Work organization and the health of bank employees

The Brazilian banking sector has undergone an intense restructuring process and taken a leading position in the incorporation of new technologies and organizational innovations. Computerization in the industry, in association with forms of work organization, has resulted in changes that reflect on the workers' health. Based on the theoretical and methodological frameworks of historical and dialectical materialism, this qualitative study investigates the work conditions of bank employees in order to identify the extent to which changes in work organization interfere with these workers' health. Data were collected through interviews held with 11 bank employees. In addition to physical sickening due to occupational diseases directly related to work intensification, the results also show an increased incidence of mental suffering and a feeling of loss of professional identity. Work-related frustration, instability and concerns related to psychological pressure resulting from the need to achieve goals predominated in the reports.

Stigma toward schizophrenia: do all psychiatrists behave the same? Latent profile analysis of a national sample of psychiatrists in Brazil

Background: An important issue concerning the worldwide fight against stigma is the evaluation of psychiatrists’ beliefs and attitudes toward schizophrenia and mental illness in general. However, there is as yet no consensus on this matter in the literature, and results vary according to the stigma dimension assessed and to the cultural background of the sample. The aim of this investigation was to search for profiles of stigmatizing beliefs related to schizophrenia in a national sample of psychiatrists in Brazil. Methods: A sample of 1414 psychiatrists were recruited from among those attending the 2009 Brazilian Congress of Psychiatry. A questionnaire was applied in face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire addressed four stigma dimensions, all in reference to individuals with schizophrenia: stereotypes, restrictions, perceived prejudice and social distance. Stigma item scores were included in latent profile analyses; the resulting profiles were entered into multinomial logistic regression models with sociodemographics, in order to identify significant correlates. Results: Three profiles were identified. The “no stigma” subjects (n = 337) characterized individuals with schizophrenia in a positive light, disagreed with restrictions, and displayed a low level of social distance. The “unobtrusive stigma” subjects (n = 471) were significantly younger and displayed the lowest level of social distance, although most of them agreed with involuntary admission and demonstrated a high level of perceived prejudice. The “great stigma” subjects (n = 606) negatively stereotyped individuals with schizophrenia, agreed with restrictions and scored the highest on the perceived prejudice and social distance dimensions. In comparison with the first two profiles, this last profile comprised a significantly larger number of individuals who were in frequent contact with a family member suffering from a psychiatric disorder, as well as comprising more individuals who had no such family member. Conclusions: Our study not only provides additional data related to an under-researched area but also reveals that psychiatrists are a heterogeneous group regarding stigma toward schizophrenia. The presence of different stigma profiles should be evaluated in further studies; this could enable anti-stigma initiatives to be specifically designed to effectively target the stigmatizing group.

Ahmedabad | Laboratorio di architettura moderna Il National Institute of Design (1961-68) fra contatti internazionali ed echi della tradizione

Oggetto della ricerca è lo studio del National Institute of Design (NID), progettato da Gautam Sarabhai e sua sorella Gira, ad Ahmedabad, assunta a paradigma del nuovo corso della politica che il Primo Ministro Nehru espresse nei primi decenni del governo postcoloniale. Obiettivo della tesi è di analizzare il fenomeno che unisce modernità e tradizione in architettura. La modernità indiana, infatti, nacque e si sviluppò con i caratteri di un Giano bifronte: da un lato, la politica del Primo Ministro Nehru favorì lo sviluppo dell’industria e della scienza; dall’altro, la visione di Gandhi mirava alla riscoperta del locale, delle tradizioni e dell’artigianato. Questi orientamenti influenzarono l’architettura postcoloniale. Negli anni ‘50 e ’60 Ahmedabad divenne la culla dell’architettura moderna indiana. Kanvinde, i Sarabhai, Correa, Doshi, Raje trovarono qui le condizioni per costruire la propria identità come progettisti e come intellettuali. I motori che resero possibile questo fermento furono principalmente due: una committenza di imprenditori illuminati, desiderosi di modernizzare la città; la presenza ad Ahmedabad, a partire dal 1951, dei maestri dell’architettura moderna, tra cui i più noti furono Le Corbusier e Kahn, invitati da quella stessa committenza, per la quale realizzarono edifici di notevole rilevanza. Ad Ahmedabad si confrontarono con forza entrambe le visioni dell’India moderna. Lo sforzo maggiore degli architetti indiani si espresse nel tentativo di conciliare i due aspetti, quelli che derivavano dalle influenze internazionali e quelli che provenivano dallo spirito della tradizione. Il progetto del NID è uno dei migliori esempi di questo esercizio di sintesi. Esso recupera nella composizione spaziale la lezione di Wright, Le Corbusier, Kahn, Eames ibridandola con elementi della tradizione indiana. Nell’uso sapiente della struttura modulare e a padiglione, della griglia ordinatrice a base quadrata, dell’integrazione costante fra spazi aperti, natura e architettura affiorano nell’edificio del NID echi di una cultura millenaria.

„This is TZ power! Kenkey can’t do this!“ : Die performative Aushandlung nationaler Kultur ; das National Festival of Arts and Culture in Ghana /// Arbeitspapiere / Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien ; 92

Der vorliegende Artikel beschäftigt sich mit der performativen Aushandlung nationaler Kultur auf dem National Festival of Arts and Culture, das 2006 in Wa, Nordwestghana, stattfand. Die Autorin nahm an der Vorbereitung und Planung des Festivals in lokalen staatlichen Kulturinstitutionen teil, und beobachtete die Diskussionen um die Repräsentation einer (imaginierten) spezifischen Kultur des Nordens in scharfer Abgrenzung zu der des als dominant und diskriminierend empfundenen Südens. In diesem Zusammenhang werden Fragen der Authentizität und Authentifizierung, wie sie in der Planung und Rezeption diskutiert wurden, aufgegriffen und mit der Konzeption des Festivals als gleichzeitig einheitsstiftendes Vehikel für nationale Identität und als Austragungsort eines Wettbewerbs der Regionen um Anerkennung und Ressourcen in Verbindung gesetzt. Das Festival, so die Argumentation, ist eine cultural performance, die das Wesen einer „Kultur“ nicht nur abbildet, sondern auch die Möglichkeit des Wandels und der Subversion birgt. Performance meint hier also gleichzeitig die Aufführung und das Skript der Diskurse, die der Aufführung Bedeutung zuschreiben. Diesen doppelten Ansatz verfolgt der Artikel durch die Verknüpfung von Festivalbeobachtungen und Komiteesitzungsmitschriften im Rahmen der Vorbereitung.

Impact of sepsis on neurodevelopmental outcome in a Swiss National Cohort of extremely premature infants

Neonatal sepsis causes high mortality and morbidity in preterm infants, but less is known regarding the long-term outcome after sepsis. This study aimed to determine the impact of sepsis on neurodevelopment at 2 years' corrected age in extremely preterm infants.

Workshop report from the National Institutes of Health Taskforce on the Research Needs of Eosinophil-Associated Diseases (TREAD)

Eosinophils are blood cells that are often found in high numbers in the tissues of allergic conditions and helminthic parasite infections. The pathophysiologic roles that eosinophils may serve in other human "eosinophil-associated" diseases remain obscure.

National institutes of health stroke scale score and vessel occlusion in 2152 patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background and Purpose—There is some controversy on the association of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score to predict arterial occlusion on MR arteriography and CT arteriography in acute stroke. Methods—We analyzed NIHSS scores and arteriographic findings in 2152 patients (35.4% women, mean age 66±14 years) with acute anterior or posterior circulation strokes. Results—The study included 1603 patients examined with MR arteriography and 549 with CT arteriography. Of those, 1043 patients (48.5%; median NIHSS score 5, median time to clinical assessment 179 minutes) showed an occlusion, 887 in the anterior (median NIHSS score 7/0–31), and 156 in the posterior circulation (median NIHSS score 3/0–32). Eight hundred sixty visualized occlusions (82.5%) were located centrally (ie, in the basilar, intracranial vertebral, internal carotid artery, or M1/M2 segment of the middle cerebral artery). NIHSS scores turned out to be predictive for any vessel occlusions in the anterior circulation. Best cut-off values within 3 hours after symptom onset were NIHSS scores ≥9 (positive predictive value 86.4%) and NIHSS scores ≥7 within >3 to 6 hours (positive predictive value 84.4%). Patients with central occlusions presenting within 3 hours had NIHSS scores <4 in only 5%. In the posterior circulation and in patients presenting after 6 hours, the predictive value of the NIHSS score for vessel occlusion was poor. Conclusions—There is a significant association of NIHSS scores and vessel occlusions in patients with anterior circulation strokes. This association is best within the first hours after symptom onset. Thereafter and in the posterior circulation the association is poor.

European guidelines on management of restless legs syndrome: report of a joint task force by the European Federation of Neurological Societies, the European Neurological Society and the European Sleep Research Society

Since the publication of the first European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) guidelines in 2005 on the management of restless legs syndrome (RLS; also known as Willis-Ekbom disease), there have been major therapeutic advances in the field. Furthermore, the management of RLS is now a part of routine neurological practice in Europe. New drugs have also become available, and further randomized controlled trials have been undertaken. These guidelines were undertaken by the EFNS in collaboration with the European Neurological Society and the European Sleep Research Society.

Laparoscopic appendectomy outcomes on the weekend and during the week are no different: a national study of 151,774 patients

The "weekend effect" is defined as increased morbidity and mortality for patients admitted on weekends compared with weekdays. It has been observed for several diseases, including myocardial infarction and renal insufficiency; however, it has not yet been investigated for laparoscopic appendectomy in acute appendicitis-one of the most prevalent surgical diagnoses.