The European influence on workers' compensation reform in the United States

Workers' compensation law in the United States is derived from European models of social insurance introduced in Germany and in England. These two concepts of workers' compensation are found today in the federal and state workers' compensation programs in the United States. All reform proposals in the United States are influenced by the European experience with workers' compensation. In 2006, a reform proposal termed the Public Health Model was made that would abolish the workers' compensation system, and in its place adopt a national disability insurance system for all injuries and illnesses. In the public health model, health and safety professionals would work primarily in public health agencies. The public health model eliminates the physician from any role other than that of privately consulting with the patient and offering advice solely to the patient. The Public Health Model is strongly influenced by the European success with physician consultation with industry and labor

ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations

Sports nutrition is a constantly evolving field with hundreds of research papers published annually. For this reason, keeping up to date with the literature is often difficult. This paper is a five year update of the sports nutrition review article published as the lead paper to launch the JISSN in 2004 and presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to how to optimize training and athletic performance through nutrition. More specifically, this paper provides an overview of: 1.) The definitional category of ergogenic aids and dietary supplements; 2.) How dietary supplements are legally regulated; 3.) How to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 4.) General nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 5.) An overview of our current understanding of the ergogenic value of nutrition and dietary supplementation in regards to weight gain, weight loss, and performance enhancement. Our hope is that ISSN members and individuals interested in sports nutrition find this review useful in their daily practice and consultation with their clients

Drivers’ Behavior at Bicycle Crossroads

The main objective of this study was to examine the effect on drivers’ behavior of several countermeasures at bicycle crossroads during the driver–cyclist interaction (a cyclist that crosses the road) by the use of a driving simulator. Three conditions of cyclist crossroads were investigated: baseline condition (no treatment), raised island and the colored paved markings. Forty-two participants drove a suburban scenario with several bicycle crossroads having different configurations and presence/absence of cyclist. 378 speed profiles were plotted from 150 m before each crossroads. The analysis revealed that the driver’s speed behavior was fully consistent with the behavioral models in literature. A further analysis was performed on driver’s speed by ANOVA. Results showed that there was a main effect of the countermeasures, which determined lower speeds compared with that of the baseline condition. In addition, driver behavior was actually characterized by the specific peculiarities of the two countermeasures and both determined a better yielding behavior. However, the outcome of the questionnaire to participants showed that colored paved markings was considered as the most effective in terms of driving aid