Sexual dimorphism of the femoral neck during the adolescent growth spurt: a structural analysis

Before puberty, there are only small sex differences in body shape and composition. During adolescence, sexual dimorphism in bone, lean, and fat mass increases, giving rise to the greater size and strength of the male skeleton. The question remains as to whether there are sex differences in bone strength or simply differences in anthropometric dimensions. To test this, we applied hip structural analysis (HSA) to derive strength and geometric indices of the femoral neck using bone densitometry scans (DXA) from a 6-year longitudinal study in Canadian children. Seventy boys and sixty-eight girls were assessed annually for 6 consecutive years. At the femoral neck, cross-sectional area (CSA, an index of axial strength), subperiosteal width (SPW), and section modulus (Z, an index of bending strength) were determined, and data were analyzed using a hierarchical (random effects) modeling approach. Biological age (BA) was defined as years from age at peak height velocity (PHV). When BA, stature, and total-body lean mass (TB lean) were controlled, boys had significantly higher Z than girls at all maturity levels (P < 0.05). Controlling height and TB lean for CSA demonstrated a significant independent sex by BA interaction effect (P < 0.05). That is, CSA was greater in boys before PHV but higher in girls after PHV The coefficients contributing the greatest proportion to the prediction of CSA, SPW, and Z were height and lean mass. Because the significant sex difference in Z was relatively small and close to the error of measurement, we questioned its biological significance. The sex difference in bending strength was therefore explained by anthropometric differences. In contrast to recent hypotheses, we conclude that the CSA-lean ratio does not imply altered mechanosensitivity in girls because bending dominates loading at the neck, and the Z-lean ratio remained similar between the sexes throughout adolescence. That is, despite the greater CSA in girls, the bone is strategically placed to resist bending; hence, the bones of girls and boys adapt to mechanical challenges in a similar way. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Division of labour within cooperatively breeding groups

Within cooperative societies, group members share in caring for offspring. Although division of labour among group members has been relatively well studied in insects, less is known about vertebrates. Most studies of avian helping focus solely on the extent to which helpers provision the offspring, however, helpers can participate in everything from nest building to predator defence. Bad provisioners may, for example, not be as 'uncooperative' as they appear. if they are good defenders. Thus, the distribution of helping tasks between group members should have important implications for our interpretation of group dynamics. Here, we compare two distinct forms of helping behaviour in the cooperatively breeding noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala): chick provisioning and mobbing nest predators. We show that the way in which individual helpers invest in these two helping behaviours varies enormously across individuals and among social groups. Good provisioners often contributed relatively little to mobbing and vice versa. Indeed, (18%) of helpers only mobbed, 22% just provisioned, whereas 60% of helpers performed both forms of helping. Across nests, provisioning was significantly negatively correlated with mobbing effort. We suggest that small differences in the costs or benefits of different aspects of helping (due to differences in age, relatedness or social status) have a big impact on the division of labour within a group. Consequently, social groups can be made up from individuals who often specialise in one helping behaviour, and/or helpers who perform a number of behaviours to differing degrees. Division of labour within social groups will, therefore, have important consequences for the maintenance of cooperatively breeding in vertebrates.

TRANSFORMAÇÕES NO MUNDO DO TRABALHO NA REGIÃO DO GRANDE ABC: UMA ANÁLISE COMPREENSIVA A PARTIR DO FILME PEÕES

Com o advento da revolução industrial o capitalismo assumiu uma forma assombrosa jamais vista anteriormente em outras passagens do mundo do trabalho, ao se alimentar de um ritmo acelerado de produção, consumo e acumulação. Esta nova era baseada na mecanização e numa nova divisão do trabalho impôs ao trabalhador o principio da fragmentação, que seguindo o modelo do cronômetro da gerência científica e a linha de produção do açougue dividiu a força de trabalho do empregado e multiplicou a acumulação do empregador. Na década de 1970 o capitalismo sofreu uma crise estrutural que viria a transformar o mundo do trabalho novamente. Esta nova transformação do capital fundamentado na globalização e nos conceitos neoliberais visando ainda mais a lucratividade em cima da força de trabalho atingiu a objetividade e a subjetividade da classe-que-vive-do-trabalho ao (des)re regulamentar seus direitos e conquistas. No mundo do trabalho brasileiro as transformações do capital mundial tiveram seu impacto nos anos 1990 abalando regiões produtivas inteiras como a do Grande ABC, com o desemprego estrutural e com a reestruturação produtiva. Em 2002 o diretor de cinema Eduardo Coutinho filmou um documentário Peões com 21 operários que narram suas origens, suas participações no movimento nas décadas de 1970-1980-1990 e os desfechos de suas vidas fazendo uma construção de si pela fala. Desta forma, Peões será para esta dissertação o corpus de análise para uma aproximação entre ciência e arte, onde será utilizado o método fenomenológico para a análise das narrativas que se apresentam para compreensão da divisão do trabalho capitalista que vem transformando o mundo do trabalho e atingindo perversamente a classe-que-vive-do-trabalho ao fragmentar sua subjetividade que se explicita objetivamente na fragmentação da relação intersubjetiva com o outro, os objetos e o mundo. Por meio da aplicação do método para a compreensão das narrativas pode se chegar à seguinte síntese: os homens e mulheres, de Peões, viveram e vivem ainda hoje intensamente entre a linha tênue da resistência e da submissão, da desalienação e alienação, do despontar e do anonimato na esfera pública evidenciando a importância ainda em nossos dias do alargamento do pensamento dialético entre a lógica da acumulação capitalista versus a lógica da sobrevivência humana.

Helyhez kötött kapcsolatok. Egy társadalmi kapcsolathálókon alapuló magyarázat a földrajzi munkamegosztás kialakulására = Ties of locality. An explanation of the development of the geographical division of labour based on social networks

A „földrajzi munkamegosztás” vagy „elhelyezkedés probléma” arra a kérdésre utal, miért alakulnak ki egy-egy gazdasági tevékenységre szakosodott földrajzi egységek, regionális gazdasági rendszerek. A hagyományos közgazdasági megközelítések a területek racionálisan kalkulálható komparatív előnyeit, a nyersanyagok vagy a piac közelségét, infrastrukturális adottságokat, útfüggőséget stb. szokták hangsúlyozni. A tanulmány szerzője a társadalmi kapcsolatok jelentőségét emeli ki, azt sugallja, hogy a területi specializálódás az egymással kapcsolatban álló, hasonlóan specializálódott többi szereplő nyomására alakul ki. A hipotézist két külföldön végzett eset tanulmány tapasztalatai alapján járja körül. ______________________ The question of "regional economic systems", "geographical division of labour" or "location problem" has an important literature. Economic approaches emphasize the rationally calculated advantages of the specialized industrial areas: the benefit of the exploitation of discovered resources, more cooperative relations, etc. The paper stresses the role of social networks in the location problem: economically specialized areas formed because of the suggestions and tips of connected enterprises, cooperative partners. The hypothesis is based on the experiences of two case studies, made in a Peruvian rural area and a Mexican modern industrial area.

A versenyképesség társadalmi környezete

Kutatásunk alapvetése, hogy egy ország versenyképessége az értékteremtő munkamegosztást támogató teljes közösségi intézményrendszer sikeres működésén múlik. Munkánkkal arra kerestük a választ, milyen értékek és motivációk alakítják a magyar gazdaság intézményrendszerét. Nem a hivatalos magatartási szabályok statikus elemzésére koncentráltunk, hanem a normák, konvenciók és innovációk világára, az intézményrendszer jövőjét befolyásoló dinamikus elemekre. Elemzésünk fókuszában a társadalmi és vállalkozói értékek, a gazdaságpolitika formálók versenyképességi narratívái, a helyi gazdaságok versenyképességi tényezői, a versenyképesség javítását szolgáló magánkezdeményezések és a nonprofit szektor működése álltak. Fő eredményünk, hogy a Magyarország jövőbeli versenyképességét befolyásoló tudati elemek - a gazdasági döntéshozók motivációi és normái – megfelelő alapot teremtenek a gazdaságunk versenyképességét megerősítő üzleti, civil és kormányzati kezdeményezések számára. Magas közösségi és morális elvárások jellemzik a lakosság és a vállalkozók értékrendjét. A gazdaságpolitika-alkotók nyitottak az intézményi problémákra, a magyar véleményformálók körében egyetértés van a fő versenyképességi kihívásokat illetően. Jól azonosíthatóak a szervezők erőfeszítéseit kompenzálni képes versenyképességi összefogások keretei. A helyi gazdaságfejlesztés intézményei alakulóban vannak. A nonprofit szektor működési viszonyainak bizonytalansága ellenére a közcélúság és a versenyképesség közös területein (mint az atipikus foglalkoztatás) jól teljesít. Ezek az eredmények egyszerre nyitnak perspektívát a tudományos vizsgálódás és a gyakorlati cselekvés számára. Az önérdek és a közösségi értékteremtő képesség javításának motivációja közötti kapcsolat tudományos vizsgálata, a társadalmi innovációk kutatása a versenyképesség javíthatóságának kereteit tárhatja fel. Az üzleti, civil vagy kormányzati szereplők pedig akkor tudják a fogyasztói, közösségi elvárásokat sikeresen összeegyeztetni stratégiai céljaikkal, ha a gazdasági és társadalmi szereplők normáihoz, konvencióihoz igazítva alakítják ki intézményformáló stratégiáikat. __________ The competitiveness of nations is based on the successful function of the institutions that support the division of labor on value creation – this is the basic principle of this research. Our project investigates what values and motivations shape the institutional setting of Hungarian economy. We study the world of norms, conventions and innovations – the elements that shape the institutions. The static analysis of official rules has only a minor role in this approach. Research focuses (1) on the value system of entrepreneurs (2), on the mind setting of public managers and executives of economic policy (3) on the factors of local economic competitiveness, (4) on the actions of private and non-profit sector in order to enhance competitiveness. The main finding of this research is that the cognitive factors that shape the competitiveness of Hungary – the norms and motivations of decision makers in the economy – give a positive support for the competitiveness strengthening initiatives of business, non-profit and public sectors. The studies on the values system of entrepreneurs and citizens show that expectations and moral values connected to competitiveness are strong. The public managers of economic policy are open-minded and there is a general consensus of experts, business and politics on the key competitiveness challenges of Hungary. There are well defined frameworks to conceptualize the schemes that make organizers’ efforts affordable in private initiatives for competitiveness. There are various developments on the field of institutions for local economic development. The nonprofit sector has good results on the common fields of competiveness and equity (like atypical forms of employment) despite the uncertainties in the background of the sector. These results open perspectives both for scientific research and practical applications. The research on connection between individual goals and motivation to improve value creating ability of the society and the study of social innovation reveal new aspects of competitiveness. Business, non-profit or public leaders can better synchronize their strategies with the expectation of consumers, communities and constituencies if their intentions to shape institutional settings fit better to the norms and conventions of the social and economic stakeholders.

Sexual harassment of Miami-Dade County Public School students by school personnel

The purpose of this research was to assess the type and extent of sexual harassment of Miami-Dade County Public School (M-DCPS) students by school employees. In addition, the school system's existing procedures for handling such harassment were investigated, including students' awareness of and willingness to follow such procedures.^ Over 500 seniors from fourteen high schools around the county completed surveys which asked them to indicate whether or not they had received training on the topic of sexual harassment, whether or not they were aware of their school's policy on sexual harassment, whether or not they would feel comfortable reporting an incident of sexual harassment, whether or not they had experienced various forms of sexual harassment, and if they had been harassed, whether or not they reported the incident to a school official.^ Results indicated that sexual harassment of M-DCPS students by school employees is widespread, and the procedures that are currently in place to deal with this harassment are ineffective. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the sample population indicated that a school employee had sexually harassed them; however, only four percent (4%) reported the incident to a school official. Responses indicated that this discrepancy exists because few students have received any training, few are aware of their schools' policies, and few are comfortable with the existing reporting procedures. ^

Division of Research Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Report

This report provides data and a summary of activities for fiscal year 2012-2013 (FY 2013).

Division of Research Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Report

This document presents Division of Research (DoR) data for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 (FY 2012).