Relation between alcohol consumption and traffic violations and accidents in the region of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo State

In recent years, alcohol consumption has been considered an important public health problem. Ethanol, the alcohol used in beverages, is a drug that affects the central nervous system (CNS) and impairs driving skills and co-ordination, increasing risk of deaths and injuries derived from crashes and road accidents. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is implicated with premature deaths, injuries and damages caused by motor vehicle crashes, which result in high costs to government and society. Considering that alcohol consumption is the main responsible factor for deaths and disabilities in young people, the aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of blood alcohol in offenders and/or fatal and non-fatal victims of traffic occurrences in the region of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo State, from 2005 to 2007. The results revealed that in 2134 cases investigated, blood alcohol positivity was generally found in young adults, 25-45 years old and male. The study showed the high risk of drinking and driving and the importance in establishing actions of prevention and intervention to promote the reduction in the number of traffic occurrences related to consumption of alcoholic beverages. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language and disability in Japan

Language relating to disability in the public arena has been a sensitive issue in Japan as elsewhere. Since the 1970s and 80s, major media organisations have replaced words considered derogatory with more acceptable equivalents; laws, statutes and other legal documents have likewise been revised. This article examines how the language used to portray people with disabilities has changed, how the changes came about and how they were received. The debate has largely been played out in four public spaces, which to some extent intersect and overlap: the media (both print and visual), the laws, literature and, increasingly now, the Internet. I argue that while the laws were rewritten primarily as the result of external international trends, such as the International Year of Disabled Persons, disability groups achieved media compliance mainly by exploiting the keen desire of Japanese media organisations to avoid public embarrassment resulting from vocal protests over infractions.

Individual and societal bases of national identity - A comparative multi-level analysis

In a previous study (Jones and Smith, 1999) we established that much the same core pattern of national identity characterizes many developed countries. Using the national identity module from the 1995 International Social Survey Programme, we identified two dimensions of national identity: an ascriptive dimension resembling the concept of ethnic identity described in the historical and theoretical literature, and a voluntarist dimension closer to the notion of civic identity. Some writers view these dimensions in terms of a historical sequence but we find that both constructs coexist in the minds of individual respondents in the nations we examine (we exclude Bulgaria and the Philippines from the present but not the earlier analysis). The dataset used for the multilevel analyses reported here consists of 28 589 respondents in the remaining 21 countries included in the national identity database for the 1995 round of surveys. The macrosociological literature on national identity does not offer well-defined predictions about what precise patterns of national identification we might expect to find among the masses of the developed countries. There are, however, recurring themes from which one can construct plausible hypotheses about how countries might differ according to their level of development, broadly conceived. Thus, we hypothesize that forces such as post-industrialism and globalization tend to favour the more open voluntaristic form of national identity over the more restrictive ascribed form. We develop different multi-level models in order to evaluate specific hypotheses pertaining to such issues, by simultaneously relating individual and societal characteristics to the relative strength of individual commitment to these different types of national identity.

Drug use evaluation of ipratropium bromide at two tertiary referral hospitals in Brisbane.

Objective: To assess the appropriateness of ipratropium bromide prescribing in two tertiary referral hospitals. Method: Criteria for optimal use were developed based on current literature and modified after consultation with respiratory physicians and clinical pharmacists. A prospective review of prescribing was performed over a 2-month period to assess conformity to these criteria. Results: Information was collected from 84 patients; 5% were receiving inhalers and 96% nebuliser therapy (one patient used both). 77% of patients (n = 65) had a principal diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 14% (n = 12) asthma and 8% (n = 7) had neither diagnosis. 75% of patients were using ipratropium outside the guidelines. The major areas where the guidelines were not met were a lack of therapeutic justification, use of inappropriate doses, and use of an inappropriate delivery device. Feedback and educational interventions were designed and delivered based on the data obtained. Conclusions: There was widespread use of ipratropium outside the developed guidelines. Interventions in specific areas could lead to significant improvements in the use of this high cost drug

Pax Americana: Accent attitudinal evaluations in New Zealand, Australia, and America

This study describes a series of evaluations of gender pairs of New Zealand English, Australian English, American English and RP-type English English voices by over 400 students in New Zealand, Australia and the U.S.A. Voices were chosen to represent the middle range of each accent, and balanced for paralinguistic features. Twenty-two personality and demographic traits were evaluated by Likert-scale questionnaires. Results indicated that the American female voice was rated most favourably on at least some traits by students of all three nationalities, followed by the American male. For most traits, Australian students generally ranked their own accents in third or fourth place, but New Zealanders put the female NZE voice in the mid-low range of all but solidarity-associated traits. All three groups disliked the NZE male. The RP voices did not receive the higher rankings in power/status variables we expected. The New Zealand evaluations downgrade their own accent vis-a`-vis the American and to some extent the RP voices. Overall, the American accent seems well on the way to equalling or even replacing RP as the prestige—or at least preferred—variety, not only in New Zealand but in Australia and some non-English-speaking nations as well. Preliminary analysis of data from Europe suggests this manifestation of linguistic hegemony as ‘Pax Americana’ seems to be prevalent over more than just the Anglophone nations.

Hypercapitalism: Language, new media and social perceptions of value

Using examples from contempoary policy and business discourses, and exemplary historical texts dealing with the notion of value, I put forward an argument as to why a critical scholarship that draws on media history, language analysis, philosophy and political economy is necessary to understand the dynamics of what is being called 'the global knowledge economy'. I argue that the social changes associated with new modes of value determination are closely associated with new media form.

Marx as a Critical Discourse Analyst: The genesis of a critical method and its relevance to the critique of global capital

In this paper we identify elements in Marx´s economic and political writings that are relevant to contemporary critical discourse analysis (CDA). We argue that Marx can be seen to be e n gaging in a form of discourse analysis. We identify the elements in Marx´s historical materialist method that support such a perspective, and exemplify these in a longitudinal comparison of Marx´s texts.

The socio-religious beliefs and nature of the contemporary Vampire Subculture

The contemporary Vampire Subculture can be defined as a multi-faceted, socio-religious movement with its own distinct collective community and network of participants who share a similar belief system and customary lifestyle that reflect their concept of the vampire. The Vampire Subculture consists of individuals who profess to be 'real vampires', vampire communities of like-minded persons, 'blood-donors' who willingly allow vampires to partake of them, occult-based and mystical-orientated groups that appeal to their spirituality, the blood fetishists, and the live-action vampire role-players. In response, a Christian counter-movement of self-proclaimed 'vampire-slayers' has emerged that actively opposes the vampire subculture and its beliefs and practices. The socio-religious nature of the Vampire Subculture can be best described as a Segmented, Polycentric and Integrated Network of participants.