Work Intensification and Employment Insecurity in Professional Work

Professional work is a category of employment that has traditionally been associated with high levels of worker autonomy, economic and social status. During the past decade, changes in customer expectations, government policy and technology have generated pressures resulting in enhancement of the quality and efficiency of service provision, expansion in task requirements and a need for higher levels of discretion. In this sense, professional work has been upgraded. However, the changes have also led to a deterioration in the economic and social status of professional work, adversely impacting on the social and psychological well-being of professional workers. This paper examines these developments in five professions including two established professions (lawyers and pharmacists), one aspiring profession (midwives) and two emerging professions (counselling psychologists and human resource managers). The empirical findings are based on a survey of 1270 professional workers conducted in 2000 and 2001.Professional work, counseling psychologists, human resource managers, lawyers, midwives, pharmacists, job satisfaction and morale.

The Moral Atmosphere of the Elementary School and the Question of Gender.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the moral atmosphere of the elementary school and ask: How does the elementary school principal contribute to the moral atmosphere of the elementary school? In addition to this question, this study also explored the likenesses and differences between male principals and female principals in regard to the degree to which the principal practiced either an ethic of care or an ethic of justice. Four case studies were constructed using data collected from observations and interviews that were conducted in four elementary schools. Also, two female principals and two male principals were shadowed by the researcher. The findings of this study suggest that the moral influence of the elementary school principals who participated in this study cannot be reduced to a set of behaviors or actions. Rather, the moral influence of principals seems to be revealed in a way of being rather than merely the doing of certain actions. In regard to the question of gender and the ethic of care and the ethic of justice, two interesting findings were suggested: the ethic of care and the ethic of justice can be practiced simultaneously; and there seems to be multiple ways to show care that at times may even seem contradictory

Michigan Production Costs for Tart Cherries by Production Region

The weighted average cost of producing tart cherries in Michigan on a representative farm in 2009 is $0.36/lb. This cost was averaged across the three main production regions in Michigan and weighted by average per acre production for each region as published by the Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service. --Costs vary across the main production regions and by farm size. Costs are about$0.04/lb less for mid-sized farms in Northwest Michigan and $0.08/lb and$0.10/lb in West Central and Southwest Michigan, respectively. --This report was developed through interviews with tart cherry growers and other experts in each of the three main growing regions in 2005 and 2006. Many of the numbers were updated in 2009. --The cost of production calculation is based on estimates of operating costs, harvest costs, and management, interest and tax costs. It also includes an amortized cost of establishing an orchard and employing the land in production (versus some other use). The following tables summarize the cost findings for each of the production regions.Tart cherry, costs, production, Michigan, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Q100, Q120,

NHS Reforms and the Working Lives of Midwives and Physiotherapists

From 2000 the NHS was subjected to a series of far reaching reforms, the purposes of which were to increase the role of the primary care sector in commissioning and providing services, promote healthier life styles, reduce health inequality, and improve service standards. These were seen as requiring a greater leadership role from health professionals, closer and more cooperative working between health professionals, and between health professionals, social services, and community and other service providers. The project surveyed a random sample of midwives and physiotherapists to investigate their perceptions of the effectiveness of the reforms, and their effects on working lives. The predominant perception was that NHS reforms had negatively affected the funding of their services; and had done little to improve service quality, delivery or organisation. Although the potential existed for the reforms to improve services, the necessary resources and required staffing were not made available and the objectives of the reforms were only partially secured by intensifying of work. The downside of this was a deterioration of the socio-psychological wellbeing of midwives and physiotherapists, especially the former, exacerbating the shortage of skilled and experienced. Shortage of staff and the associated increased work burdens were demoralising and demotivating; morale and job satisfaction declined, and job insecurity and labour turnover increased.Professional work, midwives, physiotherapists, Britain, public sector reforms, job satisfaction and morale

Variabilité de la morphologie et des structures sédimentaires du lit d’un confluent de cours d’eau discordant en période d’étiage

Les confluents de cours d'eau discordants sont des milieux fluviaux particulièrement turbulents dont la morphologie se caractérise par un banc d'accumulation à l'embouchure du tributaire et présente une importante variabilité temporelle. Cette étude souligne le rôle actif de l'étiage dans la dynamique des interrelations entre les conditions hydrauliques, la morphologie et la sédimentologie au confluent des rivières Bayonne et Berthier, comté de Lanaudière, Québec. Les résultats d'un suivi quasi-hebdomadaire durant deux étés successifs à ce confluent de cours d'eau sablonneux et d'inégales profondeurs montrent que des variations morphologiques se produisent sur l'ensemble du lit malgré des hauteurs d'eau se situant autour de 1/20 à 1/5 du niveau plein-bord durant la majorité du temps. La nature de chacun des deux bassins-versants confère à chaque cours d'eau des conditions d'étiage qui font varier temporellement leur importance relative. Ces fluctuations entraînent une migration latérale du plan de mélange entre les deux masses d'eau. Elles touchent aussi la morphologie du banc d'accumulation à l'embouchure du tributaire qui avance et recule à l'intérieur du confluent. Les faciès sédimentaires prélevés illustrent les différents modes de construction du banc d'accumulation. Nous présentons un modèle en trois phases qui souligne le rôle de ce banc d'accumulation comme figure dominante de la dynamique du confluent. Selon la morphologie du banc (en régression, en construction ou en pleine expansion dans le chenal), le développement du plan de mélange est plus ou moins retardé et la dynamique spécifique de l'écoulement détermine alors en partie les épisodes de dépôt ou d'érosion dans les autres zones du confluent.Discordant river channel confluences are highly turbulent environments. Their morphology, which is caracterized by a tributary mouth bar, shows great temporal variability. In this study, we examine the relationships between hydraulics, bed morphology and sediment transport at a discordant river channel confluence at low flow stage. During two consecutive summers, we surveyed almost weekly the confluence of the Bayonne and the Berthier rivers, Lanaudière, Québec. Significant morphological changes occurred on almost the entire channel bed even if flow stages were most of the time between 1/20 and 1/5 bankfull level. Sedimentary facies illustrate particularly well the tributary mouth bar progradation due to each watershed characteristics. Low flow conditions for each river varied considerably and incongruently. These variations resulted in changes in the location of the mixing layer between the joining flows and the extent of progradation of the tributary mouth bar into the main channel. We propose a three-phase model showing that the position of the tributary mouth bar, and whether it is receding from, prograding or fully extending into the confluence, is closely related to the development and lateral expansion of the mixing layer between the two streams. Zones of deposition and erosion in the confluence are then associated with the position and dynamics of the mixing layer.Die Zusammenflùsse ungleichsohiiger Wasserlàufe sind besonders turbulente Flussmilieus, deren Morphologie sich durch eine Aufschùttungsbank an der Mùndung des Zuflusses auszeichnet und eine bedeutende zeitliche Variabilitàt zeigt. Dièse Studie betont die aktive RoIIe des Niedrigwassers in der Dynamik der Beziehungen zwischen hydraulischen Bedingungen, der Morphologie und der Sédimentologie am Zusammenfluss des Bayonne- und Berthier-Flusses, Lanaudière, Québec. Zwei aufeinander folgende Sommer lang hat man fast wôchentlich an diesem Zusammenfluss sandhaltiger Wasserlàufe ungleicher Tiefe Messungen durchgefùhrt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass morphologische Variationen sich im ganzen Flussbett ergeben, trotz der Wasserhôhen, die meist bei 1/20 bis 1/5 des ufervollen Standes Iiegen. Die Natur jedes der beiden Flussbecken verleiht jedem Wasserlauf Niedrigwasserbedingungen, die ihre relative Bedeutung zeitweilig ândern. Dièse Fluktuationen fùhren zu einer lateralen Verschiebung der Mischungsschicht zwischen den beiden Wassermassen. Sie beeinflussen auch die Morphologie der Aufschùttungsbank an der Mùndung des Zuflusses, der sich im Innem des Zusammenflusses vorwàrts und rùckwàrts bewegt. Die entnommenen Sediment-Fazies illustrieren die verschiedenen Arten des Baus der Aufschùttungsbank. Wir stellen ein Modell in drei Phasen vor, das die dominierende RoIIe dieser Aufschùttungsbank in der Dynamik des Zusammenflusses hervorhebt. Entsprechend der Morphologie der Bank (zurùckweichend, im Aufbau oder voll expandierend im Kanal) ist die Entwicklung der Mischungsschicht mehr oder weniger verzôgert und die spezifische Dynamik des Abflusses bestimmt dann zum Teil die Episoden der Ablagerung oder Erosion in den anderen Zonen des Zusammenflusses

Outdoor Smoke-Free Policies in Maine

Incontrovertible evidence of the deadly impacts from both direct tobacco use and environmental exposure to tobacco smoke has led to the institution of smoking bans, first in indoor venues and, more recently, in some outdoor area. This article reviews the science behind smoking bans as well as the history and policy implications of smoking bans with an emphasis on the experience in Maine. As examples we focus on recent outdoor smoking bans in South Portland (parks and beaches) and smoke-free campus rules at a Maine hospital (Franklin Memorial Hospital) and a part of the University of Maine system (University of Southern Maine). Our conclusions highlight the interconnections among federal, state, municipal, and public institutional efforts to limit smoking and suggest pathways by which smoke-free areas can be expanded in Maine and elsewhere

Le rôle des pictogrammes dans le développement de l'autonomie et des premières acquisitions en lecture

Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 201