School-based educational and on-site vaccination intervention among adolescents: study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: Childhood vaccination programmes have been established in all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries; however, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) as well as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio (Tdap-IPV) vaccination rates are not optimal in adolescents. Education in combination with easy access vaccination may be a promising approach to improve vaccination rates. We aim at improving MMR and Tdap-IPV rates in a school setting in the context of a planned cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT), the present paper describes the detailed protocol of this trial. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a school-based cRCT, where schools will be randomised to either an educational condition addressing knowledge, risk communication and enhancing self-efficacy regarding vaccination or a low-intensity information condition. In both conditions, a bus equipped with medical staff and materials, will be delivering MMR and Tdap-IPV vaccine directly after the intervention. Schools in the city centre of Berlin, Germany, will be stratified by percentage of migration and type of school. Primary outcome is the number of students who receive vaccination in the bus. Secondary outcomes are knowledge and self-efficacy. An estimated sample size of 355 school classes with approximately 25 students per class is required. The planned analyses will take the nested structure of students, classes and schools into account. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study will be performed according to the principles of Good Clinical Practice and the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was obtained by the local ethics committee. Parents of all students will be informed in advance. Their written consent will be obtained, in case students are underage. For dissemination, we will engage with governmental organisations to create potential of our educational unit to be included in future public health prevention schemes

From Managed to Free(r) Markets: Transnational and Regional Governance of Asian Timber

On the basis of research conducted in Indonesia, the author investigates a key transition in the production of timber for export. The analysis is based on a rich liter- ature focusing on commodity chains. In addition to economic factors, the author gives attention to struc- tures of governance, including the formation and disso- lution of political alliances and coalitions. From the late 1980s through 1998, Indonesian plywood producers consolidated power in a state-supported domestic oli- gopoly, forged a transnational alliance that circum- vented the power of Japanese trading houses, and supported domestic accumulation. The Asian crisis of 1997 to 1998 and structural adjustments imposed by the International Monetary Fund radically transformed Indonesia’s options, diminishing its capacity to com- pete, as China emerged as a major producer of wood- related products. The Indonesian case may well illustrate processes of market remarginalization result- ing from the implementation of neoliberal policies

Review of Space, Oil and Capital by Mazen Labban. Routledge Press, 2008. Economic Geography 86(1): 113-114

[Extract] Conventional geopolitical perspectives on oil posit that the world\u27s total oil supplies have been depleted to such an extent that we are past the peak, and confiict and rising prices are to be expected. Political economy perspectives often reject such neo- Malthusian ideas and stress the importance of oil as a strategic commodity for the perpetuation of hegemonic power, in this case by the United States. Mazen Labban\u27s insightful, dense, and short book (roughly 150 pages) applies a Marxian geographic analysis to the subject of oil with a focus on the Soviet Union, Russia, and Iran. In doing so, he provides a fresh perspective on the causes of global price fiuctuations and the geopolitics of access to the world\u27s oil reserves. Labban argues that the scarcity or abundance of oil is a sociospatial relationship..

People, Place and Time: How Structural Fieldwork Helps World-Systems Analysis

Some of the most insightful work in the political economy of the world-system area has been produced by researchers whose extensive fieldwork offers them deep familiarity with people and locales. Few other methods are as useful to understand the impacts of structural change on daily life and the ways agents resist, alter, and shape emerging structures. Yet such structural fieldwork is marginalized by the over-reliance of pedagogical materials on social constructionist, social psychological, or interactionist perspectives and also in world-systems research and writing by the privileging of long durée historical or quantitative cross-national methods. This paper introduces the concept of structural fieldwork to describe a qualitative field methodology in which the researcher is self-consciously guided by considerations emerging out of macro- sociological theories. We identify four advantages of structural fieldwork: the illumination of power’s multiple dimensions; examination of agency and its boundaries or limitations within broad political and economic structures; attention to nuances of change and durability, spatial and temporal specificities, and processes of change and durability; and challenging and extending social theory. These advantages are illustrated in select examples from existing literature and by discussion of the two author’s fieldwork-based research. The paper concludes that explicit attention to fieldwork may strengthen political economy and world-systems research and also de-marginalize political economy informed by structural fieldwork

People, Place, and Time: How Structural Fieldwork Helps World-Systems Analysis

Some of the most insightful work in the political economy of the world-system area has been produced by researchers whose extensive fieldwork offers them deep familiarity with people and locales. Few other methods are as useful to understand the impacts of structural change on daily life and the ways agents resist, alter, and shape emerging structures. Yet such structural fieldwork is marginalized by the over-reliance of pedagogical materials on social constructionist, social psychological, or interactionist perspectives and also in world-systems research and writing by the privileging of long durée historical or quantitative cross-national methods. This paper introduces the concept of structural fieldwork to describe a qualitative field methodology in which the researcher is self-consciously guided by considerations emerging out of macro- sociological theories. We identify four advantages of structural fieldwork: the illumination of power’s multiple dimensions; examination of agency and its boundaries or limitations within broad political and economic structures; attention to nuances of change and durability, spatial and temporal specificities, and processes of change and durability; and challenging and extending social theory. These advantages are illustrated in select examples from existing literature and by discussion of the two author’s fieldwork-based research. The paper concludes that explicit attention to fieldwork may strengthen political economy and world-systems research and also de-marginalize political economy informed by structural fieldwork

Experiences of Home-living Vulnerable Older Adults with Clinical Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Objectives: Little is known about the diversity of older adults’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. We therefore investigated the pandemic experiences of home-living vulnerable older adults with depression, an understudied subpopulation. Methods: We conducted unstructured interviews with N= 20 older (60+ years) adults with clinical depression receiving care in their homes in June and again in December 2020. Interviews were coded according to the grounded theory approach. Results: We identified eight themes. Participants described feeling disconnected before and during the pandemic, which they attributed to their physical impairments and old age. Their social relations with family, medical providers, and caregivers helped them feel connected. Participants did not feel significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they missed social and physical contact. During the pandemic, isolation was normalized. Participants therefore experienced loneliness due to their isolation, but also a sense of togetherness with the rest of society. Isolation within the home was re-framed as cocooning, which provided a sense of autonomy. Participants nevertheless expressed resignation. Conclusions: Home-living vulnerable older adults with depression experienced loneliness but also a degree of relief during the pandemic. Clinical implications: Positively re-framing isolation and the stability of formal caregiving helped participants endure feeling disconnected during the pandemic

R. Scott Frey and the Unfinished Agenda of Unifying Economy and Environment in the World-System from Extraction to Waste

This  essay discusses Scott Frey’s  contributions to our understanding of what he called environmental ‘anti-wealth,’ including his analysis of how it is spread to the peripheries of the world-system, and how Frey’s work intersects with other research, including the author’s own, on the ongoing extraction of value from peripheries. In addition to noting Scott’s generosity as a scholar and mentor, Gellert reflects on Scott’s unfinished agenda research agenda, focused on unifying commodification and waste in the world-system

Profiles of physical activity biographies in relation to life and aging satisfaction in older adults: longitudinal findings

Background: While there is substantial evidence on the relationship between life satisfaction and present physical activity (PA), less is known about which specific PA biographies are associated with a high quality of life and aging satisfaction. Our objective was to identify classes of PA biographies that may be associated with life and aging satisfaction. Methods: In this longitudinal study, PA biographies were assessed retrospectively as a baseline, followed by assessments of life and aging satisfaction at six and twelve months in 418 adults aged 60–95. Subgroups with different PA biographies were identified using latent class analysis. Results: Four distinct PA biographies emerged: increasingly active (35%; n = 147); consistently active (25%; n = 103); consistently inactive (18%; n = 75); and decreasingly active (22%; n = 94). Being consistently active was related to life satisfaction (β = .17) and consistent inactivity was associated with aging dissatisfaction (β = −.20) when accounting for current PA levels. Conclusions: In addition to current PA, our findings emphasize the value of PA biographies for life and aging satisfaction, which could inform lifespan theories of PA and health promotion