Shutdowns & the New Jobs Coalitions: The Philadelphia Experience

[Excerpt] Surely the bleeding of Philadelphia-area jobs — 140,000 fewer manufacturing jobs in 1980 than in 1970 — set the climate. Yet the plant closing ordinance could not have been passed without the skillful organizing efforts of the Delaware Valley Coalition for Jobs (DVCJ). Virtually all of the pro-ordinance testimony presented in City Council hearings was orchestrated by DVCJ. At the hearings, DVCJ arranged for statements from dozens of witnesses - unionists, unemployed activists, families of laid-off workers, community leaders, clergy, lawyers, and academics (like myself). The victory in the Philadelphia City Council was a major accomplishment for DVCJ and the plant closing fight in general. But the new law is not being enforced by the city, and the anti-plant-closing movement is stalled. Partly, this situation arose because DVCJ is a defensively-oriented direct action group and not primarily a legislative lobbying group. The coalition paid less attention to the details of legislative processes and enforcement mechanisms than to rallying support for the idea of a law. DVCJ\u27s strength has been in mobilizing mass actions against plant closings and in agitating for full employment policies. Jobs coalitions such as DVCJ have great potential for changing the public agenda on job loss and unemployment, but they also have some inherent stumbling blocks. The example of DVCJ, one of the more successful jobs coalitions, illustrates some of the strengths and weaknesses of the movement against plant closings in general

Severe Clostridial Pyomyoma following an Abortion Does Not Always Require Surgical Intervention

Background. Clostridial infection following pregnancy may be fatal, and surgery is considered as the treatment of choice. We suggest a conservative management in selected cases when preservation of fertility is of major importance. Case. A 41-year-old primigravida presented with abdominal pain and fever, one day following dilatation and curettage at 20 weeks of gestation. Her abdomen was diffusely tender, with a uterus enlarged to 20 weeks' gestation. Laboratory studies were consistent with sepsis and hemolysis. CT demonstrated a gas-containing mass compressing the uterine cavity, and presence of air in pelvic veins. Blood cultures were positive for Clostridium perfringens. The patient was treated conservatively, with IV antibiotics and fluid resuscitation, and recovered. Conclusion. In selected cases of infected myoma complicated by clostridial sepsis, refraining from surgical intervention is a possible therapeutic approach

Using Worker Participation and Buyouts to Save Jobs

This book probes the effectiveness of two job-saving strategies, worker buyouts and QWL (quality of worklife) programs, used to try to reverse the shutdown of a chain of supermarkets in Philadelphia.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1113/thumbnail.jp

Job-Saving Strategies: Worker Buyouts and QWL

This book probes the effectiveness of two job-saving strategies, worker buyouts and QWL (quality of worklife) programs, used to try to reverse the shutdown of a chain of supermarkets in Philadelphia.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1113/thumbnail.jp

Obesity and Blood Pressure in 17-Year-Old Offspring of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes: Insights from the Jerusalem Perinatal Study

Objective. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) influences fetal development and offspring's metabolic risk. We evaluated this association in 17-year-old offspring adjusting for birth weight (BW) and prepregnancy maternal BMI (mBMI). Study Design. The JPS birth cohort contains extensive data on 92,408 births from 1964 to 1976. Offspring's BMI and blood pressure (BP) were obtained from military records. For a subcohort born between 1974 and 1976, prepregnancy mBMI was available. Offspring were classified as born to mothers with GDM (n = 293) or born to mothers without recorded GDM (n = 59,499). Results. GDM offspring had higher mean BMI and systolic and diastolic BP compared to no-recorded-GDM offspring. After adjusting for BW, GDM remained significantly associated with offspring BMI and diastolic BP (β = 1.169 and 1.520, resp.). In the subcohort, when prepregnancy mBMI was entered to the models, it markedly attenuated the associations with GDM. Conclusions. Maternal characteristics have long-term effects on cardiometabolic outcomes of their offspring aged 17 years

Bestial boredom: a biological perspective on animal boredom and suggestions for its scientific investigation

Boredom is likely to have adaptive value in motivating exploration and learning, and many animals may possess the basic neurological mechanisms to support it. Chronic inescapable boredom can be extremely aversive, and understimulation can harm neural, cognitive and behavioural flexibility. Wild and domesticated animals are at particular risk in captivity, which is often spatially and temporally monotonous. Yet biological research into boredom has barely begun, despite having important implications for animal welfare, the evolution of motivation and cognition, and for human dysfunction at individual and societal levels. Here I aim to facilitate hypotheses about how monotony affects behaviour and physiology, so that boredom can be objectively studied by ethologists and other scientists. I cover valence (pleasantness) and arousal (wakefulness) qualities of boredom, because both can be measured, and I suggest boredom includes suboptimal arousal and aversion to monotony. Because the suboptimal arousal during boredom is aversive, individuals will resist low arousal. Thus, behavioural indicators of boredom will, seemingly paradoxically, include signs of increasing drowsiness, alongside bouts of restlessness, avoidance and sensation-seeking behaviour. Valence and arousal are not, however, sufficient to fully describe boredom. For example, human boredom is further characterized by a perception that time ‘drags’, and this effect of monotony on time perception can too be behaviourally assayed in animals. Sleep disruption and some abnormal behaviour may also be caused by boredom. Ethological research into this emotional phenomenon will deepen understanding of its causes, development, function and evolution, and will enable evidence-based interventions to mitigate human and animal boredom

The Current State of Cephalopod Science and Perspectives on the Most Critical Challenges Ahead From Three Early-Career Researchers

International audienceHere, three researchers who have recently embarked on careers in cephalopod biology discuss the current state of the field and offer their hopes for the future. Seven major topics are explored genetics, aquaculture, climate change, welfare, behavior, cognition, and neurobiology. Recent developments in each of these fields are reviewed and the potential of emerging technologies to address specific gaps in knowledge about cephalopods are discussed. Throughout, the authors highlight specific challenges that merit particular focus in the near-term. This review and prospectus is also intended to suggest some concrete near-term goals to cephalopod researchers and inspire those working outside the field to consider the revelatory potential of these remarkable creatures

The fickle Mutation of a Cytoplasmic Tyrosine Kinase Effects Sensitization but not Dishabituation in Drosophila Melanogaster

fickle is a P-element mutation identified from a screen for defects in courtship behavior and disrupts the fly homolog of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) gene (Baba et al., 1999). Here, we show that habituation of the olfactory jump reflex also is defective in fickle. Unlike, the prototypical memory mutants, rutabaga and dunce, which habituate more slowly than normal, fickle flies habituate faster than normal. fickle's faster-than-normal response decrement did not appear to be due to sensorimotor fatigue, and dishabituation of the jump response was normal. Based on a long-standing “two opponent process” theory of habituation, these data suggested that behavioral sensitization might be defective in fickle. To test this hypothesis, we designed a olfactory sensitization procedure, using the same stimuli to habituate (odor) and dishabituate (vortexing) flies. Mutant flies failed to show any sensitization with this procedure. Our study reveals a “genetic dissection” of sensitization and dishabituation and, for the first time, provides a biological confirmation of the two opponent process theory of habituation