Beyond community: an analysis of social capital and the social networks of Brazilian immigrants in Amsterdam

In this paper we scrutinize the social networks and the social capital invested within these, of a relatively new and understudied immigrant group in the North-European context. We show how the social networks of Brazilian immigrants in Amsterdam are segmented along strong dividing lines, especially surrounding legal status. We show that this segmentation has different outcomes for migrants belonging to the different segments of the community, and that within these segments, variation also exists. By analyzing in-depth interviews with 30 Brazilian immigrants in Amsterdam, we find that a Brazilian community does not exist, and that assistance, non-assistance, and a commercialization of social relations all take place at the same time among the social networks of Brazilians in Amsterdam. In doing so, we also uncover some of the mechanisms related to these processes and hence provide relevant insights for literature that studies the contexts in which immigrant social networks provide for social mobility and the contexts in which such networks do not

Kebahagiaan Sebagai Suatu Proses Pembelajaran

Happiness is one of the most meaningful positive emotion dan related to motivation to do many things. In order to gain happiness, a lot of people become passive and not going to do anything. In fact, there are many simple things to do to feel the flow experiences and get happiness. This might be happened because happiness is an adaptive behavior that can be learned by anybody. When someone recognize that happiness is something to be realized he/she should fight for his/her happiness by starting little fun things

The association between palliative care team consultation and hospital costs for patients with advanced cancer: An observational study in 12 Dutch hospitals

Background: Early palliative care team consultation has been shown to reduce costs of hospital care. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between palliative care team (PCT) consultation and the content and costs of hospital care in patients with advanced cancer. Material and Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted in 12 Dutch hospitals.

Interference of mobile phones with electrophysiology and emotions: results from short-term experimental studies

Mobile phones have become an integral part of daily life for most people. This dissertation examines the potential impact of an in-call 3G phone on brain activity and emotions. The results reveal that radiation peaks created by an in-call phone are registered in the brain. There is also an increase in brain activity when someone holds an in-call phone to his or her ear. Mobile phone use is also associated with negative emotions. Further research is required to determine the nature and significance of these connections

EEG Changes Due to Experimentally Induced 3G Mobile Phone Radiation

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a 15-minute placement of a 3G dialing mobile phone causes direct changes in EEG activity compared to the placement of a sham phone. Furthermore, it was investigated whether placement of the mobile phone on the ear or the heart would result in different outcomes. Thirty-one healthy females participated. All subjects were measured twice: on one of the two days the mobile phone was attached to the ear, the other day to the chest. In this single-blind, cross-over design, assessments in the sham phone condition were conducted directly preceding and following the mobile phone exposure. During each assessment, EEG activity and radiofrequency radiation were recorded jointly. Delta, theta, alpha, slowbeta, fastbeta, and gamma activity was computed. The association between radiation exposure and the EEG was tested using multilevel random regression analyses with radiation as predictor of main interest. Significant radiation effects were found for the alpha, slowbeta, fastbeta, and gamma bands. When analyzed separately, ear location of the phone was associated with significant results, while chest placement was not. The results support the notion that EEG alterations are associated with mobile phone usage and that the effect is dependent on site of placement. Further studies are required to demonstrate the physiological relevance of these findings.status: publishe

Does the Brain Detect 3G Mobile Phone Radiation Peaks? An Explorative In-Depth Analysis of an Experimental Study

<div><p>This study aimed to investigate whether third generation mobile phone radiation peaks result in event related potentials. Thirty-one healthy females participated. In this single-blind, cross-over design, a 15 minute mobile phone exposure was compared to two 15 minute sham phone conditions, one preceding and one following the exposure condition. Each participant was measured on two separate days, where mobile phone placement was varied between the ear and heart. EEG activity and radiofrequency radiation were recorded jointly. Epochs of 1200ms, starting 200ms before and lasting until 1000ms after the onset of a radiation peak, were extracted from the exposure condition. Control epochs were randomly selected from the two sham phone conditions. The main a-priori hypothesis to be tested concerned an increase of the area in the 240-500ms post-stimulus interval, in the exposure session with ear-placement. Using multilevel regression analyses the placement*exposure interaction effect was significant for the frontal and central cortical regions, indicating that only in the mobile phone exposure with ear-placement an enlarged cortical reactivity was found. Post-hoc analyses based on visual inspection of the ERPs showed a second significantly increased area between 500-1000ms post-stimulus for almost every EEG location measured. It was concluded that, when a dialing mobile phone is placed on the ear, its radiation, although unconsciously, is electrically detected by the brain. The question of whether or not this cortical reactivity results in a negative health outcome has to be answered in future longitudinal experiments.</p></div

Topography of EEG activity.

<p>In <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125390#pone.0125390.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a> the t-values (and their corresponding p-values) of the main outcome variable are presented: the interaction effect between placement and exposure. As expected, the baseline (-200-0ms) never reaches significance. The same applies for the first post-stimulus period ranging from 0 to 240ms. In the critical range from 240–500ms the frontal and central regions show a significant elevation for the ear exposed condition compared to the other conditions. Based on the visual inspection of the grand averages, it was decided to perform a series of post hoc analyses on the ERFIA range of 500–1000ms post-stimulus. A significant elevation for the exposed ear condition was found for all electrodes except for F4 and C4. Finally, when correcting for multiple testing (12 locations) by means of the Bonferroni procedure (p_{critical-corrected} (0.05/12) = 0.004), an asterisk is placed in column ‘C’ when the p-value remains significant.</p

Experimental design.

<p>Experimental design.</p

Event Related Fixed Interval Area (per 20ms) grand averages in twelve EEG locations.

<p>Event Related Fixed Interval Area (per 20ms) grand averages in twelve EEG locations.</p

Mean radiation intensity of exposed and sham exposed epochs ± 2 standard error of the mean.

<p>The 4 grand averages of the non-conscious evoked related potentials of the twelve different locations are depicted in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125390#pone.0125390.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2</a>. A visual inspection makes clear that the pre-stimulus baseline area (-200-0ms) does not show remarkable differences between the four grand averages. In the post-stimulus area, the exposed ear session is the only condition which has a distinct course. This effect is especially prominent in the 240–500ms frontal and central post-stimulus areas. Except Fz and F4, in which a P300-like peak can be detected, the morphology is not similar to that of most conscious ERP responses: a N200 is missing and the ERP has a smaller amplitude in general. Moving from frontal to occipital, the ‘P300 peak’ seems to diminish and a later effect, from 500–1000ms, becomes more noticeable. These are no obvious visual left-right hemispherical differences. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125390#pone.0125390.g003" target="_blank">Fig 3</a> shows the topography of the grand averages.</p