Our homes.

Introducción a los distintos tipos de viviendas en los que comen, duermen, trabajan, juegan, en resumen, viven las personas; así como a su diseño, construcción y mobiliario.

La orientación e inserción sociolaboral de menores tutelados = Guidance and placement of children-youth who live in foster homes.

Resumen basado en el del autor

Homes, terres, cases i masos del Baix Empordà. Estudi de les transformacions socials als segles XVIII i XIX

NOTA: Aquesta tesi va acompanyada d'un fitxer amb una base de dades de Capítols matrimonials. RESUM: L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi doctoral ha estat aproximar-nos als canvis socials experimentats per la comarca del Baix Empordà durant el segle XVIII i la primera meitat del segle XIX, posant especial èmfasi en els oficis relacionats amb la terra. Com a tesi principal del nostre estudi hem plantejat que la pagesia pobra va poder tenir un paper més important del que se li ha atorgat històricament en els canvis agraris i socials produïts en el transcurs d'aquests dos segles. L'estudi s'ha dut a terme a partir de l'anàlisi de dos tipus de documents principalment; els inventaris post mortem i els capítols matrimonials que ens han permés analitzar l'evolució i els canvis en alguns oficis, mostrant un col·lectiu, el dels treballadors, i posteriorment menestrals que, segons les dades analitzades, va tenir una importància més rellevant en el conjunt de la societat i de les transformacions que es produïren durant els segles XVIII i XIX del que tradicionalment se li ha atorgat.

Newborn hearing screening: A retrospective analysis of hit and false positive rates in the NICU and how they are influenced by risk factors for hearing loss in a suburban birthing hospital

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a hearing screening program, particularly focusing on hit and false positive rates in the NICU and WBN at a top-rated birthing hospital in Saint Louis, MO. Additionally, the study examined how these rates may be influenced by risk factors for hearing loss.

Suburban immigrants to wildlands disrupt honest signaling in ultra-violet plumage

Urbanization changes habitat in a multitude of ways, including altering food availability. Access to human-provided food can change the relationship between body condition and honest advertisements of fitness, which may result in changes to behavior, demography, and metapopulation dynamics. We compared plumage color, its relationship with body condition and feather growth, and use as signal of dominance between a suburban and a wildland population of Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). Although plumage color was not related to body condition at either site, suburban birds had plumage with a greater proportion of total reflectance in the ultra-violet (UV) and peak reflectance at shorter wavelengths. Despite the use of plumage reflectance as a signal of dominance among individuals in the wildlands, we found no evidence of status signaling at the suburban site. However, birds emigrating from the suburban site to the wildland site tended to be more successful at acquiring breeder status but less successful at reproducing than were immigrants from an adjacent wildland site, suggesting that signaled and realized quality differ. These differences in signaling content among populations could have demographic effects at metapopulation scales and may represent an evolutionary trap whereby suburban immigrants are preferred as mates even though their reproductive success relative to effort is lower.

"Racism in a Melting Pot...?" Trinidadian mid-life transnational migrants' views on race and colour-class on return to their homes of descent

This paper deals with second-generation, one-and-a-half generation and ‘‘prolonged sojourner” Trinidadian transnational migrants, who have decided to ‘return’ to the birthplace of their parents. Based on 40 in-depth interviews, the paper considers both the positive and critical things that these youthful transnational migrants report about returning to, and living in, this multi-ethnic plural society and the salience of racial and colour-class stratification as part of their return migration experiences. Our qualitative analysis is based on the narratives provided by these youthful returnees, as relayed ‘‘in their own words”, presenting critical reflections on racism, racial identities and experiences as transnational Trinidadians. It is clear that it is contexts such as contemporary working environments, family and community that act as the reference points for the adaptation ‘‘back home” of this strongly middle-class cohort. We accordingly encounter a diverse, sometimes contesting set of racial issues that emerge as salient concerns for these returnees. The consensus is that matters racial remain as formidable legacies in the hierarchical stratification of Trinidadian society for a sizeable number. Many of our respondents reported the positive aspects of racial affirmation on return. But for another sub-set, the fact that multi-ethnic and multi-cultural mixing are proudly embraced in Trinidad meant that it was felt that return experiences were not overly hindered, or blighted by obstacles of race and colour-class. For these returnees, Trinidad and Tobago is seen as representing a 21st century ‘‘Melting Pot”. But for others the continued existence of racial divisions within society – between ethnic groups and among those of different skin shades – was lamented. In the views of these respondents, too much racial power is still ascribed to ‘near-whiteness’. But for the most part, the returnees felt that where race played a part in their new lives, this generally served to advantage them. However, although the situation in Trinidad appears to have been moderated by assumptions that it remains a racial ‘Melting Pot’, the analysis strongly suggests that the colour-class system of stratification is still playing an essential role, along with racial stereotyping in society at large.

Strategies to prevent falls and fractures in hospitals and care homes and effect of cognitive impairment: systematic review and meta-analyses

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the evidence for strategies to prevent falls or fractures in residents in care homes and hospital inpatients and to investigate the effect of dementia and cognitive impairment. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analyses of studies grouped by intervention and setting (hospital or care home). Meta-regression to investigate the effects of dementia and of study quality and design. DATA SOURCES: Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsychInfo, Cochrane Database, Clinical Trials Register, and hand searching of references from reviews and guidelines to January 2005. RESULTS: 1207 references were identified, including 115 systematic reviews, expert reviews, or guidelines. Of the 92 full papers inspected, 43 were included. Meta-analysis for multifaceted interventions in hospital (13 studies) showed a rate ratio of 0.82 (95% confidence interval 0.68 to 0.997) for falls but no significant effect on the number of fallers or fractures. For hip protectors in care homes (11 studies) the rate ratio for hip fractures was 0.67 (0.46 to 0.98), but there was no significant effect on falls and not enough studies on fallers. For all other interventions (multifaceted interventions in care homes; removal of physical restraints in either setting; fall alarm devices in either setting; exercise in care homes; calcium/vitamin D in care homes; changes in the physical environment in either setting; medication review in hospital) meta-analysis was either unsuitable because of insufficient studies or showed no significant effect on falls, fallers, or fractures, despite strongly positive results in some individual studies. Meta-regression showed no significant association between effect size and prevalence of dementia or cognitive impairment. CONCLUSION: There is some evidence that multifaceted interventions in hospital reduce the number of falls and that use of hip protectors in care homes prevents hip fractures. There is insufficient evidence, however, for the effectiveness of other single interventions in hospitals or care homes or multifaceted interventions in care homes.

Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case-control studies

Objective: To determine the risk of lung cancer associated with exposure at home to the radioactive disintegration products of naturally Occurring radon gas. Design: Collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 case-control studies of residential radon and lung cancer. Setting Nine European countries. Subjects 7148 cases Of lung cancer and 14 208 controls. Main outcome measures: Relative risks of lung cancer and radon gas concentrations in homes inhabited during the previous 5-34 years measured in becquerels (radon disintegrations per second) per cubic incite (Bq/m(3)) Of household air. Results: The mean measured radon concentration in homes of people in tire control group was 97 Bq/m(3), with 11% measuring > 200 and 4% measuring > 400 Bq/m(3). For cases of lung cancer the mean concentration was 104 Bq/m(3). The risk of lung cancer increased by 8.4% (95% confidence interval 3.0% to 15.8%) per 100 Bq/m(3) increase in measured radon (P = 0.0007). This corresponds to an increase of 16% (5% to 31%) per 100 Bq/m(3) increase in usual radon-that is, after correction for the dilution caused by random uncertainties in measuring radon concentrations. The dose-response relation seemed to be linear with no threshold and remained significant (P=0.04) in analyses limited to individuals from homes with measured radon < 200 Bq/m(3). The proportionate excess risk did not differ significantly with study, age, sex, or smoking. In the absence of other causes of death, the absolute risks of lung cancer by age 75 years at usual radon concentrations of 0, 100, and 400 Bq/m(3) would be about 0.4%, 0.5%, and 0.7%, respectively, for lifelong non-smokers, and about 25 times greater (10%, 12%, and 16%) for cigarette smokers. Conclusions: Collectively, though not separately, these studies show appreciable hazards from residential radon, particularly for smokers and recent ex-smokers, and indicate that it is responsible for about 2% of all deaths from cancer in Europe.

Introducing assistive technologies (AT) into the existing homes of older people

The design of accessible environments, for use by all, is a legal requirement for all public buildings, under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA, 1995) since October 1999 and the removal of all physical barriers becomes enforceable in 2004. Accessibility has transferred from being a social and moral issue to a legal requirement. The Research Group for Inclusive Environments at the University of Reading undertakes research to better understand methods to make the built environment more accessible. This paper presents the findings from the research project, Project Crystal, investigating the design of environments for better communication for deaf and hard of hearing people. At the last COBRA conference the preliminary findings from the pilot questionnaire were presented. During the year the questionnaire has been distributed more widely and a test environment has been used to investigate the effects the variables of lighting and colour have on people's ability to communicate. This paper will present some of the findings from the project, which is almost complete, and generalise on the effect wall surface design has on accessibility of an environment for people with a hearing impairment.

Lighting the homes of people who are visually impaired

An extended research project, funded by the Thomas Pocklington Trust, and carried out by the Research Group for Inclusive Environments (RGIE) at The University of Reading, has examined the lighting found in the homes of people who are visually impaired (VIP). This paper will summarise the results of this substantive study. All the surveyed homes have been occupied by people with sight loss, some of the dwellings were shared with sighted partners. There are several safety issues concerning domestic lighting where inadequate provision may contribute to the incidence of personal injuries occurring in the home. Qualitative and quantitative data from questionnaires, photometric surveys and faceto- face interviews have been obtained from 57 homes. The nature and extent of the visual impairment of each study participant has been identified. This paper will identify important findings from the study, including: a range of areas and tasks within the home that visually impaired people find inadequately lit; the variability of illuminance provided for task lighting and general lighting; and how effective visually impaired people find a selection different lighting systems to those that they commonly use. The research team are able to offer preliminary design guidance for lighting the homes of people who are visually impaired. These will be summarised in the paper.