Work restructuring and changing craft identity: the Tale of the Disaffected Weavers (or what happens when the rug is pulled from under your feet)

This article explores the changes in worker identity that can occur during manufacturing restructuring – specifically those linked to the declining status of craft work – through an in-depth case study of Weaveco, a UK carpet manufacturer. An analysis of changes in the labour process is followed by employee reactions centred on the demise of the traditional craft identity of male carpet weavers. The voices of the weavers dramatize the tensions involved in reconstructing their masculine identity, and we consider the implications this has for understanding gendered work relations

Global Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Literature From 2014

ObjectivesThe Global Emergency Medicine Literature Review (GEMLR) conducts an annual search of peer‐reviewed and gray literature relevant to global emergency medicine (EM) to identify, review, and disseminate the most important new research in this field to a worldwide audience of academics and clinical practitioners.MethodsThis year 6,376 articles written in six languages were identified by our search. These articles were distributed among 20 reviewers for initial screening based on their relevance to the field of global EM. An additional two reviewers searched the gray literature. A total of 477 articles were deemed appropriate by at least one reviewer and approved by the editor for formal scoring of overall quality and importance.ResultsOf the 477 articles that met our predetermined inclusion criteria, 63% were categorized as emergency care in resource‐limited settings, 13% as EM development, and 23% as disaster and humanitarian response. Twenty‐five articles received scores of 17.5 or higher and were selected for formal summary and critique. Inter‐rater reliability for two reviewers using our scoring system was good, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.657 (95% confidence interval = 0.589 to 0.713). Studies and reviews focusing on infectious diseases, trauma, and the diagnosis and treatment of diseases common in resource‐limited settings represented the majority of articles selected for final review.ConclusionsIn 2014, there were fewer total articles, but a slightly higher absolute number of articles screening in for formal scoring, when compared to the 2013 review. The number of EM development articles decreased, while the number of disaster and humanitarian response articles increased. As in prior years, the majority of articles focused on infectious diseases and trauma.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113141/1/acem12733.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113141/2/acem12733_am.pd

Weight loss referrals for adults in primary care (WRAP) : Protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial comparing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of primary care referral to a commercial weight loss provider for 12 weeks, referral for 52 weeks, and a brief self-help intervention [ISRCTN82857232]

Background: Recent trials demonstrate the acceptability and short term efficacy of primary care referral to a commercial weight loss provider for weight management. Commissioners now need information on the optimal duration of intervention and the longer term outcomes and cost effectiveness of such treatment to give best value for money. Methods/Design. This multicentre, randomised controlled trial with a parallel design will recruit 1200 overweight adults (BMI ≥28 kg/m2) through their primary care provider. They will be randomised in a 2:5:5 allocation to: Brief Intervention, Commercial Programme for 12 weeks, or Commercial Programme for 52 weeks. Participants will be followed up for two years, with assessments at 0, 3, 12 and 24 months. The sequential primary research questions are whether the CP interventions achieve significantly greater weight loss from baseline to 12 months than BI, and whether CP52 achieves significantly greater weight loss from baseline to 12 months than CP12. The primary outcomes will be an intention to treat analysis of between treatment differences in body weight at 12 months. Clinical effectiveness will be also be assessed by measures of weight, fat mass, and blood pressure at each time point and biochemical risk factors at 12 months. Self-report questionnaires will collect data on psychosocial factors associated with adherence, weight-loss and weight-loss maintenance. A within-trial and long-term cost-effectiveness analysis will be conducted from an NHS perspective. Qualitative methods will be used to examine the participant experience. Discussion. The current trial compares the clinical and cost effectiveness of referral to a commercial provider with a brief intervention. This trial will specifically examine whether providing longer weight-loss treatment without altering content or intensity (12 months commercial referral vs. 12 weeks) leads to greater weight loss at one year and is sustained at 2 years. It will also evaluate the relative cost-effectiveness of the three interventions. This study has direct implications for primary care practice in the UK and will provide important information to inform the decisions of practitioners and commissioners about service provision

Influence of limestone addition on sodium sulphate activated blast furnace slag cements

The effect of limestone replacement in the reaction and phase assemblage evolution of two sodium sulfate activated slag cements was investigated. The slag composition and its reactivity influenced the reaction kinetics of these materials. Paste with limestone addition exhibited an acceleration in reaction kinetics, particularly for slowly reacting slags. Ettringite and an aluminium substituted calcium silicate hydrate were identified as main reaction products in these cements, independently of the slag type or limestone replacement level. No significant changes in phase assemblages were observed with limestone addition for over 365 days of testing; however, these composite cements exhibited an increased compressive strength, consistent with a refined pore structure. These results indicate that it is possible to partially replace slag by limestone in sulfate activated slag cements without changing the type of reaction products forming in these systems, while also increasing compressive strength and achieving a similar refined pore structure

Would a student midwife run postnatal clinic make a valuable addition to midwifery education in the UK? - A systematic review

Background – There is growing evidence in the UK that some National Health Service improvements, particularly in the postnatal period, are having an impact on the quality and variety of student midwives’ clinical experiences, making it challenging for them to meet the standards set by the regulatory body for midwives and receive a licence to practice. A possible solution to this may be the introduction of a Student Midwife integrated Learning Environment (SMiLE) focusing upon the delivery of postnatal care (PN) through a student run clinic Objective - To identify the current state of knowledge, regarding the educational outcomes of students who engage with student run clinics (SRC) and the satisfaction of patients who attend them Search strategy - BNI, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE were searched for articles published until April 2014. Selection criteria - Studies nationally and internationally, that were carried out on healthcare students running their own clinics. Outcome measures were the evaluation of educational outcomes of students and client satisfaction were included Data collection and analysis - Data were extracted, analysed and synthesised to produce a summary of knowledge, regarding the effectiveness of SRC’s Main results - 6 studies were selected for this review Authors conclusions – The findings that SRC can offer advantages in improving educational outcomes of students and provide an effective service to clients is encouraging. However, given the limited number of high-quality studies included in this review, further research is required to investigate the effectiveness of SR

Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Blast Furnace Slag Binders Activated with Alkali Acetates

Hybrid organic–inorganic binders based on blast furnace slag were produced using sodium (NaAc) or potassium (KAc) acetate as the sole activator, and their properties were compared with those of sodium- or potassium hydroxide-activated slag pastes. The acetate-activated binders showed significantly lower cumulative heat release and extended setting time (∼230 h) than the hydroxide-activated binders. The main reaction products forming in all binders were calcium aluminosilicate hydrate-type gels and a hydrotalcite-like phase, independently of the activator type used. Compressive strengths of the acetate-activated pastes (∼40 MPa at 180 days) were lower than those of the hydroxide-activated binders (∼80 MPa at 180 days). However, the acetate-based binders exhibited superior impermeability and reduced wettability at 28 days, likely due to hydrophobic acetate groups. It is hypothesized that acetates dissociate in water, forming calcium acetate and alkali silicates via a reaction with species dissolving from the slag. This study demonstrates alkali acetates are effective activators for creating hybrid slag-based binders with reduced permeabilit

Secondary school pupils' preferences for different types of structured grouping practices

The aim of this paper is to explore pupils’ preferences for particular types of grouping practices an area neglected in earlier research focusing on the personal and social outcomes of ability grouping. The sample comprised over 5,000 year 9 pupils (aged 13-14 years) in 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools in England. The schools represented three levels of ability grouping in the lower school (years 7 to 9). Pupils responded to a questionnaire which explored the types of grouping that they preferred and the reasons for their choices. The majority of pupils preferred setting, although this was mediated by their set placement, type of school, socio-economic status and gender. The key reason given for this preference was that it enabled work to be matched to learning needs. The paper considers whether there are other ways of achieving this avoiding the negative social and personal outcomes of setting for some pupils