THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND FAMILY IN ONLINE PARTICIPATION OF TEENAGERS AT SOCIAL RISK

Internet is a mean of mass information and fulfills the traditional functions of a public space without doubts. Participation in the virtual space is defined as a problematic use of the Internet process which damages the disadvantaged young person's personality, which is already characterized by a lack of social skills, communication, feelings of expression issues. The majority of young people are attracted by internet space, by its anonymity and availability. The aim of the research is to analyze the influence of gender and family aspects in online participation of teenagers at social risk. The research showed that the internet provides the great and additional opportunities to teenagers at social risk, something they don’t get in their families. Children living with grandparents or with only one parent are more active users of Internet social networks in comparison with other children. They seldom recognize the Internet dangers and more quickly become emotionally dependent on the Internet. The adults’ control or its absence determines the expression and frequency of online participation of teenagers at social risk. The girls more frequently recognize the dangers of virtual space than the boys do; but the girls use to publish more information about themselves. The research results show that the participation of teenagers at social risk in social networks is unconscious. Young people are not able to “filter” and select proper information, usually equate the virtual world with reality. Online participation of teenagers is reasoned by satisfaction of needs, parents’ inattention and search for new acquaintances

The legislative backgrounds of workplace health promotion in three European countries : A comparative analysis

Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Šidagytė et al.; licensee BioMed Central.Background: This article investigates the legal database and theoretical basis of workplace health promotion (WHP) in three European countries: Finland, Latvia and Lithuania, and aims to find insights into effective WHP implementation. Methods: In November 2013, a stakeholders' survey was carried out. The questionnaire included questions about legal documents and non-legislative measures relevant to WHP, institutions and other bodies/organizations working in the field, WHP conception/definition, and implementation of WHP activities according to the enterprises' size. Results: Only Finland has adopted a specific law on occupational health care (separate from occupational safety). ILO conventions No. 161 (Occupational Health Services Convention) and No. 187 (Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention) are ratified only in Finland. In Finland, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health acts as one ministry, while two Baltic countries have two separate ministries (one for health and another for social affairs). None of the countries has legally approved a definition of WHP. Latvia and Lithuania tend to separate WHP from other activities, whereas Finland integrates WHP into other occupational health and safety elements. Conclusions: Finland has a more extensive legislative and organizational background to WHP than Latvia and Lithuania. In defining WHP, all the countries refer to the Luxembourg Declaration on Workplace Health Promotion in the European Union. Finland's practice of integrating WHP into other occupational health and safety elements is important.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Workplace health promotion in health care settings in Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania

Funding Information: This work was supported by the Nordplus Adult project “The health education at workplace survey: reality and needs” (NPAD-2013/10083). The project was developed to study WHP in health care settings in Lithuania, Latvia and Finland and had following goals: (1) to analyze theoretical bases and legal database of WHP in three European countries (see [24] ); (2) to analyze existed situation of WHP in health care institutions as well as to identify possible needs for WHP activities. Publisher Copyright: © 2017 The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Copyright: Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background and objective Health care workers (HCWs) have a great background to promote their health – not only their professional knowledge on health but often also special equipment in their work environment. However, it is unclear if HCWs can use such infrastructure to promote their own health as well as what is their motivation to change their own lifestyles. Thus, the aim of the article was to describe workplace health promotion (WHP) situation in health care settings in Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania. Materials and methods A questionnaire survey of 357 workers from health care sector in three European countries was conducted. Participants were asked to indicate various WHP activities/facilities/programs organized at their workplaces, WHP needs, opportunities to initiate changes related to the healthiness of their workplaces, and readiness to change their lifestyles. Results Participants from three European countries differed in their WHP needs and in their responses on various activities/facilities/programs implemented at the institutions. Workers from Finnish institutions had the greatest opportunities to make initiatives relevant to their workplaces’ healthiness, while Lithuanian workers were least provided with such opportunities. Furthermore, the results showed that there were differences of readiness to change among the workers from the three countries. Conclusions HCWs recognized various WHP activities, facilities and programs organized at their workplaces; however, their needs were notably higher than the situation reported. WHP situation differed among the three European countries.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Mapping a super-invader in a biodiversity hotspot, an eDNA-based success story

The lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean is known as a biodiversity hotspot, hosting many endemic species. However, recent introduction of a highly invasive species, the Australian redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus), has led to significant threats to this fragile ecosystem. Here we developed, validated, and optimized a species-specific eDNA-based detection protocol targeting the 16S region of the mitochondrial gene of C. quadricarinatus. Our aim was to assess the crayfish distribution across Martinique Island. Our developed assay was species-specific and showed high sensitivity in laboratory, mesocosm and field conditions. A significant and positive correlation was found between species biomass, detection probability and efficiency through mesocosm experiments. Moreover, we found eDNA persisted up to 23 days in tropical freshwaters. We investigated a total of 83 locations, spread over 53 rivers and two closed water basins using our novel eDNA assay and traditional trapping, the latter, undertaken to confirm the reliability of the molecular-based detection method. Overall, we detected C. quadricarinatus at 47 locations using eDNA and 28 using traditional trapping, all positive trapping sites were positive for eDNA. We found that eDNA-based monitoring was less time-consuming and less influenced by the crayfishes often patchy distributions, proving a more reliable tool for future large-scale surveys. The clear threat and worrying distribution of this invasive species is particularly alarming as the archipelago belongs to one of the 25 identified biodiversity hotspots on Earth.N