[Editorial] Introduction to the special issue on COST Action FA1001

This Special Issue gathers selected contributions from experts of the action on several aspects of food structure design explored throughout the actions activity, from basic science to applications and behavior of foods during digestion.

The impact of work clothing design on workers’ comfort

Physical and physiological comfort, at work and during leisure time, is important to human health and motivation. A growing number of jobs require workers to sit. Most clothes, except those intended for wheelchair users, were designed for walking or the standing position. Clothing designs should be user-oriented and meet users’ needs. Garment design should conform to body position and posture, not just shape and size. In this paper we present the ergometric impact of a new type of trousers designed to adapt to changes in position. Concentrations of compression forces, temperature and pressure were documented in an exploratory pilot study and contrasted to traditional designs. The new trousers showed significant decreases in compression force concentration, especially in and around the knees and waist. Most participants identified comfort as an important factor when purchasing a pair of trousers and that, for working purposes, they would prefer these special trousers rather than traditional designs.

Occupational stress and coping among portuguese military police officers

This study describes the professional experience of military police officers from the Portuguese Republican National Guard (N = 95). We focused on the main sources and consequences of stress and the coping strategies used to deal with stress. The evaluation protocol included one closed-ended question and four open-ended questions. Data analysis of meaningful text segments was conceptually based and data categorization followed deductive content analysis. Results allowed the identification of 483 meaning units. Factors intrinsic to the job and the relationships at work were the main stressors referred by participants. The consequences of stressors were evident at an individual level, affecting family, psychological, and physical/health domains. The coping strategies used to deal with the main source of stress in the professional career were focused on problem solving (e.g., active confrontation) and emotional regulation (e.g., situation acceptance). Practical implications and future avenues of research with these professionals are discussed.

Introduction to special Issue: future priorities in European media and communication research

(Excerto) The European Journal of Communication seeks to present the best in current research in the broad field of media and communication research. Irregularly, we seek to take stock by inviting a small group of leading scholars to present their work at a symposium on a common theme, which then forms the basis for a Special Issue of the Journal. In 2014, the European Science Foundation (ESF) published one of their ‘Forward Looks’ entitled Media in Europe: New Questions for Research and Policy. We subsequently invited several of the Forward Look’s authors to meet and discuss their work with us at a symposium hosted by the European University Cyprus, and the discussion and revised papers that resulted are published here.