BOOK REVIEW: Cuervo, H., & Wyn, J. (2012). Young People Making it Work: Continuity and Change in Rural Places. Victoria, Australia: Melbourne University Press. 208 pages, ill., ISBN: 9780522860979.

BOOK REVIEW: Cuervo, H., & Wyn, J. (2012). Young People Making it Work: Continuity and Change in Rural Places. Victoria, Australia: Melbourne University Press. 208 pages, ill., ISBN: 9780522860979

Gegensätze ergänzen sich

Wenn Gewerkschaften und Nichtregierungsorganisationen transnationale Bündnisse bilden, kann eine schlagkräftige Paarung entstehen. Gewerkschaften, verankert in staatlichen Politikarenen und erprobt in Verhandlungen mit globalen Unternehmen, können ein ideales Pendant zu kampagnenerfahrenen Nichtregierungsorganisationen mit weltweiter Konsument/innenmacht  bilden – wenn sie ihre Strategien kombinieren

Transnationale Bündnisse von Gewerkschaften und NGOs: Strategien in Interaktion

Globalisierte Produktionsmuster erschweren traditionelle Arbeiternehmervertretung und stellen Gewerkschaften und NGOs vor neue Herausforderungen. Private Governanceformen und die Nutzung von Konsumentenmacht stehen zur Debatte. Kooperationen von Gewerkschaften und NGOs gelten als erfolgsversprechende Bündnisse in einer globalen, unregulierten Ökonomie. Dieser Artikel analysiert die Strategien dieser neuen Bündnisse in der transnationalen Arbeitsregulierung. Strategien werden definiert als interaktive, multiple Sequenzen erfolgsorientierten Handelns im Zeitverlauf. Im Mittelpunkt dieses Beitrags stehen strategische Interaktionen, die zeigen, auf welche Weise Gewerkschaften und NGOs gemeinsam handeln - nicht trotz, sondern wegen originär unterschiedlicher strategischer Präferenzen. Anhand eines Fallbeispiels werden typische Strategien von Gewerkschaften und NGOs und ihr Zusammenspiel in der transnationalen Governancearchitektur von Arbeit nachgezeichnet.Globalised production regimes hamper traditional ways of workers representation and present new challenges for labour unions and NGOs. Here, private forms of governance and consumer power are under discussion. Cooperation of labour unions and NGOs represent promising coalitions in a globalized, unregulated economy. This article analyses these new coalitions and their common strategies to transnationally regulate labour. Strategies are defined as interactive, multiple sequences of successoriented activities over time. This paper focuses specifically on strategic interactions that outline in which ways labour unions and NGOs act jointly - not despite, but because of originally different strategic preferences. Utilizing a case study approach the article retraces typical trade union and NGO strategies and their interplay in the realm of transnational labour governance

Rural /urban disparities in science achievement in post-socialist countries: The evolving influence of socioeconomic status

Disparities in educational outcomes exist between students in rural areas as compared to students in urban settings. While there is some evidence that these rural disparities are present in eastern Europe, little is known about young peoplesΓÇÖ lives in the rural areas of this region. This paper presents an analysis of science achievement by location (rural v. urban) using all available waves of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). We examined the eighth grade data from five countries: Lithuania, Romania, the Russian Federation, Hungary, and Slovenia. Findings demonstrated that students attending rural schools had significantly lower science scores and that the rural disadvantage grew between 1995 and 2011 in some countries, but became non-significant in others. Overall, family socioeconomic status played an important role in determining the educational outcomes of rural students. The implications of these findings are explored in relation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2015 Education for All goals

Nevirapine-based regimens in HIV-infected antiretroviral-naive patients : systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND:Nevirapine belongs to the group of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and is commonly administered in first-line treatment of HIV infection. OBJECTIVE:Systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken to compare effectiveness of nevirapine-based regimens with other antiretroviral schedules used as an initial treatment of HIV-infected antiretroviral-naive subjects. METHODS:Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Trip Database) were searched up to 28 December 2012 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published as a full text and regarding nevirapine-based regimens used as a initial treatment for HIV infection. Meta-analysis was performed with RevMan(®) V 5.2 software. RESULTS:Twelve RCTs were included in the systematic review and all of them were suitable for meta-analysis. Results of the meta-analysis have shown that nevirapine, efavirenz, and ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor, added to the background regimens, were equally effective in terms of reaching undetectable plasma HIV RNA level as well as risk of disease progression or death. Compared with ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor-based regimens, nevirapine-based regimens statistically significantly increased the risk of discontinuation of assigned treatment (RR=3.10; 95% CI: 1.14-8.41; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Despite limited RCTs data available for particular comparisons, our results suggest that nevirapine-based regimens may be considered for first-line treatment of HIV-infected adults, due to their comparable efficacy to the other currently recommended initial antiretroviral therapies

Healthy Aging in Place: An Integrated Smart Home Using Alexa-compatible Technology

The purpose of this research was to address current healthcare concerns among the aging population. Around the globe, the average life expectancy is projected to continue increasing resulting in a higher prevalence of age-related disease. With the ever-increasing capabilities of modern technology, it is necessary to apply this technology to increase the health and safety of older adults. This work had three objectives. The first objective was the establishment of an integrated smart home aimed at creating a healthy aging-in-place environment through the use of Alexa. The second objective was the development and integration of a completely custom health device that could display two-way communication with the voice assistant platform. The third objective was to display the telemedicine and education capabilities of Alexa using custom skills implementing a variety of Q&A methods. These two Skills would each accomplish a different purpose. COTS devices were implemented into the smart home system to show the ease of expanding the concept. The custom device created was the Alexa-compatible automatic pill dispenser. It was modeled using the CAD software Solidworks. It was then printed from ABS plastic using the Fortus 250mc 3D printer. A custom Alexa Skill was created to interface the pill dispenser with the Alexa device. Finally, additional custom Skills were created using Alexa Blueprints

Pursuing Higher Education in Rural Pennsylvania Schools: Shaping the College Path

Rural youth are now graduating from high school at rates comparable to their peers in urban and suburban schools, however far fewer rural youth pursue postsecondary education. Using a comparative case study method, we explore postsecondary preparation efforts at three rural school districts. Each case represents a different classification of rural: fringe, distant, and remote. We find that while all three districts offered similar postsecondary preparation programs, the amount and array of available course offerings and levels of additional support provided by the community differed. We also explore how the values and philosophies of school administrators shaped the postsecondary preparation efforts. These findings are considered through the lens of previous research on factors that influence the educational outcomes of rural youth, including literature on rural brain drain

The socioeconomic status and family context of eating attitudes and dietary behaviours of children in Polish primary schools

The aim of the present study was to assess the correlation between the results of the Polish version of Maloney’s ChEAT-26, the socio-economical status of pre-pubertal pupils from Krakow schools and their family situation. The study group comprised 218 pupils that attended Grades from 4 to 6 and their mothers. The children’s ChEAT-26 results were related to family structure, emigration, parental education, the mother’s state of health and her subjective judgement of her state of health and her family circumstances, employment status and financial circumstances. Disordered eating attitudes of the children were elevated in families where one of the parents had emigrated. Parents with higher education levels tend to have a stronger influence on their child’s eating habits. The children of such parents are more aware of dietary standards, they tend to control their eating habits more but they also get less pleasure out of eating food. Having the mother achieve professional success, in her estimation, turned out to be positively correlated with an increased desire in her child to lose weight. A mother’s positive assessment of her family was correlated with her child’s greater compliance with the principles of healthy eating. Some of the observed correlations were different in the boys’ group and in the girls’ group. Any discussion concerning the relationship of the obtained results with a change in the social circumstance, although likely, is only hypothetical. Study has provided evidence of a connection between socioeconomic status, family variables and eating attitudes in young children in modern Poland

Psychometric properties of Polish version of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Polish version of Maloney’s ChEAT-26. A decision was taken to base the Polish version of the tool on the translation of the Polish version of the EAT-26 with addition of colloquial phrases and syntax. Method. The study group comprised 375 children from Kraków classes four to six (53.7% girls; 46.3% boys). The average age of those studied was 11.8 years (standard deviation 0.9). The mean for girls was: 7.65 (SD 7.48), for boys: 7.55 (SD 5.91). A level equal to or greater than 20 points was exceeded by 7.6% of girls and 4.1% of boys. In the case of four of the ChEAT-26 statements, a statistically significant difference was observed between the genders. Results. Based on a qualitative analysis of seven factors extracted by the principal components method with Varimax rotation and scree plot, seven scales for a test were created explaining 60.24% of the entire variance. The number of statements and scales correlated either positively and negatively with the BMI of the children in the study. Conclusion. The coherence of the results and their consistency with other studies suggest that further research using the Polish version of the ChEAT26 questionnaire should be carried out

Efficacy of single and repeated administration of ketamine in unipolar and bipolar depression : a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Background Due to unmet clinical needs for efficient drugs with a rapid onset of antidepressant effects, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of single-dose ketamine in different subgroups of patients with major depression and establish whether repeated ketamine administration could be a viable strategy to maintain treatment gains. Methods Electronic databases (Medline via PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Trip Database) were systematically searched until February 22, 2019, for published peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) concerning a single and repeated administration of ketamine in patients with major depression. All relevant RCTs were selected and critically appraised, and a meta-analysis of eligible studies was performed. Results A total of 20 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The largest effect of ketamine vs. controls in reducing depressive symptoms was observed at 24 h (SMD = - 0.89; 95% CI - 1.24; - 0.53; p < 0.00001); however, a significant difference was shown for up to 7 days after a single dose. Significant differences compared with controls were observed for up to 7 days in treatment-resistant patients and when ketamine was added to ongoing antidepressant treatment, while there were no significant differences at 7 days when ketamine was used as monotherapy. In patients with major depression, initial antidepressant effects of ketamine were maintained during repeated dosing. At 2-3 weeks of repeated ketamine treatment, significant reduction of depression severity scores was observed: SMD = - 0.70; 95% CI - 1.15; - 0.25 or SMD = - 0.81; 95% CI - 1.41; - 0.20 (depending on the dosing regimen used); p ≤ 0.009 vs placebo. Conclusions Our meta-analysis revealed rapid and robust antidepressant effects of single-dose ketamine in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). By pooling data from RCTs, we showed for the first time that repeated ketamine administration is effective in sustaining initial antidepressant effects observed after single dosing