The impact of school year work on adolescent *development

In recent decades, work has become an increasingly common feature of adolescent life in the United States. Once assumed to be an inherently positive experience for youth, school year work has recently been associated with several adverse effects, especially as the number of hours of weekly work increases. The purpose of this dissertation was to describe the impact of school year work on adolescent development in a sample of high school students from rural South Texas, an area where economically-disadvantaged and Hispanic students are heavily represented.^ The first study described the prevalence and work circumstances of 3,565 10$\rm\sp{th}$ and 12$\rm\sp{th}$ grade students who responded to anonymous surveys conducted in regular classrooms. The overall prevalence of current work was 53%. Prevalence differed by grade, college-noncollege-bound status, and parent education. Fifty percent of employed students worked to support consumer spending.^ The second study examined the effects of four levels of work intensity on the academic, behavioral, social, mental and physical health of students. The following negative effects of intense work were reported: (1) decreased engagement in school, satisfaction with leisure time, and hours of weeknight and weekend sleep, and (2) increased health risk behaviors and psychological stress. The negative effects of intense work differed by gender, grade, ethnicity, but not by parent education.^ The third study described the prevalence of injury in the study population. A dose response effect was observed where increasing hours of weekly work were significantly related to work-related injury. The likelihood of being injured while employed in restaurant, farm/ranch, and construction work was greater than the probability of being injured while working in factory/office/skilled, yard, or retail work when compared to babysitting. Cuts, shocks/burns and sprains were the most common injuries in working teens.^ Students, parents, educators, health professionals and policymakers should continue to monitor the number of weekly hours that students work during the school year. ^

Quality of life and functional status in a low -income, multiethnic HIV -positive population

The introduction of new medical treatments in recent years, commonly referred to as highly active antiretroviral therapy, has greatly increased the survival of patients with HIV/AIDS. As patients with HIV/AIDS continue to live longer, other important health-related outcomes, such as quality of life (QOL), should be thoroughly studied. There is also evidence that racial/ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, but potential health disparities among individuals already infected with HIV/AIDS have not been adequately examined in ethnically diverse populations. The purpose of this dissertation was to: (1) examine the impact of both demographic and behavioral variables on functional status and overall QOL among a population of ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged HIV/AIDS patients; (2) examine the psychometric properties of a functional status measure—the Household and Leisure Time Activities questionnaire (HLTA); and (3) assess a proximal-distal theoretical framework for QOL using a full structural equation model in a population of patients with HIV/AIDS. Analyses were performed using data collected in the fall of 2000 from the project, Health and Work-Related Quality of Life and Health Risk Behaviors in a Multiethnic HIV-positive Population . Investigators from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas-Houston Medical School, and The University of Texas School of Public Health conducted this project. The study site was the Thomas Street Clinic (TSC), a comprehensive HIV/AIDS care facility funded by the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD). TSC provides HIV/AIDS care to a diverse population of approximately 4000 medically indigent residents of Harris County. A systematic, consecutive sampling procedure yielded a sample size of 348 patients. Findings suggested that overall QOL, work-role functioning, household functioning, and leisure time functioning were impaired in this patient population. Results from the psychometric evaluation indicated that the HLTA was a reliable and valid measure of household and leisure time functioning status in a low-income multiethnic HIV-positive population. Finally, structural equation modeling of the proximal-distal QOL model suggested that this model was not a viable representation of the relationship between the study variables in this patient population. ^

Activity, work and employment: some reflections on a topic under debate

Since ten years ago, it is intensely thought of human work and employment in developed countries as a consequence of the deep changes on the productive system. In this chapter we analyze at first place the concept of work and its evolution, based on recent researches. In second place we review the notions of activity, work and employment and also the definition and measurement of unemployment, which is not a very old notion. The third part is about the work rol in human life and finally we study the different alternatives on activity and specific work contracts, proposals that nowadays replace the notion of "full employment" in France.

Ocupaciones y movilidades en pueblos rurales de la Patagonia : Una mirada desde lo agrario

El estudio de las ocupaciones y movilidades en pueblos rurales nos introduce en la relación agricultura y ruralidad y en lo rural como espacio no residual frente a lo moderno y urbano. Una cuestión vinculada tiene que ver con el centramiento / descentramiento de lo agrario, ya sea por monoactividad o por principalidad de la ocupación en caso de pluriactividad, como también con la forma que adoptan las relaciones entre campo (rural disperso) y pueblo (rural aglomerado). Por otro lado, se relaciona con la naturaleza del mundo rural en tanto espacio social, diferenciado y construido, y como lugar de vida y de trabajo. A partir de una mirada que visibiliza el papel de lo agrario en lo rural, mostramos situaciones diversas de entramados ocupacionales y desplazamientos a partir de estudios de caso que entendemos ejemplifican las cuestiones planteadas: dos pueblos rurales con variabilidad en el desarrollo agrario y en la organización social de la agricultura. Por un lado, se trata de un pueblo rural con alto crecimiento poblacional localizado en un área de expansión agrícola, con organización empresarial a escala, predominio de relaciones salariales de producción y ocupaciones agrarias, mayoritariamente tradicionales, e importante presencia de trabajadores migrantes estacionales. Por otro lado, un pueblo rural de una región históricamente marginal y deprimida, escasamente poblada, en área de meseta dedicada a la ganadería extensiva donde coexisten grandes estancias y unidades campesinas; con crecimiento reciente de la población rural aglomerada, con ocupaciones agrarias tradicionales y pluriactividad también tradicional. Se muestra en la investigación empírica la multiplicidad de movimientos espaciales, las ocupaciones y sus formas de combinación, el centramiento de las actividades agrarias y conexas, y el consiguiente carácter identitario de esos pueblos. Los hallazgos nos llevan a plantear el tema de la ruptura de la ocupación única y la complejidad en los nexos campo-pueblo, También, la vigencia de lo agrario en lo rural, y de pueblos rurales "vivientes", temas que en abordajes sobre la nueva ruralidad y la globalización han quedado algunas veces opacados.

Activity, work and employment: some reflections on a topic under debate

Since ten years ago, it is intensely thought of human work and employment in developed countries as a consequence of the deep changes on the productive system. In this chapter we analyze at first place the concept of work and its evolution, based on recent researches. In second place we review the notions of activity, work and employment and also the definition and measurement of unemployment, which is not a very old notion. The third part is about the work rol in human life and finally we study the different alternatives on activity and specific work contracts, proposals that nowadays replace the notion of "full employment" in France.

Ocupaciones y movilidades en pueblos rurales de la Patagonia : Una mirada desde lo agrario

El estudio de las ocupaciones y movilidades en pueblos rurales nos introduce en la relación agricultura y ruralidad y en lo rural como espacio no residual frente a lo moderno y urbano. Una cuestión vinculada tiene que ver con el centramiento / descentramiento de lo agrario, ya sea por monoactividad o por principalidad de la ocupación en caso de pluriactividad, como también con la forma que adoptan las relaciones entre campo (rural disperso) y pueblo (rural aglomerado). Por otro lado, se relaciona con la naturaleza del mundo rural en tanto espacio social, diferenciado y construido, y como lugar de vida y de trabajo. A partir de una mirada que visibiliza el papel de lo agrario en lo rural, mostramos situaciones diversas de entramados ocupacionales y desplazamientos a partir de estudios de caso que entendemos ejemplifican las cuestiones planteadas: dos pueblos rurales con variabilidad en el desarrollo agrario y en la organización social de la agricultura. Por un lado, se trata de un pueblo rural con alto crecimiento poblacional localizado en un área de expansión agrícola, con organización empresarial a escala, predominio de relaciones salariales de producción y ocupaciones agrarias, mayoritariamente tradicionales, e importante presencia de trabajadores migrantes estacionales. Por otro lado, un pueblo rural de una región históricamente marginal y deprimida, escasamente poblada, en área de meseta dedicada a la ganadería extensiva donde coexisten grandes estancias y unidades campesinas; con crecimiento reciente de la población rural aglomerada, con ocupaciones agrarias tradicionales y pluriactividad también tradicional. Se muestra en la investigación empírica la multiplicidad de movimientos espaciales, las ocupaciones y sus formas de combinación, el centramiento de las actividades agrarias y conexas, y el consiguiente carácter identitario de esos pueblos. Los hallazgos nos llevan a plantear el tema de la ruptura de la ocupación única y la complejidad en los nexos campo-pueblo, También, la vigencia de lo agrario en lo rural, y de pueblos rurales "vivientes", temas que en abordajes sobre la nueva ruralidad y la globalización han quedado algunas veces opacados.

Ocupaciones y movilidades en pueblos rurales de la Patagonia : Una mirada desde lo agrario

El estudio de las ocupaciones y movilidades en pueblos rurales nos introduce en la relación agricultura y ruralidad y en lo rural como espacio no residual frente a lo moderno y urbano. Una cuestión vinculada tiene que ver con el centramiento / descentramiento de lo agrario, ya sea por monoactividad o por principalidad de la ocupación en caso de pluriactividad, como también con la forma que adoptan las relaciones entre campo (rural disperso) y pueblo (rural aglomerado). Por otro lado, se relaciona con la naturaleza del mundo rural en tanto espacio social, diferenciado y construido, y como lugar de vida y de trabajo. A partir de una mirada que visibiliza el papel de lo agrario en lo rural, mostramos situaciones diversas de entramados ocupacionales y desplazamientos a partir de estudios de caso que entendemos ejemplifican las cuestiones planteadas: dos pueblos rurales con variabilidad en el desarrollo agrario y en la organización social de la agricultura. Por un lado, se trata de un pueblo rural con alto crecimiento poblacional localizado en un área de expansión agrícola, con organización empresarial a escala, predominio de relaciones salariales de producción y ocupaciones agrarias, mayoritariamente tradicionales, e importante presencia de trabajadores migrantes estacionales. Por otro lado, un pueblo rural de una región históricamente marginal y deprimida, escasamente poblada, en área de meseta dedicada a la ganadería extensiva donde coexisten grandes estancias y unidades campesinas; con crecimiento reciente de la población rural aglomerada, con ocupaciones agrarias tradicionales y pluriactividad también tradicional. Se muestra en la investigación empírica la multiplicidad de movimientos espaciales, las ocupaciones y sus formas de combinación, el centramiento de las actividades agrarias y conexas, y el consiguiente carácter identitario de esos pueblos. Los hallazgos nos llevan a plantear el tema de la ruptura de la ocupación única y la complejidad en los nexos campo-pueblo, También, la vigencia de lo agrario en lo rural, y de pueblos rurales "vivientes", temas que en abordajes sobre la nueva ruralidad y la globalización han quedado algunas veces opacados.

Activity, work and employment: some reflections on a topic under debate

Since ten years ago, it is intensely thought of human work and employment in developed countries as a consequence of the deep changes on the productive system. In this chapter we analyze at first place the concept of work and its evolution, based on recent researches. In second place we review the notions of activity, work and employment and also the definition and measurement of unemployment, which is not a very old notion. The third part is about the work rol in human life and finally we study the different alternatives on activity and specific work contracts, proposals that nowadays replace the notion of "full employment" in France.

Survey of living conditions of Arctic indigenous peoples

Major findings of the Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic (SLiCA) are: (1) A combination of traditional activities and cash employment is the prevailing lifestyle of Arctic indigenous peoples; (2) family ties, social support of each other, and traditional activities have a lot to do with why indigenous people choose to remain in Arctic communities; (3) well-being is closely related to job opportunities, locally available fish and game, and a sense of local control. Well-being and depression (and related problems like suicide) are flip sides of the same coin. Improving well-being may reduce social problems; and, (4) health conditions vary widely in the Arctic: three-in-four Greenlandic Inuit self-rate their health as at least very good compared with one-in-two Canadian and Alaska Inuit and one-in-five Chukotka indigenous people. Findings are based on 7,200 interviews in a probability sample of Inupiat settlement regions of Alaska, the four Inuit settlement regions of Canada, all of Greenland, and the Anadyrskij, Anadyr, Shmidtovs, Beringovskij, Chukotskij, Iujl'tinskij, Bilibinskij, Chaunskij, Providenskij, Uel'Kal' districts of Chukotka. Indigenous people and researchers from Greenland, Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland collaborated on all phases of the study.

Income disparity among persons with disabilities assessed by education and sex : findings from a field survey conducted in Metro Manila, the Philippines

How do persons with disabilities (PWDs) earn a living? From the view point of poverty reduction, this question is quite critical in developing countries. This paper presents an investigation of economic activities of PWDs in the Philippines where, among developing countries, disability-related legislation is relatively progressive. In 2008, a field survey was conducted in cooperation with Disability People’s Organizations (DPOs) using a tailor-made questionnaire in four representative cities of Metro Manila. The level and determinants of income of PWDs were examined with Mincer regression. Conclusions are as follows: (1) The incidence and depth of poverty are greater among sample PWDs than that of the total population in Metro Manila. (2) There is remarkable income disparity among PWDs which is associated with education and sex. (3) After controlling individual, parental, and environmental characteristics, it was found that female PWDs are likely to earn less than male PWDs due to fewer opportunities to participate in economic activities. It is suggested that female PWDs are doubly handicapped in earning income.

The Effect of Sequence of Operations on Fatigue Life of LSP Treated Open-hole Aluminium Specimens

Fastener holes in aeronautical structures are typical sources of fatigue cracks due to their induced local stress concentration. A very efficient solution to this problem is to establish compressive residual stresses around the fastener holes that retard the fatigue crack nucleation and its subsequent local propagation. Previous work done on the subject of the application of LSP treatment on thin, open-hole specimens [1] has proven that the LSP effect on fatigue life of treated specimens can be detrimental, if the process is not properly optimized. In fact, it was shown that the capability of the LSP to introduce compressive residual stresses around fastener holes in thin-walled structures representative of typical aircraft constructions was not superior to the performance of conventional techniques, such as cold-working.

Instrumentation for accelerated life tests of concentrator solar cells

Concentrator photovoltaic is an emergent technology that may be a good economical and efficient alternative for the generation of electricity at a competitive cost. However, the reliability of these new solar cells and systems is still an open issue due to the high-irradiation level they are subjected to as well as the electrical and thermal stresses that they are expected to endure. To evaluate the reliability in a short period of time, accelerated aging tests are essential. Thermal aging tests for concentrator photovoltaic solar cells and systems under illumination are not available because no technical solution to the problem of reaching the working concentration inside a climatic chamber has been available. This work presents an automatic instrumentation system that overcomes the aforementioned limitation. Working conditions have been simulated by forward biasing the solar cells to the current they would handle at the working concentration (in this case, 700 and 1050 times the irradiance at one standard sun). The instrumentation system has been deployed for more than 10 000 h in a thermal aging test for III-V concentrator solar cells, in which the generated power evolution at different temperatures has been monitored. As a result of this test, the acceleration factor has been calculated, thus allowing for the degradation evolution at any temperature in addition to normal working conditions to be obtained.

Monitoring spinach shelf-life with hyperspectral image through

Different procedures for monitoring the evolution of leafy vegetables, under plastic covers during cold storage, have been studied. Fifteen spinach leaves were put inside Petri dishes covered with three different plastic films and stored at 4 °C for 21 days. Hyperspectral images were taken during this storage. A radiometric correction is proposed in order to avoid the variation in transmittance of the plastic films during time in the hyperspectral images. Afterwards, three spectral pre-processing procedures (no pre-process, Savitsky–Golay and Standard Normal Variate, combined with Principal Component Analysis) were applied to obtain different models. The corresponding artificial images of scores were studied by means of Analysis of Variance to compare their ability to sense the aging of the leaves. All models were able to monitor the aging through storage. Radiometric correction seemed to work properly and could allow the supervision of shelf-life in leafy vegetables through commercial transparent films.

PROFILE AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF LOGGERS

RESUMO – Objetivou-se com este estudo caracterizar o perfil e avaliar o nível de satisfação que reflete na qualidade de vida no trabalho (QVT) de trabalhadores da colheita de madeira de duas contratadas (C1 e C2), por duas grandes empresas do setor florestal, sendo uma do segmento de papel e celulose (PC) e, a outra, do segmento de carvão vegetal (CV). A avaliação ocorreu a partir da percepção dos trabalhadores das contratadas em questão, utilizando um modelo pré-concebido que contempla 11 blocos ou dimensões referentes a variáveis intervenientes e definidores da QVT, englobando 48 trabalhadores em três categorias funcionais: operador de motosserra (7 trabalhadores da C1 PC e 10 da C2 CV), ajudante de motosserrista (7 trabalhadores da C1 PC e 8 da C2 CV) e operador de carregador florestal (11 trabalhadores da C1 PC e 5 da C2 CV). Os dados referentes às variáveis intervenientes na QVT foram obtidos a partir de escala fechada do tipo Likert, com os escores variando de 1 a 7, em que 1 correspondeu ao nível "bastante insatisfeito" e 7, ao nível "bastante satisfeito". O perfil dos trabalhadores é de pessoa jovem, baixo nível de escolaridade e pouco tempo de serviço na empresa. Quanto ao nível de satisfação no trabalho, constatou-se que os trabalhadores da C1 PC se encontravam "satisfeitos" e os da C2 CV, "mediamente satisfeitos" com o trabalho e as condições proporcionadas pelas respectivas empresas, apesar de estatisticamente não ter sido detectada diferença entre os valores médios encontrados nas duas situações, pelo teste de Mediana (P>0,01). Os fatores que mais contribuíram para esses resultados favoráveis foram os benefícios extras oferecidos pelas prestadoras de serviços, as condições de segurança no trabalho e o contentamento com o emprego formal. ABSTRACT – The objective of this study was to characterize profile and satisfaction level, which reflects the quality of life (QOL) of forest workers of two contracts for harvest activities, one in the pulp and paper industry (PI) and another in charcoal industry (CI). The evaluation of the satisfaction indexes was carried out according to the workers perception by using a model including 11 parameters to reflect these workers QOL. The group study of 48 workers encompassed three functional categories: chainsaw operators (7 from C1 and 10 from C2), chainsaw operator's assistant (7 from C1 and 8 from C2), and log loader operators (11 from C1 and 5 from C2). Data regarding the factors involved in QOL were collected from a closed, Likert-type scale with scores ranging from 1-7, in which level 1 corresponded to "very dissatisfied" and level 7 to "very satisfied". The general profile of the group shows that most of them are young, with low level of education and employed in the companies for a short time. Overall, the employees of contractors of the paper and pulp industry are "satisfied" and those working for the charcoal company are only "moderately satisfied" with the work and policies offered by the respective companies, although no significant statistical difference was detected between the two groups, for the median test (P> 0.01). The main reasons behind these results are the general beneficts offered by the companies, the safety measurements and the overall satisfaction for been employed.