field on policy agendas, the strength of one particular organization in a specific cultural context, party ideology, and financial viability of the NPO, shape the role of organizations in the formulation of policies     

Research project on advocacy and autism

This article presents the findings of a qualitative research project about the difficulties in accessing advocacy faced by adults labelled as having autism and Asperger's Syndrome in the Northwest of England. It is also an example of partnership working between three organisations. The article examines both the process of team-led (emancipatory) research and the project findings. Seven main themes emerged throughout the research: late diagnosis and lack of service support; bad experiences with systems of care; feelings of 'not belonging' (identity issues); barriers around communication and sensitivity towards individuals; lack of awareness and access to advocacy and rights; difficulties of 'fitting into' what is already available; and interest in developing knowledge around advocacy. Examination of the main themes pointed to a disturbing link between poor service response, episodes of crisis and mental ill health. The Carlisle People First Research Team is made up of 6 researchers who are labelled as having 'learning difficulties' who work in partnership with one other researcher.