A Survey of Programs Addressing the Psychosocial Developmental Needs of African American Men Ages 18 to 26

The purpose of this exploratory study is to present information on Afrocentric programs providing continuous preparation for the PSYCHO-SOCIAL developmental needs of African American young men ages 18 to 26 in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. Programs designed to meet the social, psychological, and educational challenges confronting African American men are identified and described here. This study also presents a literature review of research regarding PSYCHO-SOCIAL needs and intervention strategies used by service providers for African American men. Included is program information gathered through publications, conversations and interviews with program providers and information from educational programs, churches, and social service agencies. The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which such programs seem to exist in and provide services to this community

Critical reflections on designing product service systems

In response to unsustainability and the prospect of resource scarcity, lifestyles dominated by resource throughput are being challenged. This paper focuses on a design experiment that sought to introduce alternative resource consumption pathways in the form of product service systems (PSS) to satisfy household demand and reduce consumer durable household waste. In contrast to many other PSS examples this project did not begin with sustainability benefits, rather the preferences of supply and demand actors and the bounded geographical locations represented by two UK housing developments. The paper addresses the process through which the concept PSS were designed, selected and evaluated, alongside the practical and commercial parameters of the project. It proposes the need for a shift to further emphasize the importance of the design imperative in creating different PSS outcomes that reorganize relationships between people, resources and the environment

Fear in childbirth: are the media responsible?

This is the second year that the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health convened a debate as part of the Festival of Learning at Bournemouth University (BU). The debate encourages members of the public and service users to get involved in our research and education and ensures that what we do at BU is relevant and current. Last year the team debated the pros and cons of allowing women free choice with regard to major medical interventions, such as caesarean section (Hundley et al. 2013). This year the focus was on the role of the media in childbirth. Social perceptions and beliefs about childbirth can increase women’s requests for interventions, such as caesarean section, with long-term health implications for mothers and babies. The debate was planned to explore the role of the mass media in shaping these beliefs and identify whether media portrayals are responsible for rising rates of intervention. Attendees were given the opportunity to voice their views and to vote for or against the motion. The motion for debate was: This house believes that: The media is responsible for creating fear in childbirth

Everything that you have ever been told about assessment center ratings is confounded

Despite a substantial research literature on the influence of dimensions and exercises in assessment centers (ACs), the relative impact of these two sources of variance continues to raise uncertainties because of confounding. With confounded effects, it is not possible to establish the degree to which any one effect, including those related to exercises and dimensions, influences AC ratings. In the current study (N = 698) we used Bayesian generalizability theory to unconfound all of the possible effects contributing to variance in AC ratings. Our results show that ≤ 1.11% of the variance in AC ratings was directly attributable to behavioral dimensions, suggesting that dimension-related effects have no practical impact on the reliability of ACs. Even when taking aggregation level into consideration, effects related to general performance and exercises accounted for almost all of the reliable variance in AC ratings. The implications of these findings for recent dimension- and exercise-based perspectives on ACs are discussed

A comparative study of practitioner perceptions of selection methods in the United Kingdom

In this study, 476 participants, divided into occupational psychology- (OP), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development- (CIPD), human resource management- (HRM) qualified, and layperson subgroups, provided their perceptions of the validity, fairness, and frequency-of-use of employee selection methods. Results of a mixed-effects analysis of covariance revealed that respondent qualification background predicted the degree to which participant validity perceptions were aligned with research-based estimates of validity (F[3, 29.39] = 20.06, p < .001, η2 = .67). Corrected pairwise comparisons suggested that perceptions of participants with CIPD and HRM backgrounds were not significantly more aligned with research estimates of validity than were the perceptions of laypeople. OP participant validity perceptions were significantly more aligned with research estimates than all other subgroups, (p < .03). Evidence was also found for some between-group consistency regarding frequency-of-use perceptions, but less between-group consistency was found vis-à-vis perceptions of fairness. Implications for decision making in employee selection are discussed

Analyses of high-level radioactive glasses and sludges at the Savannah River Site

Reliable analyses of high level radioactive glass and sludge are necessary for successful operation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). This facility will convert the radioactive waste sludges at SRS into durable borosilicate glasses for final disposal in a geologic repository. Analyses that are crucial to DWPF operation and repository acceptance of the glass are measurement of the radioactive and nonradioactive composition of the waste sludges and final glasses and measurement of the Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio in a vitrified sample of melter feed. These measurements are based on the remote dissolutions of the glass and sludge followed by appropriate chemical analyses. Glasses are dissolved by a peroxide fusion method and a method using HF, HNO{sub 3}, H{sub 3}BO{sub 3}, and HCl acids where the solutions are heated in a microwave oven. The resulting solutions are analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) for nonradioactive elements and appropriate counting techniques for radioactive elements. Results for two radioactive glasses containing actual radioactive waste are also presented. Sludges are dissolved by the Na{sub 2}O{sub 2} fusion method and an aqua regia method. 8 refs., 4 tabs

Interleukin-1 regulates multiple atherogenic mechanisms in response to fat feeding

Background: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process that develops in individuals with known risk factors that include hypertension and hyperlipidaemia, influenced by diet. However, the interplay between diet, inflammatory mechanisms and vascular risk factors requires further research. We hypothesised that interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling in the vessel wall would raise arterial blood pressure and promote atheroma. Methodology/Principal Findings: Apoe(-/-) and Apoe(-/-)/IL-1R1(-/-) mice were fed high fat diets for 8 weeks, and their blood pressure and atherosclerosis development measured. Apoe(-/-)/IL-R1(-/-) mice had a reduced blood pressure and significantly less atheroma than Apoe(-/-) mice. Selective loss of IL-1 signaling in the vessel wall by bone marrow transplantation also reduced plaque burden (p<0.05). This was associated with an IL-1 mediated loss of endothelium-dependent relaxation and an increase in vessel wall Nox 4. Inhibition of IL-1 restored endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and reduced levels of arterial oxidative stress. Conclusions/Significance: The IL-1 cytokine system links atherogenic environmental stimuli with arterial inflammation, oxidative stress, increased blood pressure and atherosclerosis. This is the first demonstration that inhibition of a single cytokine can block the rise in blood pressure in response to an environmental stimulus. IL-1 inhibition may have profound beneficial effects on atherogenesis in man