Social Cohesion, Social Participation, and HIV Related Risk among Female Sex Workers in Swaziland

Science.gov (United States)

Fonner, Virginia A.; Kerrigan, Deanna; Mnisi, Zandile; Ketende, Sosthenes; Kennedy, Caitlin E.; Baral, Stefan

2014-01-01

Social capital is important to disadvantaged groups, such as sex workers, as a means of facilitating internal group-related mutual aid and support as well as access to broader social and material resources. Studies among sex workers have linked higher social capital with protective HIV-related behaviors; however, few studies have examined social capital among sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa. This cross-sectional study examined relationships between two key social capital constructs, social cohesion among sex workers and social participation of sex workers in the larger community, and HIV-related risk in Swaziland using respondent-driven sampling. Relationships between social cohesion, social participation, and HIV-related risk factors were assessed using logistic regression. HIV prevalence among the sample was 70.4% (223/317). Social cohesion was associated with consistent condom use in the past week (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]  = 2.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.30–3.90) and was associated with fewer reports of social discrimination, including denial of police protection. Social participation was associated with HIV testing (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.36–4.03) and using condoms with non-paying partners (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.13–3.51), and was inversely associated with reported verbal or physical harassment as a result of selling sex (AOR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.33–0.91). Both social capital constructs were significantly associated with collective action, which involved participating in meetings to promote sex worker rights or attending HIV-related meetings/ talks with other sex workers. Social- and structural-level interventions focused on building social cohesion and social participation among sex workers could provide significant protection from HIV infection for female sex workers in Swaziland. PMID:24498125

Social cohesion, social participation, and HIV related risk among female sex workers in Swaziland.

Science.gov (United States)

Fonner, Virginia A; Kerrigan, Deanna; Mnisi, Zandile; Ketende, Sosthenes; Kennedy, Caitlin E; Baral, Stefan

2014-01-01

Social capital is important to disadvantaged groups, such as sex workers, as a means of facilitating internal group-related mutual aid and support as well as access to broader social and material resources. Studies among sex workers have linked higher social capital with protective HIV-related behaviors; however, few studies have examined social capital among sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa. This cross-sectional study examined relationships between two key social capital constructs, social cohesion among sex workers and social participation of sex workers in the larger community, and HIV-related risk in Swaziland using respondent-driven sampling. Relationships between social cohesion, social participation, and HIV-related risk factors were assessed using logistic regression. HIV prevalence among the sample was 70.4% (223/317). Social cohesion was associated with consistent condom use in the past week (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.30-3.90) and was associated with fewer reports of social discrimination, including denial of police protection. Social participation was associated with HIV testing (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.36-4.03) and using condoms with non-paying partners (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.13-3.51), and was inversely associated with reported verbal or physical harassment as a result of selling sex (AOR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.33-0.91). Both social capital constructs were significantly associated with collective action, which involved participating in meetings to promote sex worker rights or attending HIV-related meetings/ talks with other sex workers. Social- and structural-level interventions focused on building social cohesion and social participation among sex workers could provide significant protection from HIV infection for female sex workers in Swaziland.

Interrelations between Energy Security Economics and Social Cohesion: Analysis of a Lithuanian Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dainius Genys

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Growing attention to sustainable development in academic discourse fosters discussions on how energy security affects society. In most cases the discussions consider the political and economic consequences, which affect or may affect the society. The aim of the article is to assess the impact of energy security economics on social cohesion in Lithuania. To achieve this aim the interrelations between energy security, energy economics and social cohesion are discussed. The theoretical framework of social cohesion (introduced by J. Jenson and P. Bernard is presented and applied in empirical analysis. The operationalization of empirical variables is based on economic, political and socio-cultural - activity areas, which are analyzed to verify the dichotomies between public attitudes and the actual behavior of society. These dichotomies help to distinguish six analytical dimensions, on the basis of which we created 17 empirical indicators, which analysis allows for describing the impact of Lithuanian energy security economics on social cohesion in quantitative data. The statistical analyses showed that the impact of attitudinal dimensions of energy security economics on social cohesion in Lithuania has an almost neutral effect: 3.05 (1-very negative; 3-neutral, 5-very positive. Whereas, the impact of behavioural dimensions of energy security economics on social cohesion has a negative effect: 2.47. The aggregated average of the overall impact of energy security economics on social cohesion in Lithuania has a negative effect: 2.76.

Increased alcohol use after Hurricane Ike: The roles of perceived social cohesion and social control.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Chenyi; Smith, Tony E

2017-10-01

Hurricane Ike, the third costliest hurricane in US history, made landfall in the Galveston Bay Area in September, 2008. Existing literature postulates that maladaptive behavior such as increased alcohol use is often exhibited by disaster survivors in coping with both disaster-related traumatic events and post-disaster stressful events. In addition, it has also been postulated that survivors' perceptions of social cohesion and social control can potentially serve to moderate such behavior. The purpose of this paper is to study such hypotheses for Hurricane Ike. In particular, we investigate the following four hypotheses: (H1) There is an increase of alcohol use by survivors of Hurricane Ike in the Galveston Bay Area; (H2) There are positive associations between both Ike-related trauma and post-Ike stress events and the increase in alcohol use; (H3) There are negative associations between both perceived social cohesion and social control and the increase in alcohol use following Ike; and finally that (H4) perceived social cohesion and social control serve to moderate the associations between both Ike-related trauma and post-Ike stress events and increased alcohol use after Ike. Using public use survey-weighted data from the Galveston Bay Recovery Study (GBRS) of Ike survivors (N = 658), we tested these hypotheses using logistic regressions controlling for other key socioeconomic variables. Our results confirm H1 and H2. Hypotheses H3 and H4 are partially confirmed with respect to social control, but show that (i) there is a positive association between perceived social cohesion and the increase in alcohol use following Ike, and that (ii) while perceived social cohesion and social control do moderate the association between post-Ike stress events and increased alcohol use, they have no effect on the association between Ike-related trauma and increased alcohol use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social cohesion and interpersonal conflicts in projects

OpenAIRE

Ojiako, Udechukwu; Manville, Graham; Zouk, Nadine; Chipulu, Maxwell

2016-01-01

One particular area of project management literature that has continued to gain momentum in literature is its social dimension; with a number of scholars emphasising the fact that there is a considerable social dimension to every project activity. Within this context, the authors examine parameters that drive social facets of projects with a particular focus on social cohesion, interpersonal conflicts and national culture. Data from 167 project managers working in Kuwait were collected utilis...

Examining Neighborhood Social Cohesion in the Context of Community-based Participatory Research: Descriptive Findings from an Academic-Community Partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Bateman, Lori Brand; Fouad, Mona N; Hawk, Bianca; Osborne, Tiffany; Bae, Sejong; Eady, Sequoya; Thompson, Joanice; Brantley, Wendy; Crawford, Lovie; Heider, Laura; Schoenberger, Yu-Mei M

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the process of conducting an assessment of neighborhood perceptions and cohesion by a community coalition-academic team created in the context of community-based participatory research (CBPR), to guide the design of locally relevant health initiatives. Guided by CBPR principles, a collaborative partnership was established between an academic center and a local, urban, underserved neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama to identify and address community concerns and priorities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in September 2016 among community residents (N=90) to examine perceptions of neighborhood characteristics, including social cohesion and neighborhood problems. The major concerns voiced by the coalition were violence and lack of neighborhood cohesion and safety. The community survey verified the concerns of the coalition, with the majority of participants mentioning increasing safety and stopping the violence as the things to change about the community and the greatest hope for the community. Furthermore, results indicated residents had a moderate level of perceived social cohesion (mean = 2.87 [.67]). The Mid-South TCC Academic and Community Engagement (ACE) Core successfully partnered with community members and stakeholders to establish a coalition whose concerns and vision for the community matched the concerns of residents of the community. Collecting data from different groups strengthened the interpretation of the findings and allowed for a rich understanding of neighborhood concerns.

Interparental Conflict and Family Cohesion: Predictors of Loneliness, Social Anxiety, and Social Avoidance in Late Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, H. Durell; LaVoie, Joseph C.; Mahoney, Molly

2001-01-01

Examined relationship of family cohesion and interparental conflict with loneliness in 124 late adolescents. Found that feelings of loneliness were related to perceived levels of interparental conflict for males and females, and to decreased family cohesion for females. Feelings of social anxiety and social avoidance were related to feelings of…

Personality in teams: its relationship to social cohesion, task cohesion, and team performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Vianen, A.E.M.; de Dreu, C.K.W.

2001-01-01

This study continued past research on the relationship between personality composition in teams and social cohesion and team performance (Barrick, Stewart, Neubert, & Mount, 1998). Results from the Barrick et al. sample (N = 50) were compared with data from two new samples, one comprising drilling

Competition and social cohesion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Libertini

2014-03-01

Full Text Available "Competition" and "social cohesion" are both protected by E.U. and Italian laws. The author moves from the analysis of the meaning of these two concepts, in order to reflect on their compatibility and the way to conciliate them. The central problem - in the opinion of the Author - is to abandon the myth of spontaneous markets' order and to rebuild a political order able to maintain and support, as far as possible, the competitive market economy, but also to govern economic processes in critical moments and situations.

Social cohesion: solution or driver of urban violence? | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-09-28

Sep 28, 2016 ... Social cohesion can play an important role in building and maintaining ... Analysis of Violence demonstrates how social bonds and stark inequalities can also play ... Conflict and development in the hill settlements of Guwahati.

Perceived Social Cohesion, Frequency of Going Out, and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults

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Namkee G. Choi PhD

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: To examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between older adults’ perceptions of social cohesion in their community and depressive symptoms and the potential mediating effect of the frequency of going outside one’s home/building. Method: Using two waves (T1 and T2 of the National Health and Aging Trend Study ( n = 5,326, gender-stratified structural equation models were estimated to determine direct and indirect effects of perceived social cohesion on depressive symptoms. Results: At T1, both perceived cohesion and frequency of going out were directly associated with depressive symptoms; however, perceived cohesion predicted frequency of going out only for women. At T2, only frequency of going out was directly associated with depressive symptoms, although perceived cohesion predicted frequency of going out for both genders. T1 perceived cohesion did not predict T2 depressive symptoms. T1 depressive symptoms were the strongest predictor of T2 depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of enhancing the social environment in promoting mental health in late life through active aging.

Social cohesion: The missing link in overcoming violence and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Researchers will test the hypothesis that social cohesion is a critical factor in ... to community members, and ethnographic social network analysis, to help map ... to identify the most effective strategies for addressing these challenges in Latin ...

Social cohesion: solution or driver of urban violence?

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

to the state intervention, eroding existing civil society organization. The presence of the police ... creating its own parallel structures to existing representative bodies, ... When designing interventions take into account that social cohesion may ...

Solidarity and Social Cohesion in Late Modernity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juul, Søren

2010-01-01

social cohesion. The central theme is that contemporary solidarity is about recognition and a fair distribution of chances for recognition. This ideal may function as a normative standard for critical research and as a guideline for people in their moral struggles. What ultimately needs to be done...

Family Change and Implications for Family Solidarity and Social Cohesion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ravanera, Zenaida

2008-01-01

Full Text Available EnglishSocial cohesion can be viewed in terms of common projects and networks of social relations that characterize families, communities and society. In the past decades, the basis for family cohesion has shifted from organic to mechanical or from breadwinner to collaborative model. As in many Western countries, data on family change in Canada point to a greater flexibility in the entry and exit from relationships, a delay in the timing of family events, and a diversity of family forms. After looking at changes in families and in the family setting of individuals, the paper considers both intra-family cohesion and families as basis for social cohesion. Implications are raised for adults, children and publicp olicy.FrenchLa cohésion sociale peut se voir à travers les projets communs et les réseaux desrelations sociales qui caractérisent les familles, les communautés et les sociétés.La base de cohésion familiale est passée d’organique à mécanique, pour utiliserles termes de Durkheim, ou vers un modèle de collaboration plutôt qu’unepartage asymétrique de tâches. Comme dans d’autres sociétés orientales, lafamille au Canada est devenue plus flexible par rapport aux entrées et sortiesd’unions, il y a un délais dans les événements familiaux, et une variété deformes de familles. Après un regard sur les changements dans les familles etdans la situation familiale des individus, nous considérons la cohésion intrafamilialeet la famille comme base de cohésion sociale. Nous discutons desimpacts sur les adultes, les enfants et la politique publique.

Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Sleep Outcomes in the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander National Health Interview Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Marielle C; Gerber, Monica W; Ash, Tayla; Horan, Christine M; Taveras, Elsie M

2018-05-16

Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) have the lowest attainment of healthy sleep duration among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. We examined associations of neighborhood social cohesion with sleep duration and quality. Cross-sectional analysis of 2,464 adults in the NHPI National Health Interview Survey (2014). Neighborhood social cohesion was categorized as a continuous and categorical variable into low (15) according to tertiles of the distribution of responses. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the adjusted odds ratio of short and long sleep duration relative to intermediate sleep duration. We used binary logistic regression for dichotomous sleep quality outcomes. Sleep outcomes were modeled as categorical variables. 40% of the cohort reported short (9 hours) duration. Mean (SE, range) social cohesion score was 12.4 units (0.11, 4-16) and 23% reported low social cohesion. In multivariable models, each 1 SD decrease in neighborhood social cohesion score was associated with higher odds of short sleep duration (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.29). Additionally, low social cohesion was associated with increased odds of short sleep duration (OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.13). No associations between neighborhood social cohesion and having trouble falling or staying asleep and feeling well rested were found. Low neighborhood social cohesion is associated with short sleep duration in NHPIs.

Alcohol Use Severity Among Adult Hispanic Immigrants: Examining the Roles of Family Cohesion, Social Support, and Gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Cano, Miguel Ángel; Sánchez, Mariana; Rojas, Patria; Ramírez-Ortiz, Daisy; Polo, Katherine L; Romano, Eduardo; De La Rosa, Mario

2018-03-21

This study examined (a) the direct association of family cohesion on alcohol use severity among adult Hispanic immigrants; (b) the indirect association of family cohesion on alcohol use severity via social support; and (c) if gender moderates the direct and indirect associations between family cohesion and alcohol use severity. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted on a cross-sectional sample of 411 (men = 222, women = 189) participants from Miami-Dade, Florida. Findings indicate that higher family cohesion was directly associated with higher social support and lower alcohol use severity. Higher social support was also directly associated with lower alcohol use severity. Additionally, family cohesion had an indirect association with alcohol use severity via social support. Moderation analyses indicated that gender moderated the direct association between family cohesion and alcohol use severity, but did not moderate the indirect association. Some potential clinical implications may be that strengthening family cohesion may enhance levels of social support, and in turn, lower alcohol use severity among adult Hispanic immigrants. Furthermore, strengthening family cohesion may be especially beneficial to men in efforts to lower levels of alcohol use severity.

Social cohesiveness and absenteeism: The relationship between characteristics of employees and short-term absenteeism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sanders, Karin; Nauta, Aukje

2004-01-01

This study tries to explain the relationship between characteristics of the employees (e.g., gender and working hours) and short-term absenteeism by examining the social cohesiveness of a team. Hypotheses are formulated concerning gender and working hours of employees, social cohesiveness, and

Safety in numbers: does perceived safety mediate associations between the neighborhood social environment and physical activity among women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods?

Science.gov (United States)

Timperio, Anna; Veitch, Jenny; Carver, Alison

2015-05-01

The aim of this study is to examine associations between the neighborhood social environment and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA)(1) and walking among women, and whether these associations are mediated by perceived personal safety. Women (n = 3784) living in disadvantaged urban and rural neighborhoods within Victoria, Australia completed a self-administered survey on five social environment variables (neighborhood crime, neighborhood violence, seeing others walking and exercising in the neighborhood, social trust/cohesion), perceived personal safety, and their physical activity in 2007/8. Linear regression analyses examined associations between social environment variables and LTPA and walking. Potential mediating pathways were assessed using the product-of-coefficients test. Moderated mediation by urban/rural residence was examined. Each social environment variable was positively associated with engaging in at least 150 min/week of LTPA (OR = 1.16 to 1.56). Only two social environment variables, seeing others walking (OR = 1.45) and exercising (OR = 1.31), were associated with ≥ 150 min/week of walking. Perceived personal safety mediated all associations. Stronger mediation was found in urban areas for crime, violence and social trust/cohesion. The neighborhood social environment is an important influence on physical activity among women living in disadvantaged areas. Feelings of personal safety should not be included in composite or aggregate scores relating to the social environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Moralized Health-Related Persuasion Undermines Social Cohesion

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Susanne Täuber

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Integrating theory and research on persuasion, moralization, and intergroup relations, the present research aims to highlight the far-reaching impact of health-related persuasion on society. I propose that governments’ health-related persuasion leads to the emergence of new social norms, and in particular moral norms. Importantly, moral norms provide strong behavioral imperatives and are seen as binding for group members. This suggests that moralized persuasion has a strong potential to divide society along the lines of citizens who conform to and citizens who deviate from health-related moral norms. Thus, departing from the traditional focus on targets of persuasion, the present research focuses on those holding a moralized view on health and lifestyle. Key aspects of social cohesion as defined by the OECD (2011 have been tested across four studies. The main hypothesis tested is that those conforming to the norm (e.g., non-smokers, normal weight people, people with healthy lifestyles will stigmatize those deviating from the norm (e.g., smokers, overweight people, people with unhealthy lifestyles. Flowing from stigmatization, less inclusion, lower solidarity with and greater endorsement of unequal treatment of those deviating from the moral norm are predicted. Four survey studies (total N = 1568 examining the proposed associations among non-smokers, normal weight people, and employees with healthy lifestyles are presented. The studies provide unanimous support for the hypothesis, with meta-analysis providing further support for the reliability of the findings. Consistent across studies, social cohesion indicators were negatively affected by health moralization through stigmatization of those deviating from health-related moral norms. Findings highlight an under-acknowledged potential of moralized health-related persuasion to divide society, thereby undermining cohesion and the achievement of important societal goals. In the discussion

Natural disasters and indicators of social cohesion

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Calo-Blanco, A.; Kovářík, Jaromír; Mengel, F.; Romero, J. G.

2017-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 6 (2017), s. 1-13, č. článku e0176885. E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-22044S Institutional support: RVO:67985998 Keywords : social cohesion * trust * climate Subject RIV: AH - Economic s OBOR OECD: Applied Economic s, Econometrics Impact factor: 2.806, year: 2016

Measuring the impact of spatial network layout on community social cohesion: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Crispin H V; Fone, David L; Chiaradia, Alain J F

2014-04-11

There is now a substantial body of research suggesting that social cohesion, a collective characteristic measured by the levels of trust, reciprocity and formation of strong social bonds within communities, is an important factor in determining health. Of particular interest is the extent to which factors in the built environment facilitate, or impede, the development of social bonds. Severance is a characteristic of physical environments which is hypothesized to inhibit cohesion. In the current study we test a number of characteristics of spatial networks which could be hypothesized to relate either to severance, or directly to community cohesion. Particular focus is given to our most promising variable for further analysis (Convex Hull Maximum Radius 600 m). In the current study we analysed social cohesion as measured at Enumeration District level, aggregated from a survey of 10,892 individuals aged 18 to 74 years in the Caerphilly Health and Social Needs Cohort Study, 2001. In a data mining process we test 16 network variables on multiple scales. The variable showing the most promise is validated in a test on an independent data set. We then conduct a multivariate regression also including Townsend deprivation scores and urban/rural status as predictor variables for social cohesion. We find convex hull maximum radius at a 600 m scale to have a small but highly significant correlation with social cohesion on both data sets. Deprivation has a stronger effect. Splitting the analysis by tertile of deprivation, we find that the effect of severance as measured by this variable is strongest in the most deprived areas. A range of spatial scales are tested, with the strongest effects being observed at scales that match typical walking distances. We conclude that physical connectivity as measured in this paper has a significant effect on social cohesion, and that our measure is unlikely to proxy either deprivation or the urban/rural status of communities. Possible

Sense of belonging and social cohesion in a desegregated former House of Delegates school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramodungoane Tabane

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The ideal of creating a non-racial and equitable school environment is embedded in the South African Constitution. This ideal is informed by a desire to overcome the divisions of the apartheid past by pursuing policies and strategies that will promote the achievement of social cohesion, without denying space for various identities. Schools are seen as important vehicles for driving social cohesion amongst learners and it is therefore important that all learners, irrespective of their race, experience a sense of belonging in the school. Using a case study and an interactive qualitative analysis research methodology, we explored the experiences of black and Indian learners in a desegregated former House of Delegates school to determine the successes and possible challenges of ensuring racial integration at the school level and therefore its contribution to social cohesion. The study demonstrates the importance of eight concepts (namely, the school as a welcoming space; belonging; respect; security; equality in the way we socialise; tender loving care; motivation; and freedom to the study of racial integration and social cohesion. This article focuses on the contribution that sense of belonging has on creating a school environment that is enabling, contributing to learner achievement and concludes that sense of belonging, integration, and social cohesion are intertwined and important in creating an environment that is welcoming and a "home" to diverse learners and educators.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL COHESION AS STRATEGY FOR REDUCING TOURISM SPATIAL CONFLICT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SARI Suzanna Ratih

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Borobudur as one of the international tourist’s destination in Indonesia which having compromised their sense of identity before, tourists have their own set of images about tourism destinations. In that destination tourists usually create some tourism activities which needed space to facilitate. Many times such condition caused many problems that lead conflict among the local people. People tried to provide some supporting tourist facilities in order to fulfil the needs of tourist’s activities. People will further utilize some spaces of their village to build tourist facilities. Rich people usually dominated this kind of business. This becomes the fact that many of the fears surrounding tourism are closely associated with a wide range of social problems, especially in terms of determining tourism spatial. Each people tried to collect dollar from tourist as much as possible to provide tourism spatial by ignoring “guyub” and “gotong royong” as traditional principle of their live. This may create disharmony among the society and some people will not get the benefit from tourism activities. Therefore, to learn more detail about the role of “guyub and gotong royong” as social cohesion among people in Borobudur, there is a need to do this research in order to give some recommended strategy to solve thr problem regarding social cohesion and tourism spatial. By using descriptive method, researcher would like to present a case study about that matter in one of tourism village in Borobudur. The output of this research is to give an overview how tourism activities give significant influence towards the power of social cohesion in reducing the appeared conflict. The developed strategy will be used to tighten the relationship among the people, through re-empowering the traditional social cohesion so called ”guyub” and “gotong-royong”. By doing so, it is expected that integrity and cohesiveness in a social structure could always be

Fear, crime, and social cohesion in urban South Africa | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-12-13

Dec 13, 2016 ... Social cohesion” broadly refers to the factors that hold a society ... published in March 2016, explores the role of social cohesion and ... Learn more about IDRC's research support to make cities safer through the Safe and Inclusive Cities partnership with the UK's Department for International Development.

Cohesive subgroup formation : enabling and constraining effects of social capital in strategic technology alliance networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duysters, G.M.; Lemmens, C.E.A.V.

2002-01-01

In this paper we will examine the role of embeddedness and social capital in the process of cohesive subgroup formation in strategic technology alliance networks. More in particular, we will investigate the social mechanisms that enable and enforce cohesive subgroup formation. We will argue that the

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL, POLICY AND PHYSICAL VENUE FEATURES AND SOCIAL COHESION ON CONDOM USE FOR PREGNANCY PREVENTION AMONG SEX WORKERS: A SAFER INDOOR WORK ENVIRONMENT SCALE

Science.gov (United States)

Duff, Putu; Shoveller, Jean; Dobrer, Sabina; Ogilvie, Gina; Montaner, Julio; Chettiar, Jill; Shannon, Kate

2015-01-01

Background This study aims to: report on a newly developed ‘Safer Indoor Work Environmental Scale’ that characterizes the social, policy and physical features of indoor venues and social cohesion; and using this scale, longitudinally evaluate the association between these features on sex workers’ (SWs’) condom use for pregnancy prevention. Methods Drawing on a prospective open cohort of female SWs working in indoor venues, a newly-developed ‘Safer Indoor Work Environment Scale’ was used to build six multivariable models with generalized estimating equations (GEE), to determine the independent effects of social, policy and venue-based features and social cohesion on condom use. Results Of 588 indoor SWs, 63.6% used condoms for pregnancy prevention in the last month. In multivariable GEE analysis, the following venue-based features were significantly correlated with barrier contraceptive use for pregnancy prevention: managerial practices and venue safety policies (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=1.09; 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) 1.01–1.17) access to sexual and reproductive health services/supplies (AOR=1.10; 95%CI 1.00–1.20) access to drug harm reduction (AOR=1.13; 95%CI 1.01–1.28), and social cohesion among workers (AOR=1.05; 95%CI 1.03–1.07). Access to security features was marginally associated with condom use (AOR=1.13; 95%CI 0.99–1.29). Conclusion The findings of the current study highlight how work environment and social cohesion among SWs are related to improved condom use. Given global calls for the decriminalization of sex work, and potential legislative reforms in Canada, this study points to the critical need for new institutional arrangements (e.g., legal and regulatory frameworks; labour standards) to support safer sex workplaces. PMID:25678713

The relationship between social, policy and physical venue features and social cohesion on condom use for pregnancy prevention among sex workers: a safer indoor work environment scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Duff, Putu; Shoveller, Jean; Dobrer, Sabina; Ogilvie, Gina; Montaner, Julio; Chettiar, Jill; Shannon, Kate

2015-07-01

This study aims to report on a newly developed Safer Indoor Work Environmental Scale that characterises the social, policy and physical features of indoor venues and social cohesion; and using this scale, longitudinally evaluate the association between these features on sex workers' (SWs') condom use for pregnancy prevention. Drawing on a prospective open cohort of female SWs working in indoor venues, a newly developed Safer Indoor Work Environment Scale was used to build six multivariable models with generalised estimating equations (GEE), to determine the independent effects of social, policy and physical venue-based features and social cohesion on condom use. Of 588 indoor SWs, 63.6% used condoms for pregnancy prevention in the last month. In multivariable GEE analysis, the following venue-based features were significantly correlated with barrier contraceptive use for pregnancy prevention: managerial practices and venue safety policies (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.09; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.17), access to sexual and reproductive health services/supplies (AOR=1.10; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.20), access to drug harm reduction (AOR=1.13; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.28) and social cohesion among workers (AOR=1.05; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.07). Access to security features was marginally associated with condom use (AOR=1.13; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.29). The findings of the current study highlight how work environment and social cohesion among SWs are related to improved condom use. Given global calls for the decriminalisation of sex work, and potential legislative reforms in Canada, this study points to the critical need for new institutional arrangements (eg, legal and regulatory frameworks; labour standards) to support safer sex workplaces. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Too Many Friends: Social Integration, Network Cohesion and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms

Science.gov (United States)

Falci, Christina; McNeely, Clea

2009-01-01

Using a nationally representative sample of adolescents, we examine associations among social integration (network size), network cohesion (alter-density), perceptions of social relationships (e.g., social support) and adolescent depressive symptoms. We find that adolescents with either too large or too small a network have higher levels of…

Social cohesion, sexuality, homophobia and women's sport in South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... secondly, that the success of national teams and athletes promotes national pride and unity. ... We explore these issues by drawing on media reports of cases in which ... To realise the potential of sport as a tool for building social cohesion, ...

Student leadership and advocacy for social cohesion: A South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

at how social cohesion could benefit economic development, hoped thereby ... institutions pledged to reverse 'outsourcing' to 'insourcing' of cleaning services, there is .... It is not so much the scale of these ills as it is the perceived failure of the.

The Impact of African American Parents’ Racial Discrimination Experiences and Perceived Neighborhood Cohesion on their Racial Socialization Practices

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English, Devin; Busby, Danielle R.; Lambert, Sharon F.; Harrison, Aubrey; Stock, Michelle L.; Gibbons, Frederick X.

2016-01-01

Parental racial socialization is a parenting tool used to prepare African American adolescents for managing racial stressors. While it is known that parents’ racial discrimination experiences affect the racial socialization messages they provide, little is known about the influence of factors that promote supportive and communal parenting, such as perceived neighborhood cohesion. In cohesive neighborhoods, neighbors may help parents address racial discrimination by monitoring youth and conveying racial socialization messages; additionally, the effect of neighborhood cohesion on parents’ racial socialization may differ for boys and girls because parents socialize adolescents about race differently based on expected encounters with racial discrimination. Therefore, the current study examines how parents’ perception of neighborhood cohesion and adolescents’ gender moderate associations between parents’ racial discrimination experiences and the racial socialization messages they deliver to their adolescents. Participants were a community sample of 608 African American adolescents (54 % girls; mean age = 15.5) and their primary caregivers (86 % biological mothers; mean age = 42.0). Structural equation modeling indicated that parental racial discrimination was associated with more promotion of mistrust messages for boys and girls in communities with low neighborhood cohesion. In addition, parental racial discrimination was associated with more cultural socialization messages about racial pride and history for boys in neighborhoods with low neighborhood cohesion. The findings suggest that parents’ racial socialization messages are influenced by their own racial discrimination experiences and the cohesiveness of the neighborhood; furthermore, the content of parental messages delivered varies based on adolescents’ gender. PMID:27189721

Food education: health and social cohesion

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Eva Zafra Aparici

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Using a theoretical-reflexive approach, this article connects the results of various qualitative studies in social conflict and medical anthropology, in order to investigate how food can be a tool for social transformation in terms of health but also in terms of the dialogue, respect and coexistence among people, groups and communities. In this sense the article presents a first approximation to a new theoretical and methodological approach to food education. In this approach, food adopts a political, sociocultural and participatory perspective that brings us closer to an innovative understanding of the phenomenon of food: not only as an analytic and diagnostic tool, but also as an instrument for health education interventions toward conflict resolution and the promotion of healthier societies overall – nutritionally, but also in terms of equality and social cohesion.

Group cohesion and social support of the nurses in a special unit and a general unit in Korea.

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Ko, Yu Kyung

2011-07-01

To identify the degree of group cohesion and social support of nurses in special and general units in hospitals in Korea, and to compare group cohesion and social support between the two groups. The level of commitment nurses have to their organizations has been shown to correlate with work group cohesion and social support. The participants were 1751 nurses who were working in Korean hospitals. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and were analysed using SAS. The statistical methods included: descriptive statistics, t-test, anova and Pearson's correlation coefficients. Group cohesion of nurses on special wards was significantly higher than for nurses on general wards. No significant difference was found between types of units in terms of social support. The degree of group cohesion was significantly different in terms of the respondents' clinical experience, position, religion, job satisfaction, number of supportive superiors and number of supportive peers. A statistically significant correlation was found between group cohesion scores and degree of social support. Hospital management can accomplish their goals more effectively through knowledge of the level of group cohesion, superior support and peer support for nursing staff in accordance with unit specialty. © 2011 The Author. Journal compilation © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Impact of African American Parents' Racial Discrimination Experiences and Perceived Neighborhood Cohesion on their Racial Socialization Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Saleem, Farzana T; English, Devin; Busby, Danielle R; Lambert, Sharon F; Harrison, Aubrey; Stock, Michelle L; Gibbons, Frederick X

2016-07-01

Parental racial socialization is a parenting tool used to prepare African American adolescents for managing racial stressors. While it is known that parents' racial discrimination experiences affect the racial socialization messages they provide, little is known about the influence of factors that promote supportive and communal parenting, such as perceived neighborhood cohesion. In cohesive neighborhoods, neighbors may help parents address racial discrimination by monitoring youth and conveying racial socialization messages; additionally, the effect of neighborhood cohesion on parents' racial socialization may differ for boys and girls because parents socialize adolescents about race differently based on expected encounters with racial discrimination. Therefore, the current study examines how parents' perception of neighborhood cohesion and adolescents' gender moderate associations between parents' racial discrimination experiences and the racial socialization messages they deliver to their adolescents. Participants were a community sample of 608 African American adolescents (54 % girls; mean age = 15.5) and their primary caregivers (86 % biological mothers; mean age = 42.0). Structural equation modeling indicated that parental racial discrimination was associated with more promotion of mistrust messages for boys and girls in communities with low neighborhood cohesion. In addition, parental racial discrimination was associated with more cultural socialization messages about racial pride and history for boys in neighborhoods with low neighborhood cohesion. The findings suggest that parents' racial socialization messages are influenced by their own racial discrimination experiences and the cohesiveness of the neighborhood; furthermore, the content of parental messages delivered varies based on adolescents' gender.

The impact of neighborhood violence and social cohesion on smoking behaviors among a cohort of smokers in Mexico

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Fleischer, Nancy L.; Lozano, Paula; Santillán, Edna Arillo; Shigematsu, Luz Myriam Reynales; Thrasher, James F.

2016-01-01

Background Recent increases in violent crime may impact a variety of health outcomes in Mexico. We examined relationships between neighborhood-level violence and smoking behaviors in a cohort of Mexican smokers from 2011–2012, and whether neighborhood-level social cohesion modified these relationships. Methods Data were analyzed from adult smokers and recent ex-smokers who participated in Waves 5–6 of the International Tobacco Control Mexico Survey. Self-reported neighborhood violence and social cohesion were asked of Wave 6 survey participants (n=2129 current and former smokers, n=150 neighborhoods). Neighborhood-level averages for violence and social cohesion (range 4–14 and 10–25, respectively) were assigned to individuals. We used generalized estimating equations to determine associations between neighborhood indicators and individual-level smoking intensity, quit behaviors, and relapse. Results Higher neighborhood violence was associated with higher smoking intensity (Risk Ratio (RR)=1.17, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.02–1.33), and fewer quit attempts (RR=0.72, 95% CI 0.61–0.85). Neighborhood violence was not associated with successful quitting or relapse. Higher neighborhood social cohesion was associated with more quit attempts and more successful quitting. Neighborhood social cohesion modified the association between neighborhood violence and smoking intensity: in neighborhoods with higher social cohesion, as violence increased, smoking intensity decreased and in neighborhoods with lower social cohesion, as violence increased, so did smoking intensity. Conclusion In the context of recent increased violence in Mexico, smokers living in neighborhoods with more violence may smoke more cigarettes per day and make fewer quit attempts than their counterparts in less violent neighborhoods. Neighborhood social cohesion may buffer the impact of violence on smoking intensity. PMID:26043898

Self-Esteem among Vietnamese American Adolescents: The Role of Self-Construal, Family Cohesion, and Social Support

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Lam, Brian Trung

2005-01-01

This prospective study examined whether interdependent self-construal (collectivism), independent self-construal (individualism), family cohesion, and social support would predict levels of self-esteem among Vietnamese American adolescents. Standardized self-report measures of family cohesion, social support, and self-esteem, as well as a measure…

Neighborhoods and Mental Health: Exploring Ethnic Density, Poverty, and Social Cohesion among Asian Americans and Latinos

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Hong, Seunghye; Zhang, Wei; Walton, Emily

2014-01-01

This study examines the associations of neighborhood ethnic density and poverty with social cohesion and self-rated mental health among Asian Americans and Latinos. Path analysis is employed to analyze data from the 2002–2003 National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and the 2000 U.S. Census (N=2095 Asian Americans living in N=259 neighborhoods; N=2554 Latinos living in N=317 neighborhoods). Findings reveal that neighborhood ethnic density relates to poor mental health in both groups. Social cohesion partially mediates that structural relationship, but is positively related to ethnic density among Latinos and negatively related to ethnic density among Asian Americans. Although higher neighborhood poverty is negatively associated with mental health for both groups, the relationship does not hold in the path models after accounting for social cohesion and covariates. Furthermore, social cohesion fully mediates the association between neighborhood poverty and mental health among Latinos. This study highlights the necessity of reconceptualizing existing theories of social relationships to reflect complex and nuanced mechanisms linking neighborhood structure and mental health for diverse racial and ethnic groups. PMID:24769491

Does decentralisation enhance a school's role of promoting social cohesion? Bosnian school leaders' perceptions of school governance

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Komatsu, Taro

2014-05-01

This study seeks to understand whether and how decentralised school governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) enhances the schools' role of promoting social cohesion. This includes increasing "horizontal" trust among different ethnic groups and "vertical" trust between civilians and public institutes. The study examined secondary school leaders' perceptions regarding school board influence on social cohesion policies and practices, their interactions with school board members, and their accountability to the school-based governing body. The results show that school leaders and school boards, supposedly representing the interests of local stakeholders, did not appear to be actively engaged in the deliberate process of promoting social cohesion. While school directors tended to view themselves as being independent from the school boards, ethnically diverse school boards provided important support to proactive school leaders for their inter-group activities. Given that the central level is not providing initiatives to promote social cohesion and that BiH citizens appear to generally support social cohesion, decentralised school governance has the potential to improve social trust from the bottom up. To promote participatory school governance, the study recommends that BiH school leaders should be provided with opportunities to re-examine and redefine their professional accountability and to assist local stakeholders to improve their involvement in school governance.

Teacher Governance Factors and Social Cohesion: Insights from Pakistan

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Halai, Anjum; Durrani, Naureen

2016-01-01

This paper explores teacher governance factors, particularly recruitment and deployment of teachers, in relation to inequalities and social cohesion. Pakistan introduced major reforms in education in the post 9/11 context of escalating conflict. These include a merit and needs-based policy on teacher recruitment to eliminate corruption in…

Social cohesiveness and absenteeism - The relationship between characteristics of employees and short-term absenteeism within an organization

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Sanders, K; Nauta, A

2004-01-01

This study tries to explain the relationship between characteristics of the employees (e.g., gender and working hours) and short-term absenteeism by examining the social cohesiveness of a team. Hypotheses are formulated concerning gender and working hours of employees, social cohesiveness, and

Social cohesiveness and absenteeism : the relationship between characteristics of employees and short-term absenteeism within an organization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sanders, K.; Nauta, A.

2004-01-01

This article tries to explain the relationship between characteristics of the employees as gender and working hours, and short-term absenteeism by examining the social cohesiveness of a team. Hypotheses are formulated concerning gender and working hours of employees, social cohesiveness, and

Forms of cohesion in confinement institutions

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Ekaterina D. Slobodenyuk

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective to identify the diversity of cohesion forms in confinement institutions. Methods qualitative analyses based on indepth semistructured interviews. Results the study included adaptation of Western methodologies of the cohesion phenomenon analysis to the Russian reality and operationalization of the moral bases of group cohesion. This served as the bases for designing a guide for indepth semistructured interviews 10 interviews were conducted with people recently released from general and strict regime colonies. Content analysis of the interviews revealed a number of structural sections that demonstrate the diversity of cohesion forms alongside with one that is most meaningful to the prisoners and therefore the most well perceived and articulated by respondents. Analysis of the latter allowed to identify a set of groups showing different degree and nature of cohesion. By the degree of cohesion one can identify the poorly cohesive groups quotloutsquot moderately cohesive quotredsquot quotthievesquot and highly cohesive quotfightersquot. By the nature of cohesion in the prisonersrsquo community there are both groups united on the basis of social morality quotredsquot quotthievesquot and groups demonstrating a high degree of cohesion based on the social justice morality quotfightersquot. A detailed analysis of the latter group also showed that the cohesion can have both traits of morality social justice and features of social order moral. Scientific novelty using the sociopsychological theory of the moral motives in determining the bases of cohesion. Practical significance the research results can be applied for the development of sociopsychological techniques for the penal system reform.

Pathways to age-friendly communities in diverse urban neighborhoods: Do social capital and social cohesion matter?

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Parekh, Rupal; Maleku, Arati; Fields, Noelle; Adorno, Gail; Schuman, Donna; Felderhoff, Brandi

2018-07-01

Using a social capital and social cohesion lens, we reposition the concept of civic engagement among older adults to examine pathways for building age-friendly communities. We analyzed data drawn from a Community-Based Participatory Research study in the Southern U.S. that explored lived experiences of older adults, age 55 and above, who participated in individual interviews (n = 15) and six focus group discussions (n = 45) to examine their perceptions of social identity, social connectedness, and civic engagement geared toward an age-friendly city. Findings indicated that several older adults had access to social networks and socially invested resources, thereby having opportunities for civic engagement and building age-friendly neighborhoods. However, social, cultural, linguistic, and structural barriers were more evident among certain diverse ethnic populations. Marginalized low-income minorities and immigrants, such as Hispanic participants, felt the lack of social cohesion among the larger society limited their ability to give back, thus decreasing their civic engagement activities. In contrast, Caucasian and African-American older adults were able to contribute to the political process through more civic participation activities. We provide implications for examining the role of social capital and social engagement to bolster civic engagement among older adults in building age-friendly communities.

Facilitating or hindering social cohesion? The impact of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

However, we show in this article that that the impact of the CWP is not always positive and that the CWP may in some cases result in tensions and contradictions that hinder social cohesion and even cause violence. If not implemented in a consultative participatory manner, the CWP may be a source of conflict rather than of ...

A social network analysis of social cohesion in a constructed pride: implications for ex situ reintroduction of the African lion (Panthera leo.

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Jackie Abell

Full Text Available Animal conservation practices include the grouping of captive related and unrelated individuals to form a social structure which is characteristic of that species in the wild. In response to the rapid decline of wild African lion (Panthera leo populations, an array of conservational strategies have been adopted. Ex situ reintroduction of the African lion requires the construction of socially cohesive pride structures prior to wild release. This pilot study adopted a social network theory approach to quantitatively assess a captive pride's social structure and the relationships between individuals within them. Group composition (who is present in a group and social interaction data (social licking, greeting, play was observed and recorded to assess social cohesion within a released semi-wild pride. UCINET and SOCPROG software was utilised to represent and analyse these social networks. Results indicate that the pride is socially cohesive, does not exhibit random associations, and the role of socially influential keystone individuals is important for maintaining social bondedness within a lion pride. These results are potentially informative for the structure of lion prides, in captivity and in the wild, and could have implications for captive and wild-founder reintroductions.

A social network analysis of social cohesion in a constructed pride: implications for ex situ reintroduction of the African lion (Panthera leo).

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Abell, Jackie; Kirzinger, Morgan W B; Gordon, Yvonne; Kirk, Jacqui; Kokeŝ, Rae; Lynas, Kirsty; Mandinyenya, Bob; Youldon, David

2013-01-01

Animal conservation practices include the grouping of captive related and unrelated individuals to form a social structure which is characteristic of that species in the wild. In response to the rapid decline of wild African lion (Panthera leo) populations, an array of conservational strategies have been adopted. Ex situ reintroduction of the African lion requires the construction of socially cohesive pride structures prior to wild release. This pilot study adopted a social network theory approach to quantitatively assess a captive pride's social structure and the relationships between individuals within them. Group composition (who is present in a group) and social interaction data (social licking, greeting, play) was observed and recorded to assess social cohesion within a released semi-wild pride. UCINET and SOCPROG software was utilised to represent and analyse these social networks. Results indicate that the pride is socially cohesive, does not exhibit random associations, and the role of socially influential keystone individuals is important for maintaining social bondedness within a lion pride. These results are potentially informative for the structure of lion prides, in captivity and in the wild, and could have implications for captive and wild-founder reintroductions.

Group cohesion and social support in exercise classes: results from a danish intervention study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ulla; Schmidt, Lone; Budtz-Jørgensen, Esben

2006-01-01

This study examines the formation of group cohesion and social support in exercise classes among former sedentary adults, participating in a Danish community-based intervention. Furthermore, the aim is to analyze the impact of this process on exercise activity among the participants. A multimethod...... approach was used, analyzing both survey data and 18 personal interviews collected among 87 participants who completed the intervention project. Analysis was performed according to the grounded theory method. The formation of group cohesion was conditioned by the social composition of the group......, the teaching ability by the instructors, and the activity by itself. The cohesive group was characterized by an attitude of mutual support toward exercise activities. This mutual support facilitated development of self-efficacy beliefs among the participants improving their mastery expectation regarding...

Social cohesion through football: a quasi-experimental mixed methods design to evaluate a complex health promotion program.

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Nathan, Sally; Bunde-Birouste, Anne; Evers, Clifton; Kemp, Lynn; MacKenzie, Julie; Henley, Robert

2010-10-05

Social isolation and disengagement fragments local communities. Evidence indicates that refugee families are highly vulnerable to social isolation in their countries of resettlement. Research to identify approaches to best address this is needed. Football United is a program that aims to foster social inclusion and cohesion in areas with high refugee settlement in New South Wales, Australia, through skills and leadership development, mentoring, and the creation of links with local community and corporate leaders and organisations. The Social Cohesion through Football study's broad goal is to examine the implementation of a complex health promotion program, and to analyse the processes involved in program implementation. The study will consider program impact on individual health and wellbeing, social inclusion and cohesion, as well as analyse how the program by necessity interacts and adapts to context during implementation, a concept we refer to as plasticity. The proposed study will be the first prospective cohort impact study to our knowledge to assess the impact of a comprehensive integrated program using football as a vehicle for fostering social inclusion and cohesion in communities with high refugee settlement. A quasi-experimental cohort study design with treatment partitioning involving four study sites. The study employs a 'dose response' model, comparing those with no involvement in the Football United program with those with lower or higher levels of participation. A range of qualitative and quantitative measures will be used in the study. Study participants' emotional well being, resilience, ethnic identity and other group orientation, feelings of social inclusion and belonging will be measured using a survey instrument complemented by relevant data drawn from in-depth interviews, self reporting measures and participant observation. The views of key informants from the program and the wider community will also be solicited. The complexity of the

Social cohesion through football: a quasi-experimental mixed methods design to evaluate a complex health promotion program

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Kemp Lynn

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Social isolation and disengagement fragments local communities. Evidence indicates that refugee families are highly vulnerable to social isolation in their countries of resettlement. Research to identify approaches to best address this is needed. Football United is a program that aims to foster social inclusion and cohesion in areas with high refugee settlement in New South Wales, Australia, through skills and leadership development, mentoring, and the creation of links with local community and corporate leaders and organisations. The Social Cohesion through Football study's broad goal is to examine the implementation of a complex health promotion program, and to analyse the processes involved in program implementation. The study will consider program impact on individual health and wellbeing, social inclusion and cohesion, as well as analyse how the program by necessity interacts and adapts to context during implementation, a concept we refer to as plasticity. The proposed study will be the first prospective cohort impact study to our knowledge to assess the impact of a comprehensive integrated program using football as a vehicle for fostering social inclusion and cohesion in communities with high refugee settlement. Methods/design A quasi-experimental cohort study design with treatment partitioning involving four study sites. The study employs a 'dose response' model, comparing those with no involvement in the Football United program with those with lower or higher levels of participation. A range of qualitative and quantitative measures will be used in the study. Study participants' emotional well being, resilience, ethnic identity and other group orientation, feelings of social inclusion and belonging will be measured using a survey instrument complemented by relevant data drawn from in-depth interviews, self reporting measures and participant observation. The views of key informants from the program and the wider community will

Social network cohesion in school classes promotes prosocial behavior.

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van den Bos, Wouter; Crone, Eveline A; Meuwese, Rosa; Güroğlu, Berna

2018-01-01

Adolescence is a key period of social development at the end of which individuals are expected to take on adult social roles. The school class, as the most salient peer group, becomes the prime environment that impacts social development during adolescence. Using social network analyses, we investigated how individual and group level features are related to prosocial behavior and social capital (generalized trust). We mapped the social networks within 22 classrooms of adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (N = 611), and collected data on social behaviors towards peers. Our results indicate that individuals with high centrality show both higher levels of prosocial behavior and relational aggression. Importantly, greater social cohesion in the classroom was associated with (1) reduced levels of antisocial behavior towards peers and (2) increased generalized trust. These results provide novel insights in the relationship between social structure and social behavior, and stress the importance of the school environment in the development of not only intellectual but also social capital.

Social network cohesion in school classes promotes prosocial behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Crone, Eveline A.; Meuwese, Rosa; Güroğlu, Berna

2018-01-01

Adolescence is a key period of social development at the end of which individuals are expected to take on adult social roles. The school class, as the most salient peer group, becomes the prime environment that impacts social development during adolescence. Using social network analyses, we investigated how individual and group level features are related to prosocial behavior and social capital (generalized trust). We mapped the social networks within 22 classrooms of adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (N = 611), and collected data on social behaviors towards peers. Our results indicate that individuals with high centrality show both higher levels of prosocial behavior and relational aggression. Importantly, greater social cohesion in the classroom was associated with (1) reduced levels of antisocial behavior towards peers and (2) increased generalized trust. These results provide novel insights in the relationship between social structure and social behavior, and stress the importance of the school environment in the development of not only intellectual but also social capital. PMID:29617405

Do Shared Values Promote Social Cohesion? If So, Which? Evidence From Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breidahl, Karen Nielsen; Holtug, Nils; Kongshøj, Kristian

2018-01-01

Social scientists and political theorists often claim that shared values are conducive to social cohesion, and trust and solidarity in particular. Furthermore, this idea is at the heart of what has been labeled the ‘national identity argument’, according to which religious and/or cultural diversity......, and on the other, trust and solidarity. First, we investigate in what ways commitments to these four sets of values are correlated to trust and solidarity at the individual level and, then, whether the belief that others share one’s values is correlated to these aspects of social cohesion for individuals committed...... for a number of socio-economic factors and ideology (on a left-right scale). Finally, individuals who believe that others share their values do not, in general, have higher levels of trust and solidarity. Rather, this belief works in different ways when associated with different sets of community values....

Validation of French and German versions of a Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire among young Swiss males, and its relationship with substance use.

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Dupuis, Marc; Studer, Joseph; Henchoz, Yves; Deline, Stéphane; Baggio, Stéphanie; N'Goran, Alexandra; Mohler-Kuo, Meichun; Gmel, Gerhard

2016-02-01

This study main purpose was the validation of both French and German versions of a Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire. The sample group comprised 5065 Swiss men from the "Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors." Multigroup Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a three-factor model fits the data well, which substantiates the generalizability of Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire factor structure, regardless of the language. The Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire demonstrated excellent homogeneity (α = 95) and split-half reliability (r = .96). The Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire was sensitive to community size and participants' financial situation, confirming that it also measures real social conditions. Finally, weak but frequent correlations between Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire and alcohol, cigarette, and cannabis dependence were measured. © The Author(s) 2014.

Impacts on the Social Cohesion of Mainland Spain’s Future Motorway and High-Speed Rail Networks

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José Manuel Naranjo Gómez

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A great expansion of the road and rail network is contemplated in the Infrastructure, Transport and Housing Plan (PITVI in Spanish, in order to achieve greater social cohesion in 2024 in Spain. For this reason, the aim of this study is to classify and to identify those municipalities that are going to improve or worsen their social cohesion. To achieve this goal, the municipalities were classified according to the degree of socioeconomic development, and their accessibility levels were determined before and after the construction of these infrastructures. Firstly, the socioeconomic classification demonstrates that there is predominance in the northern half of the peninsula in the most developed municipalities. Secondly, the accessibility levels show that the same center-peripheral models are going to be kept in the future. Finally, poorly-defined territorial patterns are obtained with respect to the positive or negative effects of new infrastructures on social cohesion. Therefore, it is possible to state that the construction plan is going to partially fulfill its aim, since a quarter of the population is going to be affected by a negative impact on socioeconomic development. As a consequence, people who live here are going to have major problems in achieving social cohesion.

Governmental Promotion of Social Cohesion and Its Effect on Local Civil Society Organisations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Semino, Stella Maris

2015-01-01

This article examines how social policy influences social cohesion within a London borough. The focus is on the degree to which civil society organisations facilitate the representation of migrants within the public sphere. The policies considered are those introduced by New Labour and the current...

Diversity and social cohesion : the case of Jane-Finch, a highly diverse lower-income Toronto neighbourhood

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Ahmadi, D.

2017-01-01

Diversity has increasingly emerged as the core focus of many studies concerning factors impacting on social cohesion. Various scholars have concluded that diversity is detrimental to cohesion. Most of this research, however, draws generalisations based upon quantitative data and fails to account

The holistic concepts of disaster management and social cohesion - statistics and method

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Gheorghe SĂVOIU

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The paper uses a multidisciplinary approach to underline the importance of some holistic concepts like social cohesion and human ecology, and also to assess environmental and economic specificity of these new ecological and social terms. The structure of the paper consists of an introduction describing the transition from mythological existence to the contemporary holistic view and four sections. While, the first section details the vital elements of the ecosphere in the new holistic sense, the second describes the holistic concept of human ecology, and the third details the significance, importance and impact of the contemporary management disasters and some global statistics. The last section summarize a statistical method known as the social cohesion evaluation, applied by the author in our country, during Romania’s admission period to EU, that in conjunction with holistic concept of human ecology represent new necessary analysis in this decade. Some final remarks underline the importance of a new approach in economics based on holistic principle and reciprocity.

Is social cohesion relevant to a city in the global South?

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

This article investigates the relevance of international framings of social cohesion and collective efficacy, which have largely ... an ethnographic study conducted in Khayelitsha township in the Western Cape, where a major internationally funded and conceptualised ... the global South? A case study of Khayelitsha township ...

From Cascade to Bottom-Up Ecosystem Services Model: How Does Social Cohesion Emerge from Urban Agriculture?

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Anna Petit-Boix

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Given the expansion of urban agriculture (UA, we need to understand how this system provides ecosystem services, including foundational societal needs such as social cohesion, i.e., people’s willingness to cooperate with one another. Although social cohesion in UA has been documented, there is no framework for its emergence and how it can be modeled within a sustainability framework. In this study, we address this literature gap by showing how the popular cascade ecosystem services model can be modified to include social structures. We then transform the cascade model into a bottom-up causal framework for UA. In this bottom-up framework, basic biophysical (e.g., land availability and social (e.g., leadership ecosystem structures and processes lead to human activities (e.g., learning that can foster specific human attitudes and feelings (e.g., trust. These attitudes and feelings, when aggregated (e.g., social network, generate an ecosystem value of social cohesion. These cause-effect relationships can support the development of causality pathways in social life cycle assessment (S-LCA and further our understanding of the mechanisms behind social impacts and benefits. The framework also supports UA studies by showing the sustainability of UA as an emergent food supplier in cities.

The Roles of Perceived Neighborhood Disorganization, Social Cohesion, and Social Control in Urban Thai Adolescents' Substance Use and Delinquency

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Byrnes, Hilary F.; Miller, Brenda A.; Chamratrithirong, Aphichat; Rhucharoenpornpanich, Orratai; Cupp, Pamela K.; Atwood, Katharine A.; Fongkaew, Warunee; Rosati, Michael J.; Chookhare, Warunee

2013-01-01

Substance use and delinquency in Thai adolescents are growing public health concerns. Research has linked neighborhood characteristics to these outcomes, with explanations focused on neighborhood disorganization, social cohesion, and social control. This study examines the independent associations of these neighborhood constructs with Thai…

Emotional Intelligence, Communication Competence, and Student Perceptions of Team Social Cohesion

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Troth, Ashlea C.; Jordan, Peter J.; Lawrence, Sandra A.

2012-01-01

Students generally report poor experiences of group work in university settings. This study examines whether individual student perceptions of team social cohesion are determined by their level of emotional intelligence (EI) and whether this relationship is mediated by their communication skills. Business students (N = 273) completed the 16-item…

Teachers as Agents of Sustainable Peace, Social Cohesion and Development: Theory, Practice & Evidence

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Novelli, Mario; Sayed, Yusuf

2016-01-01

This paper presents a "peace with social justice" framework for analysing the role of teachers as agents of sustainable peace, social cohesion and development and applies this to research evidence from Pakistan, Uganda, Myanmar and South Africa. The paper draws on evidence from a recently completed UNICEF and ESRC funded project on…

Stress of home life and gender role socializations, family cohesion, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

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Anyan, Frederick; Hjemdal, Odin

2017-04-05

This cross-sectional study investigated the relation of sociocultural prescriptions of gender role socializations to differences in stress at home and to anxiety and depressive symptoms for adolescent girls and boys, with family cohesion as a mediator. A total of 244 boys and 285 girls aged 13-17 years recruited from Accra, Ghana completed the Short Mood Feeling Questionnaire, Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory, Stress of Home Life and Family Cohesion self-report scales in April 2015. In each sample, two mediation analyses were conducted using Structural Equation Modelling. Exposure to stress at home that was perceived to result from sociocultural prescriptions of gender role norms largely accounted for anxiety and depressive symptoms among girls, whereas this relation was non-significant among boys. Significant indirect relations through low family cohesion to anxiety symptoms were observed for girls and boys but not to depressive symptoms for boys. These findings suggest that differences in gender role socializations at home may account for individual differences in associations between exposure to stress at home and anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as explain the differential indirect relations through low family cohesion. Improving family cohesion while reducing stress at home may contribute to reducing stress and thus anxiety and depressive symptoms.

EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL COHESION ATTEMPTS IN LEBANON: REFLECTIONS ON THE 1994 AND 2010 EDUCATION REFORMS

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Maha Shuayb

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Following the end of the Lebanese civil war, education was put forward as a major means for rebuilding Lebanon and promoting social cohesion and unity. A huge education development plan was launched in 1994 culminating in a new national curriculum in 1997 and the production of new textbooks.  Although the quality of education improved in public schools, dropout rates continued to be high, particularly amongst the most disadvantaged groups. As education inequality soared, a new education reform strategy was launched in 2010. This paper investigates how social cohesion has been tackled in the two reforms (1994 and 2010. In defining social cohesion, the study adopts Nancy Fraser’s framework of social justice which includes redistribution, recognition, and participation. In addition, Novelli, Lopes Cardozo and Smith’s (2014 fourth component of social justice ‘reconciliation’ is added to the analytical framework. Findings revealed an emphasis on distributive justice by widening access to education including during early years and tackling causes of dropout, specifically in the 2010 reform. Reconciliation, in particular nationalism and promoting one narrative of the past, is given a major priority. Conflict is reduced to religious intolerance while structured barriers to social justice, including the use of languages that are considered foreign as mediums of instruction, the marginalisation of disadvantaged groups, a lack of participation, and sectarian nepotism, were downplayed. Critical reflections on the past has been suppressed in favour of building a national memory.  

Developing Indicators of Territorial Cohesion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gallina, Andrea; Farrugia, Nadia

setting. The concept of territorial cohesion attaches importance to the diversity of the European territory which is seen as a key competitive advantage, the preservation of the European social model, and the ability of the citizens of Europe's nations and regions to be able to continue to live within...... (EU). The objective of territorial cohesion, which builds on the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP), is to help achieve a more balanced development by reducing existing disparities, avoiding territorial imbalances and by making sectoral policies, which have a spatial impact and regional...... policy more coherent. It also aims to improve territorial integration and encourage cooperation between regions. Territorial cohesion complements the notions of economic and social cohesion by translating the fundamental EU goal of a balanced competitiveness and sustainable development into a territorial...

Estimation method of the cohesion degree for the users’ profiles of social network based on open data

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Valentina A. Kataeva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of research was to study the existing methods of determining the degree of cohesion of two users of social network, identifying their shortcomings and developing a new method. The research identified shortcomings of existing methods and proposed a new method for assessing the degree of cohesion of social network profiles based on open data from a social network. Under the degree of cohesion of users’ profiles is understood the probability of communication (interaction of profile owners in real life, it is calculated for two users of the social network and expressed in percent. The work of the method is demonstrated on the example of the social network “In contact”. This method includes the sequence of the following stages: the first stage is data collection about users of the social network with API and the formation of tuples of users’ profile characteristics. A tuple of characteristics of social network profiles is the data, collected for each user, stored in a structured form.The next step is the analysis of the collected information. For each characteristic of the tuple of profiles, i.e. the possible element of interaction of users in the social network, the coefficient of cohesion by the characteristic is calculated. In addition, for each feature, its informativeness is calculated, i.e. how important is this or that feature in this social network. At the final stage, the results are generated, using the formula for the probability of communication between two users, derived during the investigation. Obtained as a result of the application of the method, the probability of communication between two users can be used to optimize the activities of the operative-search services and special bodies.In addition, the received degree of cohesion of two users can be interpreted as the probability of a channel of information leakage between them. The role of the user of the method can be any private or state organization that cares

The Importance of Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Social Capital for the Well Being of Older Adults in the Community

Science.gov (United States)

Cramm, Jane M.; van Dijk, Hanna M.; Nieboer, Anna P.

2013-01-01

Purpose of the Study: We aimed to investigate whether social capital (obtaining support through indirect ties such as from neighbors) and social cohesion (interdependencies among neighbors) within neighborhoods positively affect the well being of older adults. Design and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 945 of 1,440 (66% response rate)…

Crime, fear and continuous traumatic stress in South Africa: What place social cohesion?

OpenAIRE

Eagle, Gillian

2015-01-01

International literature on crime and violence suggests that social cohesion may play a key role in facilitating prevention at community level. It is argued that in South Africa high levels of crime entailing interpersonal violation not only reflect ruptures in the social fabric but also contribute to social disorganization. In exploring the traumatic impact of exposure to fairly pervasive criminality via the constructs of Fear of Crime (FoC) and Continuous Traumatic Stress the article explor...

TEACHER GOVERNANCE REFORMS AND SOCIAL COHESION IN SOUTH AFRICA: FROM INTENTION TO REALITY

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Thomas Salmon

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The governance of teachers during apartheid in South Africa was characterised by high levels of disparity in teacher distribution and in conditions of labour. In the post-apartheid context policies and interventions that govern teachers are critical, and teachers can be seen to be placed in a central role as actors whose distribution, employment, recruitment and deployment can serve to redress the past, promote equity and build trust for social cohesion. In this context, this paper examines several teacher governance mechanisms and interventions, namely the post provisioning norm and standards (PPNs, the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme (FLBP, and the South African Council of Educators. The analysis suggests that undifferentiated policy frameworks for teacher governance result in measures that weakly account for differing contextual realities and persistent inequality. Additionally, the emphasis on technocratic measures of accountability in teacher governance interventions constrains teachers’ agency to promote peace and social cohesion.

University Teaching and Social Cohesion in the Age of AIDS: A South African Case Study

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Lesko, Nancy

2007-01-01

In the context of ongoing social divisions, lack of coherent leadership by government, and even divisiveness over medical advances and public health mandates, how might universities respond? What university actions can support "social cohesion" in a society splintered by class, race, gender, colonial legacies, the history of apartheid,…

Linking Social Cohesion and Gender to Intrapersonal and Interactional Empowerment: Support and New Implications for Theory

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Peterson, N. Andrew; Lowe, John B.; Aquilino, Mary L.; Schneider, John E.

2005-01-01

Empowerment is a social-action process through which people gain greater control, efficacy, and social justice. One way to develop empowerment is through active, meaningful participation in community groups and activities. Social cohesion is an emerging construct that expands the notion of community participation to include elements such as shared…

Social Isolation and Social Cohesion: The Effects of K-12 Neighborhood and School Segregation on Intergroup Orientations

Science.gov (United States)

Braddock, Jomills Henry, II; Gonzalez, Amaryllis Del Carmen

2010-01-01

Background/Context: The United States is becoming increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, and increasingly racially isolated across race-ethnic boundaries. Researchers have argued that both diversity and racial isolation serve to undermine the social cohesion needed to bind American citizens to one another and to society at large. Focus of…

Social cohesion and civil law: marriage, divorce and religious courts

OpenAIRE

Douglas, Gillian; Doe, Christopher Norman; Gilliat-Ray, Sophie; Sandberg, Russell; Khan, Asma

2011-01-01

This Cardiff University study of religious courts and tribunals across the UK has been funded by the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. The project, „Social Cohesion and Civil Law: Marriage, Divorce and Religious Courts‟, explores how religious law functions alongside civil law in England and Wales.\\ud The context, though not the catalyst, for our study, is the lecture given by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2008 on the relationship between religious law - primarily though not exclusi...

On the emergence of an ‘intention field’ for socially cohesive agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouchaud, Jean-Philippe; Borghesi, Christian; Jensen, Pablo

2014-01-01

We argue that when a social convergence mechanism exists and is strong enough, one should expect the emergence of a well-defined ‘field’, i.e. a slowly evolving, local quantity around which individual attributes fluctuate in a finite range. This condensation phenomenon is well illustrated by the Deffuant–Weisbuch opinion model for which we provide a natural extension to allow for spatial heterogeneities. We show analytically and numerically that the resulting dynamics of the emergent field is a noisy diffusion equation that has a slow dynamics. This random diffusion equation reproduces the long-ranged, logarithmic decrease of the correlation of spatial voting patterns empirically found in Borghesi and Bouchaud (2010 Eur. Phys. J. B 75 395) and Borghesi et al (2012 PLoS One 7 e36289). Interestingly enough, we find that when the social cohesion mechanism becomes too weak, cultural cohesion breaks down completely, in the sense that the distribution of intentions/opinions becomes infinitely broad. No emerging field exists in this case. All these analytical findings are confirmed by numerical simulations of an agent-based model. (paper)

Neighborhood Characteristics and Individual Homicide Risks : Effects of Social Cohesion, Confidence in the Police, and Socioeconomic Disadvantage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwbeerta, Paul; McCall, Patricia L.; Elffers, Henk; Wittebrood, Karin

2008-01-01

This study tests hypotheses on the relationship between characteristics of neighborhoods in the Netherlands—their socioeconomic disadvantage, social cohesion, and residents’ confidence in the police—and the likelihood of homicide victimization. These hypotheses are derived from social

Spatializing Open Data for the Assessment and the Improvement of Territorial and Social Cohesion

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Scorza, F.; Las Casas, G. B.; Murgante, B.

2016-09-01

An integrated place-based approach for the improvement of territorial and social cohesion is the new instance for planning disciplines, coming from EU New Cohesion Policies. This paper considers the territorial impact assessment of regional development policies as a precondition in order to develop balanced and effective operative programs at national and regional levels. The contribution of `open data' appears to be mature in order to support this application and in this paper we present a spatial analysis technique for the evaluation of EU funds effects at territorial level, starting from open data by Open Cohesion. The application is focused on internal areas of Basilicata Region: Agri river Valley. A complex contest, where environmental and agricultural traditional vocations conflict with a recent development of oil extraction industries. Conclusions concern further applications and perspectives to improve and support regional development planning considering the exploitation of open data sources and spatial analysis.

Cohesion and the Social Construction of Meaning in the Essays of Filipino College Students Writing in L2 English

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Castro, Carolyn D.

2004-01-01

This study compares the degree of cohesion and coherence in the essays written by thirty Filipino college freshmen and analyzes how the social construction of meaning was made evident in their writing. Results showed that low, mid and highly rated essays were comparable in grammatical cohesive device use. Lexical repetition and use of synonyms…

Towards a Cohesive Theory of Cohesion

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Janet McLeod

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Conventional wisdom suggests that group cohesion is strongly related to performance. This may be based on the notion that better cohesion leads to the sharing of group goals. However, empirical and meta-analytic studies have been unable to consistently demonstrate a relationship between cohesion and performance. Partially, this problem could be attributed to the disagreement on the precise definition of cohesion and its components. Further, when the cohesion construct is evaluated under Cohen’s Cumulative Research Program (CRP, it is surprisingly found to belong to the category of early-to-intermediate stage of theory development. Therefore, a thorough re-examination of the cohesion construct is essential to advance our understanding of the cohesion-productivity relationship. We propose a qualitative approach because it will help establish the definitions, enable us to better test our theories about cohesion and its moderators, and provide insights into how best to enlist cohesion to improve team performance.

Social cohesion and sustainable development. Five case studies for an EU perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chabason, Lucien; Chancel, Lucas; Demailly, Damien; Senit, Carole-Anne; Saujot, Mathieu; Treyer, Sebastien

2015-01-01

The first three 'case studies' - on energy poverty, green taxation and biodiversity protection - highlight the opportunities and challenges of environmental policies for social cohesion. Whereas policy makers may have a tendency to address energy poverty by trying to keep energy prices as low as possible, locking them into unsustainable situations, the first case study shows how countries like France are now changing their strategy and implementing energy renovation programs or 'smart' compensation schemes for poorer households. The second case study shows that green taxation is confronted in the EU with strong political resistance in the name of social cohesion, but that if coupled with a reduction in other fiscal measures or with appropriate compensation schemes, it can be progressive and politically acceptable. Similarly, maintaining biodiversity conservation policies while taking into account their re-distributive impacts has become a major issue in industrialised and developing countries, and has led to policy innovation and experimentation. From the case studies, it becomes clear that there is room for a 'social ecology' strategy, in order to achieve both social and environmental objectives, if policy makers appropriately combine: - Environmental policies such as green taxation or regulatory measures for energy renovation in housing that put the EU economy on a long-term transition pathway; - Social policies such as compensation schemes that deal with the short-term social impacts of environmental policies; - Policies that combine environmental and social concerns such as housing programs directed towards the most vulnerable households. But implementing such a strategy implies a better knowledge of individual lifestyles and consumption patterns, how these are distributed among income and social groups, what are their specific environmental impacts and the extent to which they imply a form of dependency to scarce resources for

Language-in-Education Policies, Immigration and Social Cohesion in Catalonia: The Case of Vic

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Edwards, Catrin Wyn

2016-01-01

This paper analyses the language-in-education policies implemented to integrate international immigrants into the Catalan language community in Vic, Catalonia. It focuses on the Catalan Government's "Languages and Social Cohesion Plan" (LIC) plan, Vic city council's local education plans, which were adopted as part of LIC plan, and the…

Contribution of the EU Budget to the Implementation of the Social Cohesion Policy of the European Union

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Katarzyna Stabryła-Chudzio

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of the present study is to examine whether the European Union budget comprises significant resources for financing measures relating to social cohesion. The analysis is based on the contents of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Given the constraints of space and for the sake of clarity of the argument, the author focuses on the role of the EU budget rather than all measures aimed at social cohesion undertaken by EU institutions or targeted by policies of individual Member States.Methodology: Documents, studies and reports published by the European Commission constitute the main source of information. In addition, the author has taken into account macroeconomic data demonstrating the deterioration of the social situation since 2009, as well as the instruments that the European Commission has deployed since 2013 in order to respond to post-crisis challenges.Conclusions: It can be roughly estimated that more than 40 percent of total resources within the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014–2020 shall be allocated to the social cohesion policy. Opportunities afforded by the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy include primarily the definition of objectives whose priority is indisputable and the introduction of the hitherto neglected analysis of certain socio-economic indicators, classified by country or region and, in certain cases, examined in more detail than required by the European Commission. The monitoring of objectives is conducive to the introduction of new solutions and implementation tools, as exemplified by the new instruments within the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014–2020, as well as the adjustment of available funds in light of the most pressing challenges. The European Semester has facilitated the task of comparing progress in strategy implementation by individual Member States, as well as the provision of recommendations for each of them and an individualized approach.Research implications: This article

The association between neighborhood disorder, social cohesion and hazardous alcohol use: A national multilevel study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuipers, M.A.; van Poppel, M.N.M.; van den Brink, W.; Wingen, M.; Kunst, A.E.

2012-01-01

Background: Evidence on associations of alcohol use with neighborhood disorder and social cohesion is limited. The aim of this study was to further investigate these associations. Methods: Individual data of 14,258 Dutch adults, living in 1546 neighborhoods across the Netherlands, were obtained from

TEACHERS AS AGENTS OF CHANGE: PROMOTING PEACEBUILDING AND SOCIAL COHESION IN SCHOOLS IN RWANDA

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Jolly Rubagiza

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Education is seen to play a crucial role in the reconstruction of post-conflict countries, particularly in transforming people’s mindsets and rebuilding social relations. In this regard, teachers are often perceived as key agents to bring about this transformative change through their role as agents of peace. This paper seeks to understand how teachers are positioned to promote peacebuilding and social cohesion in Rwandan schools in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The paper draws on data collected for an on-going broader study researching the role of teachers in peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts of Rwanda and South Africa. The methods used for data collection were semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussions, questionnaires and classroom observations. Theoretically the paper is informed by the broader research framework on sustainable peacebuilding in post-conflict situations, using the four dimensions of recognition, redistribution, representation and reconciliation (4Rs. The findings show that the policy environment is conducive to peacebuilding and recognises the important role of teachers and education in general, in the social, political and economic reconstruction of post-genocide Rwanda. However, there are a number of inter-related factors that pertain to teachers’ professional development, teacher management and the school environment that pose challenges to sustainable peacebuilding and social cohesion.

Moderating Effects of Group Status, Cohesion, and Ethnic Composition on Socialization of Aggression in Children's Peer Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Bing; Xie, Hongling

2014-01-01

We explored the effects of 3 group features (i.e., status, cohesion, and ethnic composition) on socialization processes of aggression in early adolescents' natural peer social groups. Gender differences in these effects were also determined. A total of 245 seventh-grade individuals belonging to 65 peer groups were included in the analyses. All 3…

Estimating cohesion in small groups using audio-visual nonverbal behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hung, H.; Gatica-Perez, D.

2010-01-01

Cohesiveness in teams is an essential part of ensuring the smooth running of task-oriented groups. Research in social psychology and management has shown that good cohesion in groups can be correlated with team effectiveness or productivity, so automatically estimating group cohesion for team

The paradox of the modern mass media: probably the major source of social cohesion in liberal democracies, even though its content is often socially divisive.

Science.gov (United States)

Charlton, Bruce G

2006-01-01

The modern mass media (MM) is often regarded a mixture between a trivial waste of time and resources, and a dangerously subversive system tending to promote social division and community breakdown. But these negative evaluations are difficult to square with the fact that those countries with the largest mass media include the most modernized and powerful nations. It seems more plausible that the MM is serving some useful - perhaps vital - function. I suggest that modern mass media function as the main source of social cohesion in liberal democracies. The paradox is that this cohesive function is sustained in a context of frequently divisive media content. This media function evolved because modern MM produce an excess of media communications in a context of consumer choice which generates competition for public attention both within- and between-media. Competition has led the media to become increasingly specialized at gaining and retaining public attention. Social cohesion is the consequence of the mass media continually drawing public attention to itself, and to the extremely large, internally complex and interconnected nature of the MM system. The means by which attention is attracted are almost arbitrary, encompassing both novelty and familiarity and evoking a wide range of emotions both positive and negative. Driven to seek competitive advantage, modern mass media produce a wide range of material to cater to a vast range of interests; thereby engaging a great variety of individuals and social groupings. The consequence is that media content is typically self-contradictory and includes content which is offensive and potentially divisive; since what grabs the interest of some may offend or repel others. For instance, young men must be socially engaged, since they are potentially the most violent social group, yet the interests of young men include material that the majority of the population would find excessively aggressive, disrespectful, subversive or sexual

Older adults' quality of life - Exploring the role of the built environment and social cohesion in community-dwelling seniors on low income.

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, L; Chudyk, A M; Ashe, M C; McKay, H A; Whitehurst, D G T; Bryan, S

2016-09-01

The built environment and social cohesion are increasingly recognized as being associated with older adults' quality of life (QoL). However, limited research in this area still exists and the relationship has remained unexplored in the area of Metro Vancouver, Canada. This study examined the association between the built environment and social cohesion with QoL of 160 community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥ 65 years) on low income from Metro Vancouver. Cross-sectional data acquired from the Walk the Talk (WTT) study were used. Health-related QoL (HRQoL) and capability wellbeing were assessed using the EQ-5D-5L and the ICECAP-O, respectively. Measures of the environment comprised the NEWS-A (perceived built environment measure), the Street Smart Walk Score (objective built environment measure), and the SC-5PT (a measure of social cohesion). The primary analysis consists of Tobit regression models to explore the associations between environmental features and HRQoL as well as capability wellbeing. Key findings indicate that after adjusting for covariates, older adults' capability wellbeing was associated with street connectivity and social cohesion, while no statistically significant associations were found between environmental factors and HRQoL. Our results should be considered as hypothesis-generating and need confirmation in a larger longitudinal study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Social Capital in terms of Participation, Knowledge, Trust, and Social Cohesion: Zahedan Case Study

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Maryam Karimian Bostani

2017-02-01

Full Text Available It is anticipated that the urban population in developing countries increases more than double from 2000 to 2030. This rapid population transformation to cities will be difficult. Therefore, the municipal administration will be involved in numerous challenges in cities. For this purpose, social capital as a bottom-up planning is one of the appropriate ways of management and dealing with these challenges. The aim of this study was to measure the social capital in four aspects of knowledge, participation, social cohesion, and trust in Zahedan. The research method of this research is descriptive-analytic in an applied type. Library studies and surveying (questionnaire were used to collect the required data. The questions in this survey were designed based on four indicators of social capital. The statistical population of the present study is 575,116 people residing in Zahedan in 2011. One sample T- test was used for calculations. The results of the analysis show that the social capital criteria in the city of Zahedan are undesirable in all four criteria.

Britishness and Community Cohesion in Muslim News Online

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Hassen ZRIBA

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The issues of British national identity and social cohesion have become pressing concerns within the multicultural fabric of contemporary British society. The increasing number of immigrants and their offspring, along with the maintenance of their cultural roots, seem to represent a serious defiance to social cohesion and the alleged “purity” of Britishness. A number of race related reports were produced by the official authorities to churn out the necessary steps to be followed by the British (immigrants and host community in order to keep social stability and community cohesion. Thus, the politics of community cohesion came to the fore as the neologism of contemporary British political discourse. Such new discourse of governance has been digested and processed differently by different mass media. It has been decoded, for instance, preferably by mainstream news agencies like BBC News Online. However, arguably, it is read appositionally or at best negotiatedly by ethnicity-related news agencies such as Muslim News Online. In this article, attempt has been made to adopt media discourse analysis tools to decipher the ways Muslim News Online decoded and then encoded the hegemonic official discourses of Britishness and community cohesion. A critical and interpretative approach is used to accomplish such study. The corpus of this study is primarily extracted from the website of the Muslim News Online.

Cohesive Neighborhoods Where Social Expectations Are Shared May Have Positive Impact On Adolescent Mental Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, Louis; McLanahan, Sara; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Garfinkel, Irwin; Wagner, Brandon G; Jacobsen, Wade C; Gold, Sarah; Gaydosh, Lauren

2016-11-01

Adolescent mental health problems are associated with poor health and well-being in adulthood. We used data from a cohort of 2,264 children born in large US cities in 1998-2000 to examine whether neighborhood collective efficacy (a combination of social cohesion and control) is associated with improvements in adolescent mental health. We found that children who grew up in neighborhoods with high collective efficacy experienced fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms during adolescence than similar children from neighborhoods with low collective efficacy. The magnitude of this neighborhood effect is comparable to the protective effects of depression prevention programs aimed at general or at-risk adolescent populations. Our findings did not vary by family or neighborhood income, which indicates that neighborhood collective efficacy supports adolescent mental health across diverse populations and urban settings. We recommend a greater emphasis on neighborhood environments in individual mental health risk assessments and greater investment in community-based initiatives that strengthen neighborhood social cohesion and control. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Coaches' Perceptions of Team Cohesion in Paralympic Sports.

Science.gov (United States)

Falcão, William R; Bloom, Gordon A; Loughead, Todd M

2015-07-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate Paralympic coaches' perceptions of team cohesion. Seven head coaches of summer and winter Canadian Paralympic sport teams participated in the study. Four participants coached individual sports and 3 coached team sports. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results addressed the coaches' perceptions of cohesion in the Paralympic sport setting and strategies used to foster cohesion with their teams. Participants described using techniques and strategies for enhancing cohesion that were similar to those in nondisability sport, such as task-related activities, goal setting, and regularly communicating with their athletes. They also listed how cohesion was distinct to the Paralympic setting, such as the importance of interpersonal activities to build social cohesion. The implications of these results for coaching athletes with a disability are also presented.

Education for Social Cohesion Attempts in Lebanon: Reflections on the 1994 and 2010 Education Reforms

Science.gov (United States)

Shuayb, Maha

2016-01-01

Following the end of the Lebanese civil war, education was put forward as a major means for rebuilding Lebanon and promoting social cohesion and unity. A huge education development plan was launched in 1994 culminating in a new national curriculum in 1997 and the production of new textbooks. Although the quality of education improved in public…

Regional Disparities and Social Cohesion Policies. The Case of the Metropolitan Area of Bari (Italy

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ROSALINA GRUMO

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The role of Regions appears reconfigured by the "reshaping" of national States. Besides, under a sub-regional scale, forms of governance have been launched, redefining a new territoriality. In Italy, the role of the Regions and Cities is more and more important in the decision-making processes of the territories and it is also characterized by the recent establishment of the metropolitan cities, but still not geo-politically defined. There is, in fact, a constitutional reform process through the region's reorganization legislative autonomy and strengthening of local governments. In this context, some areas are characterized by social unrest that includes new forms of poverty, urban malaise and marginalization, due also to the financial and economic crisis whose signs of recovery are still very weak. In the European Union, the programming decisions considered the policy of development and cohesion also at the local scale. The 2014-2020 EU programming cycle, in fact, has defined the main role of metropolitan cities, but also of cities and internal areas. The contribution will analyze Puglia, region of southern Italy, and the metropolitan area of Bari, the regional capital, in order to verify policies concerning the social field, both through "strategic planning" and launching the so-called "smart city" experience. In the metropolitan city, indeed, there is already an orientation towards the "social innovation" to address the issues of social cohesion and inclusion, consistent to sustainable development.

Can competing diversity indices inform us about why ethnic diversity erodes social cohesion? A test of five diversity indices in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaeffer, Merlin

2013-05-01

An ever-growing number of studies investigates the relation between ethnic diversity and social cohesion, but these studies have produced mixed results. In cross-national research, some scholars have recently started to investigate more refined and informative indices of ethnic diversity than the commonly used Hirschman-Herfindahl Index. These refined indices allow to test competing theoretical explanations of why ethnic diversity is associated with declines in social cohesion. This study assesses the applicability of this approach for sub-national analyses. Generally, the results confirm a negative association between social cohesion and ethnic diversity. However, the competing indices are empirically indistinguishable and thus insufficient to test different theories against one another. Follow-up simulations suggest the general conclusion that the competing indices are meaningful operationalizations only if a sample includes: (1) contextual units with small and contextual units with large minority shares, as well as (2) contextual units with diverse and contextual units with polarized ethnic compositions. The results are thus instructive to all researchers who wish to apply different diversity indices and thereby test competing theories. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE PROJECT “SKOPJE 2014”: BETWEEN SOCIAL COHESION AND SOCIAL DISINTEGRATION

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Loreta Georgievska-Jakovleva

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper we shall posit that the "Skopje 2014" Project, proposed and realized by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, is one form of reaction to the efforts made to dispute the Macedonian identity and as such has direct effect on Macedonia's strategic goal to join EU and NATO as an equal member. In a situation of “threatened identity”, the Project aims, through “collecti-on of memory” and its spatial integration, to recreate Macedonian identity through the construction of a nar-rative about its continuity from antiquity to the present day. The strategies for “a top down”implementation of the“politics of memory” is to promote the idea of the “glorious and heroic past” of the Macedonian nation. Ha-ving in mind that the Project is being implemented in the very centre of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Ma-cedonia, its realisation concerns not only the local popu-lation but the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia in general. Havin in mind that the Project very controver-sial reception goal of research is to define the issues that make this so provocative and, by that, atttempt to answer the question if the “Skopje 2014” Project contributes to social cohesion or social disintegration.

Network cohesion

OpenAIRE

Cavalcanti, Tiago Vanderlei; Giannitsarou, Chrysi; Johnson, CR

2017-01-01

We define a measure of network cohesion and show how it arises naturally in a broad class of dynamic models of endogenous perpetual growth with network externalities. Via a standard growth model, we show why network cohesion is crucial for conditional convergence and explain that as cohesion increases, convergence is faster. We prove properties of network cohesion and define a network aggregator that preserves network cohesion.

A retrospective study on changes in residents' physical activities, social interactions, and neighborhood cohesion after moving to a walkable community.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xuemei; Yu, Chia-Yuan; Lee, Chanam; Lu, Zhipeng; Mann, George

2014-12-01

This study is to examine changes in residents' physical activities, social interactions, and neighborhood cohesion after they moved to a walkable community in Austin, Texas. Retrospective surveys (N=449) were administered in 2013-2014 to collect pre- and post-move data about the outcome variables and relevant personal, social, and physical environmental factors. Walkability of each resident's pre-move community was measured using the Walk Score. T tests were used to examine the pre-post move differences in the outcomes in the whole sample and across sub-groups with different physical activity levels, neighborhood conditions, and neighborhood preferences before the move. After the move, total physical activity increased significantly in the whole sample and all sub-groups except those who were previously sufficiently active; lived in communities with high walkability, social interactions, or neighborhood cohesion; or had moderate preference for walkable neighborhoods. Walking in the community increased in the whole sample and all subgroups except those who were previously sufficiently active, moved from high-walkability communities, or had little to no preference for walkable neighborhoods. Social interactions and neighborhood cohesion increased significantly after the move in the whole sample and all sub-groups. This study explored potential health benefits of a walkable community in promoting physically and socially active lifestyles, especially for populations at higher risk of obesity. The initial result is promising, suggesting the need for more work to further examine the relationships between health and community design using pre-post assessments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Music listening in families and peer groups: benefits for young people's social cohesion and emotional well-being across four cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Boer, Diana; Abubakar, Amina

2014-01-01

Families are central to the social and emotional development of youth, and most families engage in musical activities together, such as listening to music or talking about their favorite songs. However, empirical evidence of the positive effects of musical family rituals on social cohesion and emotional well-being is scarce. Furthermore, the role of culture in the shaping of musical family rituals and their psychological benefits has been neglected entirely. This paper investigates musical rituals in families and in peer groups (as an important secondary socialization context) in two traditional/collectivistic and two secular/individualistic cultures, and across two developmental stages (adolescence vs. young adulthood). Based on cross-sectional data from 760 young people in Kenya, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Germany, our study revealed that across cultures music listening in families and in peer groups contributes to family and peer cohesion, respectively. Furthermore, the direct contribution of music in peer groups on well-being appears across cultural contexts, whereas musical family rituals affect emotional well-being in more traditional/collectivistic contexts. Developmental analyses show that musical family rituals are consistently and strongly related to family cohesion across developmental stages, whereas musical rituals in peer groups appear more dependent on the developmental stage (in interaction with culture). Contributing to developmental as well as cross-cultural psychology, this research elucidated musical rituals and their positive effects on the emotional and social development of young people across cultures. The implications for future research and family interventions are discussed.

Cohesion in a Multinational Coalition Center

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schaab, Brooke

2007-01-01

.... All of the remaining nine items fell within the agree-to-strongly agree area. On interpersonal cohesion, highest agreement was found on items addressing the importance of liking and socializing with team members...

Music listening in families and peer groups: Benefits for young people's social cohesion and emotional well-being across four cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana eBoer

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Families are central to the social and emotional development of youth, and most families engage in musical activities together, such as listening to music or talking about their favorite songs. However, empirical evidence of the positive effects of musical family rituals on social cohesion and emotional well-being is scarce. Furthermore, the role of culture in the shaping of musical family rituals and their psychological benefits has been neglected entirely. This paper investigates musical rituals in families and in peer groups (as an important secondary socialization context in two traditional/collectivistic and two secular/individualistic cultures, and across two developmental stages (adolescence vs. young adulthood. Based on cross-sectional data from 760 young people in Kenya, the Philippines, New Zealand and Germany, our study revealed that across cultures music listening in families and in peer groups contributes to family and peer cohesion respectively. Furthermore, the direct contribution of music in peer groups on well-being appears across cultural contexts, whereas musical family rituals affect emotional well-being in more traditional/collectivistic contexts. Developmental analyses show that musical family rituals are consistently and strongly related to family cohesion across developmental stages, whereas musical rituals in peer groups appear more dependent on the developmental stage (in interaction with culture. Contributing to developmental as well as cross-cultural psychology, this research elucidated musical rituals and their positive effects on the emotional and social development of young people across cultures. The implications for future research and family interventions are discussed.

Music listening in families and peer groups: benefits for young people's social cohesion and emotional well-being across four cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Boer, Diana; Abubakar, Amina

2014-01-01

Families are central to the social and emotional development of youth, and most families engage in musical activities together, such as listening to music or talking about their favorite songs. However, empirical evidence of the positive effects of musical family rituals on social cohesion and emotional well-being is scarce. Furthermore, the role of culture in the shaping of musical family rituals and their psychological benefits has been neglected entirely. This paper investigates musical rituals in families and in peer groups (as an important secondary socialization context) in two traditional/collectivistic and two secular/individualistic cultures, and across two developmental stages (adolescence vs. young adulthood). Based on cross-sectional data from 760 young people in Kenya, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Germany, our study revealed that across cultures music listening in families and in peer groups contributes to family and peer cohesion, respectively. Furthermore, the direct contribution of music in peer groups on well-being appears across cultural contexts, whereas musical family rituals affect emotional well-being in more traditional/collectivistic contexts. Developmental analyses show that musical family rituals are consistently and strongly related to family cohesion across developmental stages, whereas musical rituals in peer groups appear more dependent on the developmental stage (in interaction with culture). Contributing to developmental as well as cross-cultural psychology, this research elucidated musical rituals and their positive effects on the emotional and social development of young people across cultures. The implications for future research and family interventions are discussed. PMID:24847296

Barossa Night: cohesion in the British Army officer corps.

Science.gov (United States)

Bury, Patrick

2017-06-01

Contrasting the classical explanation of military group cohesion as sustained by interpersonal bonds, recent scholars have highlighted the importance of ritualized communication, training and drills in explaining effective military performance in professional armies. While this has offered a welcome addition to the cohesion literature and a novel micro-sociological method of examining cohesion, its primary evidential base has been combat groups. Indeed, despite their prominent role in directing operations over the past decade, the British Army's officer corps has received relatively little attention from sociologists during this period. No attempt has been made to explain cohesion in the officer corps. Using a similar method to recent cohesion scholars, this paper seeks to address this imbalance by undertaking a micro-sociology of one ritual in particular: 'Barossa Night' in the Royal Irish Regiment. Firstly, it draws on the work of Durkheim to examine how cohesion amongst the officer corps is created and sustained through a dense array of practises during formal social rituals. It provides evidence that the use of rituals highlights that social solidarity is central to understanding officer cohesion. Secondly, following Hockey's work on how private soldiers negotiate order, the paper shows how this solidarity in the officer corps is based on a degree of negotiated order and the need to release organizational tensions inherent in a strictly hierarchical rank structure. It highlights how the awarding of gallantry medals can threaten this negotiated order and fuel deviancy. In examining this behaviour, the paper shows that even amongst an officer class traditionally viewed as the elite upholders of organizational discipline, the negotiation of rank and hierarchy can be fluid. How deviant behaviour is later accepted and normalized by senior officers indicates that negotiated order is as important to understanding cohesion in the British Army's officer corps as it is

New evidence about the "dark side" of social cohesion in promoting binge drinking among adolescents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Gabrielle Martins

Full Text Available Adolescence is characterized by heightened susceptibility to peer influence, which makes adolescents vulnerable to initiating or maintaining risky habits such as heavy drinking. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of social capital with longitudinal changes in the frequency of binge drinking among adolescents at public and private high schools in the city of Diamantina, Brazil. This longitudinal study used two waves of data collected when the adolescents were 12 and 13 years old. At the baseline assessment in 2013 a classroom survey was carried out with a representative sample of 588 students. In 2014, a follow-up survey was carried out with the same adolescents when they were aged 13 years. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-C (AUDIT C was employed for the evaluation of alcohol intake. Our predictor variables included sociodemographic and economic characteristics (gender, type of school, mother's education, family income and Social Capital. For evaluation of social capital, we used the Social Capital Questionnaire for Adolescent Students (SCQ-AS. Descriptive and bivariate analyzes were performed (p <0.05. The log-binomial model was used to calculate prevalence ratios (PR and 95% confidence intervals. The two-tailed p value was set at <0.05. The prevalence of binge drinking in 2013 was 23.1% and in 2014 the prevalence had risen to 30.1%. Gender (PR 1.48; 95% CI 0.87-2.52 and socioeconomic status (type of school and mother's education were not associated with the increase in the frequency of binge drinking. However, higher social capital was significantly associated with an increase in binge drinking by students. Adolescents who reported that they had an increase in social cohesion in the community/neighborhood subscale were 3.4 times more likely (95%CI 1.96-6.10 to binge drink themselves. Our results provide new evidence about the "dark side" of social cohesion in promoting binge drinking among adolescents.

INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF TEAM COHESION ON PERCEIVED EFFICACY IN SEMI-PROFESSIONAL SPORT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Miguel Leo Marcos

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the relationships among cohesion, self-efficacy, coaches' perceptions of their players' efficacy at the individual level and athletes' perceptions of their teammates' efficacy. Participants (n = 76 recruited from four semi- professional soccer and basketball teams completed cohesiveness and efficacy questionnaires who. Data were analyzed through a correlational methodology. Results indicated significant correlations between self-efficacy and task cohesion and social cohesion. Regression analysis results suggest task cohesion positively related to coaches and teammate´s perception of efficacy. These results have implications for practitioners in terms of the importance of team building to enhance team cohesion and feelings of efficacy

Cohesive Neighborhoods Where Social Expectations Are Shared May Have Positive Impact On Adolescent Mental Health

OpenAIRE

Donnelly, Louis; McLanahan, Sara; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Garfinkel, Irwin; Wagner, Brandon G.; Jacobsen, Wade C.; Gold, Sarah; Gaydosh, Lauren

2016-01-01

Adolescent mental health problems are associated with poor health and well-being in adulthood. This study uses data from a birth cohort of children born in large U.S. cities (N=2,264) to examine whether neighborhood collective efficacy (social cohesion and control) is associated with improvements in adolescent mental health. We find that children who grow up in high collective efficacy neighborhoods experience fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms during adolescence than sim...

'We talk, we do not have shame': addressing stigma by reconstructing identity through enhancing social cohesion among female sex workers living with HIV in the Dominican Republic.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrasco, Maria Augusta; Barrington, Clare; Kennedy, Caitlin; Perez, Martha; Donastorg, Yeycy; Kerrigan, Deanna

2017-05-01

This study explores social cohesion as a strategy used by female sex workers to address layered HIV and sex work-related stigma. Data derive from a thematic analysis of 23 in-depth interviews and 2 focus groups with female sex workers living with HIV enrolled in a multi-level HIV/STI prevention, treatment and care intervention in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Drawing on Foucault's conceptualisation of modern power, discipline and resistance, we argue that social cohesion provides the psychosocial space (of trust, solidarity and mutual aid) to subvert oppressive societal norms, enabling the reconstruction of identity. Among study participants, identity reconstruction happened through the production, repetition and performance of new de-stigmatised narratives that emerged and were solidified through collective interaction. Findings highlight that enabling the collective reconstruction of identity through social cohesion - rather than solely attempting to change individual beliefs - is a successful approach to addressing stigma.

An examination of the cohesion-performance relationship in university hockey teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, M R; Sewell, D F

1994-10-01

The objective of this study was to assess, using the Group Environment Questionnaire, whether team cohesion in university-level field hockey was a cause for, or an effect of, successful performance. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design with cross-lagged correlational analysis was adopted and measures of cohesion and performance were taken midway and later in the season. The results of the synchronous correlations showed a positive relationship (with good stationarity) between team cohesion and performance outcome. Although non-significant cross-lagged differentials indicated a circular relationship, the magnitudes of both the cross-lagged correlations and the partial correlations, together with multiple-regression analyses, revealed that the stronger flow was from cohesion to performance. The socially oriented aspects of cohesion, in particular, had significant associations with performance. The results imply that cohesion-performance relationships should be examined within a circular model, in which cohesion and performance are interdependent.

Red or blue meeting rooms: does it matter? The impact of colour on perceived productivity, social cohesion and wellbeing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bakker, I.C.; van der Voordt, Theo; de Boon, J; Vink, P.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research is to establish the influences of the colours red and blue on perceived well being, social cohesion and productivity in complex real life work conditions during regular meetings.
Methodology: Seven regular government teams held seven regular meetings in a red, blue

Network cohesion

OpenAIRE

Cavalcanti, Tiago V. V.; Giannitsarou, Chryssi; Johnson, Charles R.

2016-01-01

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00199-016-0992-1 We define a measure of network cohesion and show how it arises naturally in a broad class of dynamic models of endogenous perpetual growth with network externalities. Via a standard growth model, we show why network cohesion is crucial for conditional convergence and explain that as cohesion increases, convergence is faster. We prove properties of network cohesion and d...

HIV Stigma Mediates the Association Between Social Cohesion and Consistent Condom Use Among Female Sex Workers Living with HIV in the Dominican Republic.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrasco, Maria Augusta; Nguyen, Trang Q; Barrington, Clare; Perez, Martha; Donastorg, Yeycy; Kerrigan, Deanna

2018-07-01

Evidence indicates that social cohesion is a successful strategy to improve consistent condom use (CCU) among female sex workers. However, the individual and layered or combined effect that various types of overlapping stigmas may have on CCU between female sex workers living with HIV and their clients and steady partners has not been analyzed. Drawing on the Abriendo Puertas cohort of female sex workers living with HIV in the Dominican Republic, we used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis that both HIV stigma and sex work stigma mediate the association between social cohesion and CCU and that they have a layered effect. The results indicated that HIV stigma mediated the association between social cohesion and CCU with clients and partners, while sex work-related stigma did not. There was no evidence of a layered HIV stigma and sex work stigma effect, which may be due to methodological limitations to handle highly correlated latent variables. Findings highlight the need to address internalized HIV stigma within the context of community-based approaches to enhance their HIV prevention impact. This will help to reduce the risk of HIV re-infection with a new distinct HIV viral strain, STI infection, and onward HIV transmission among female sex workers living with HIV.

Social network in patient safety: Social media visibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azucena Santillán García

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Internet social network (social media is a powerful communication tool, and its use is expanding significantly. This paper seeks to know the current state of visibility in online social networks of active citizen talking about patient safety. This is an observational cross-sectional study whose target population is the websites Facebook, Twitter and Tuenti in Spain. By three consecutive cuts social profiles were found using the searching terms “seguridad+paciente” and “safety+patient”. There were found 5 profiles on Facebook that met the search criteria, 6 on Twitter and none were found on Tuenti. It is concluded that although there is evidence of the rise of social networking, citizen network involved in patient safety appears not to be significantly represented within the social networks examined.

Great Expectations: How Role Expectations and Role Experiences Relate to Perceptions of Group Cohesion.

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Alex J; Eys, Mark A; Irving, P Gregory

2016-04-01

Many athletes experience a discrepancy between the roles they expect to fulfill and the roles they eventually occupy. Drawing from met expectations theory, we applied response surface methodology to examine how role expectations, in relation to role experiences, influence perceptions of group cohesion among Canadian Interuniversity Sport athletes (N = 153). On the basis of data from two time points, as athletes approached and exceeded their role contribution expectations, they reported higher perceptions of task cohesion. Furthermore, as athletes approached and exceeded their social involvement expectations, they reported higher perceptions of social cohesion. These response surface patterns-pertaining to task and social cohesion-were driven by the positive influence of role experiences. On the basis of the interplay between athletes' role experiences and their perception of the group environment, efforts to improve team dynamics may benefit from focusing on improving the quality of role experiences, in conjunction with developing realistic role expectations.

The Role of Parliaments in Times of Transition: The Impact of Participatory Politics on Social Cohesion and the Quality of Governance in Post-Authoritarian Settings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Afsah, Ebrahim

The Role of Parliaments in Times of Transition: The Impact of Participatory Politics on Social Cohesion and the Quality of Governance in Post-Authoritarian Settings This contribution presents the theoretical basis for the normative preference given to electoral politics and investigates the insti......The Role of Parliaments in Times of Transition: The Impact of Participatory Politics on Social Cohesion and the Quality of Governance in Post-Authoritarian Settings This contribution presents the theoretical basis for the normative preference given to electoral politics and investigates...... the institutional prerequisites if competitive electoral politics are to lead to better governance outcomes and greater social stability. Examining why these preconditions are largely lacking in the Arab world, this contribution investigates what could be done to redress these shortcomings....

Interactive effects of team cohesion on perceived efficacy in semi-professional sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcos, Francisco Miguel Leo; Miguel, Pedro Antonio Sánchez; Oliva, David Sánchez; Calvo, Tomás García

2010-01-01

The present study examined the relationships among cohesion, self-efficacy, coaches' perceptions of their players' efficacy at the individual level and athletes' perceptions of their teammates' efficacy. Participants (n = 76) recruited from four semi- professional soccer and basketball teams completed cohesiveness and efficacy questionnaires who. Data were analyzed through a correlational methodology. Results indicated significant correlations between self-efficacy and task cohesion and social cohesion. Regression analysis results suggest task cohesion positively related to coaches and teammate's perception of efficacy. These results have implications for practitioners in terms of the importance of team building to enhance team cohesion and feelings of efficacy. Key pointsThis paper increases the knowledge about soccer and basketball match analysis.Give normative values to establish practice and match objectives.Give applications ideas to connect research with coaches' practice.

Altruistic behavior in cohesive social groups: The role of target identifiability.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritov, Ilana; Kogut, Tehila

2017-01-01

People's tendency to be more generous toward identifiable victims than toward unidentifiable or statistical victims is known as the Identifiable Victim Effect. Recent research has called the generality of this effect into question, showing that in cross-national contexts, identifiability mostly affects willingness to help victims of one's own "in-group." Furthermore, in inter-group conflict situations, identifiability increased generosity toward a member of the adversary group, but decreased generosity toward a member of one's own group. In the present research we examine the role of group-cohesiveness as an underlying factor accounting for these divergent findings. In particular, we examined novel groups generated in the lab, using the minimal group paradigm, as well as natural groups of students in regular exercise sections. Allocation decisions in dictator games revealed that a group's cohesiveness affects generosity toward in-group and out-group recipients differently, depending on their identifiability. In particular, in cohesive groups the identification of an in-group recipient decreased, rather than increased generosity.

Altruistic behavior in cohesive social groups: The role of target identifiability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilana Ritov

Full Text Available People's tendency to be more generous toward identifiable victims than toward unidentifiable or statistical victims is known as the Identifiable Victim Effect. Recent research has called the generality of this effect into question, showing that in cross-national contexts, identifiability mostly affects willingness to help victims of one's own "in-group." Furthermore, in inter-group conflict situations, identifiability increased generosity toward a member of the adversary group, but decreased generosity toward a member of one's own group. In the present research we examine the role of group-cohesiveness as an underlying factor accounting for these divergent findings. In particular, we examined novel groups generated in the lab, using the minimal group paradigm, as well as natural groups of students in regular exercise sections. Allocation decisions in dictator games revealed that a group's cohesiveness affects generosity toward in-group and out-group recipients differently, depending on their identifiability. In particular, in cohesive groups the identification of an in-group recipient decreased, rather than increased generosity.

Group cohesion in foraging meerkats: follow the moving 'vocal hot spot'.

Science.gov (United States)

Gall, Gabriella E C; Manser, Marta B

2017-04-01

Group coordination, when 'on the move' or when visibility is low, is a challenge faced by many social living animals. While some animals manage to maintain cohesion solely through visual contact, the mechanism of group cohesion through other modes of communication, a necessity when visual contact is reduced, is not yet understood. Meerkats ( Suricata suricatta ), a small, social carnivore, forage as a cohesive group while moving continuously. While foraging, they frequently emit 'close calls', soft close-range contact calls. Variations in their call rates based on their local environment, coupled with individual movement, produce a dynamic acoustic landscape with a moving 'vocal hotspot' of the highest calling activity. We investigated whether meerkats follow such a vocal hotspot by playing back close calls of multiple individuals to foraging meerkats from the front and back edge of the group simultaneously. These two artificially induced vocal hotspots caused the group to spatially elongate and split into two subgroups. We conclude that meerkats use the emergent dynamic call pattern of the group to adjust their movement direction and maintain cohesion. Our study describes a highly flexible mechanism for the maintenance of group cohesion through vocal communication, for mobile species in habitats with low visibility and where movement decisions need to be adjusted continuously to changing environmental conditions.

TEACHERS AS AGENTS OF SUSTAINABLE PEACE, SOCIAL COHESION AND DEVELOPMENT: THEORY, PRACTICE & EVIDENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Novelli

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a ‘peace with social justice’ framework for analysing the role of teachers as agents of sustainable peace, social cohesion and development and applies this to research evidence from Pakistan, Uganda, Myanmar and South Africa. The paper draws on evidence from a recently completed UNICEF and ESRC funded project on education and peacebuilding, and specifically from data gathered around the role of teachers. Drawing on rich fieldwork data collected between 2014‒2016 in each of the four countries, the paper will evidence the complex and contradictory role that teachers play in sustainable peace and development and its implications for teacher governance, teacher policy and teacher practice. The paper challenges the overly human capital driven logics of much teacher policy reform agendas and highlights the need and importance for a more holistic approach to teacher governance and management that recognises teachers’ multiple potential to contribute to both societal peace and development.

Development of a cohesion questionnaire for youth: the Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Eys, Mark; Loughead, Todd; Bray, Steven R; Carron, Albert V

2009-06-01

The purpose of the current study was to initiate the development of a psychometrically sound measure of cohesion for youth sport groups. A series of projects were undertaken in a four-phase research program. The initial phase was designed to garner an understanding of how youth sport group members perceived the concept of cohesion through focus groups (n = 56), open-ended questionnaires (n = 280), and a literature review. In Phase 2, information from the initial projects was used in the development of 142 potential items and content validity was assessed. In Phase 3, 227 participants completed a revised 87-item questionnaire. Principal components analyses further reduced the number of items to 17 and suggested a two-factor structure (i.e., task and social cohesion dimensions). Finally, support for the factorial validity of the resultant questionnaire was provided through confirmatory factor analyses with an independent sample (n = 352) in Phase 4. The final version of the questionnaire contains 16 items that assess task and social cohesion in addition to 2 negatively worded spurious items. Specific issues related to assessing youth perceptions of cohesion are discussed and future research directions are suggested.

Community gardens in urban areas: a critical reflection on the extent to which they strenghten social cohesion and provide alternative food

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veen, E.J.

2015-01-01

Summary

Introduction

The aims of this thesis are twofold; firstly, it aims to increase the understanding of the extent to which community gardens enhance social cohesion for those involved; secondly, it aims to gain insight into the importance community gardeners attach

Cohesion, Flexibility, and the Mediating Effects of Shared Visionand Compassionon Engagement Army Acquisition Teams

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-01

issues such as social desirability, negative affect, and acquiescence (Spector, 2006) in the analysis of final model. To test for multicollinearity ...emotional cohesion, cognitive cohesion, and flexibility) are independent with no multicollinearity issues. Development and test of structural

Leader Behaviors, Group Cohesion, and Participation in a Walking Group Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Izumi, Betty T; Schulz, Amy J; Mentz, Graciela; Israel, Barbara A; Sand, Sharon L; Reyes, Angela G; Hoston, Bernadine; Richardson, Dawn; Gamboa, Cindy; Rowe, Zachary; Diaz, Goya

2015-07-01

Less than half of all U.S. adults meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines. Leader behaviors and group cohesion have been associated with increased participation or adherence in sports team and exercise class settings. Physical activity interventions in community settings that encompass these factors may enhance intervention adherence. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Community Health Promoter leader behaviors and group cohesion on participation in a walking group intervention among racially/ethnically diverse adults in low to moderate-income communities in Detroit, Michigan. Data for the current study were drawn from the Walk Your Heart to Health (WYHH) data set. WYHH was a multisite cluster RCT with a lagged intervention and outcome measurements at baseline and 4, 8, and 32 weeks. Pooled survey data from both intervention arms were used for the current study. Data were analyzed between August 2013 and October 2014. A total of 603 non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and Hispanic adults across five cohorts that began the 32-week WYHH intervention between March 2009 and October 2011. The intervention was a 32-week walking group program hosted by community- and faith-based organizations and facilitated by Community Health Promoters. Walking groups met three times per week for 90 minutes per session. To promote participation in or adherence to WYHH, Community Health Promoters used evidence-based strategies to facilitate group cohesion. Group members assumed increasing leadership responsibility for facilitating sessions over time. Participation in WYHH as measured by consistency of attendance. Community Health Promoter leader behaviors were positively associated with participation in WYHH. Social but not task cohesion was significantly associated with consistent participation. Social cohesion may mediate the relationship between leader behaviors and walking group participation. Providing leaders with training to build socially cohesive groups

Microzonation Analysis of Cohesionless and Cohesive Soil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tan Choy Soon

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Urban seismic risk is a continuous worldwide issue, numerous researchers are putting great effort in dealing with how to minimise the level of the threat. The only way to minimise the social and economic consequences caused but the seismic risk is through comprehensive earthquake scenario analysis such as ground response analysis. This paper intends to examine the characteristic of shear wave velocity and peak ground acceleration on cohesionless and cohesiveness soil. In order to examine the characteristic of shear wave velocity and peak ground acceleration on cohesionless and cohesiveness soil, ground response analysis was performed using Nonlinear Earthquake Site Response Analysis (NERA and Equivalent-linear Earthquake Site Response Analysis (EERA. The value of ground acceleration was initially high at bedrock and vanishes during the propagation process. It is thus, the measured acceleration at surface is therefore much lower as compare to at bedrock. Result shows that seismic waves can travel faster in harder soil as compared to softer soil. Cohesive soil contributes more to the shaking amplification than cohesionless soil such as sand and harder soil. This is known as local site effect. The typical example is the Mexico Earthquake that happened in 1985. As conclusion, peak ground acceleration for cohesive soil is higher than in cohesionless soil.

SUPPORTING TEACHERS IN BECOMING AGENTS OF SOCIAL COHESION: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rada Jancic Mogliacci

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Policy and research have been advocating the importance of teachers in achieving equity and teachers are called to act as agents of social justice. This issue remains central to the development of a post-apartheid South Africa, where a need for reconciliation and healing still dominates the society. Such a landscape requires adequate support through transformative professional development. In this paper we analyse the design of the intervention ‘Teaching Respect for All’ that aims to empower teachers in South Africa to act as agents of social justice. Based on the literature review, content analysis of the intervention’s manual and resource book, and interviews with stakeholders we explore if the intervention outline can support teachers in becoming agents of social cohesion. The qualitative content analysis of the data unearthed four aspects of the intervention: the what, the how, the why, and the so what. We argue that while the intervention enables an alteration of teaching practice, altering teachers’ beliefs is a long-lasting and more challenging task. We conclude the paper with recommendations for transformative professional development programmes and the value of such for socially just education in South Africa.

The Structure of Group Cohesion.

Science.gov (United States)

Cota, Albert A.; And Others

1995-01-01

Reviews the literature on unidimensional and multidimensional models of cohesion and describes cohesion as a multidimensional construct with primary and secondary dimensions. Found that primary dimensions described the cohesiveness of all or most types of groups, whereas secondary dimensions only described the cohesiveness of specific types of…

Team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity in adolescent migrant athletes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morela, Eleftheria; Hatzigeorgiadis, Antonis; Kouli, Olga

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport participation in the social integration of adolescents with non-dominant ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In particular, this study investigated the relationship between team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity. Participants were 83 young...... migrant athletes (mean age 15.60 years). Participants completed the Ethnic/Cultural Identity Salience Questionnaire and the Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire. Regression analyses showed that cohesion negatively predicted feelings of fringe and lack of interaction. Our findings suggest that sport...

An assessment of the social and economic cohesion aspects of the development of the information society in Europe

OpenAIRE

Coelho, José Dias; Dentinho, Tomaz P.; Faria, Miguel; Paumier-Bianco, F.; Coelho, Rita D.

1996-01-01

Neste trabalho pretende consolidar-se a contribuição portuguesa para o estudo comunitário “Na Assessment of the Social and Economic Cohesion Aspects of the Development of the Information Society in Europe” elaborado por um consórcio europeu liderado pela Nexus Europe e em que intervém o ISEGI- Instituto Superior de Estatística e Gestão de Informação, da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, como parceiro nacional português.

Visibility and anonymity effects on attraction and group cohesiveness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lea, Martin; Spears, Russell; Watt, Susan E.

2007-01-01

This study investigated attraction and group cohesiveness under different visibility and anonymity conditions for social categories that differed in their capacity to be visually cued. Using computer-mediated communication in 36 mixed gender (visually cued category) and nationality (non-visually

The interplay between neighbourhood characteristics: the health impact of changes in social cohesion, disorder and unsafety feelings.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijsbroek, A.; Droomers, M.; Hardyns, W.; Groenewegen, P.P.; Stronks, K.

2016-01-01

Background: Area crime and perceived safety are two components of social safety that are presumed to affect individual health and health related behaviour. So far, most studies have used cross-sectional data to study this relation. We have investigated changes in social safety in relation to

Religious identity and social instability in Nigeria: Interogating social ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The importance of religion towards enhancing social stability cannot be over- emphasized. Emily Durkheim viewed religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices whose purpose is to maintain and foster social stability and cohesion by removing tension that can disrupt social order. He believed that a cohesive society ...

Preserving the Social Cohesiveness and Lifelong Learning Mission of Scotland's Public Libraries: Evaluating the Scottish National Library Strategy through the Capabilities Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Badwal, Kiran

2016-01-01

The following paper is based on my master's degree thesis written as a graduate student at the University of Glasgow from 2014-2015 titled, "Preserving the Social Cohesiveness and Lifelong Educational Mission of Public Libraries in Times of Austerity: Assessing the Potential of the Scottish National Library Strategy through the Capabilities…

Analysis of cohesion and collective efficacy profiles for the performance of soccer players.

Science.gov (United States)

Leo, Francisco M; Sánchez-Miguel, Pedro A; Sánchez-Oliva, David; Amado, Diana; García-Calvo, Tomás

2013-12-18

The principal aims of the study were to define different profiles of cohesion and perceived efficacy in soccer players and to measure their differences in performance. The subjects were 235 soccer players in the under-18 category who played in the National League in Spain and 15 coaches whose ages ranged from 29 to 45 years. Diverse instruments to assess cohesion, perceived efficacy, and expectations of success were used in the study. Moreover, we measured playing time and performance. The results of the study proved the existence of four cohesion and efficacy profiles that presented significant differences in expectations of success, playing time, and performance. Furthermore, significant differences were found in the distribution of players in the teams as a function of performance. The main conclusion of this study is that soccer players with higher cohesion and collective efficacy levels belonged to teams that completed the season at the top-level classification. In contrast, athletes with low cohesion and collective efficacy usually played in unsuccessful teams. Coaches and sports psychologists are encouraged to promote both social and task cohesion and collective efficacy to enhance team performance.

A prospective study of group cohesiveness in therapeutic horticulture for clinical depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Marianne Thorsen; Hartig, Terry; Patil, Grete Grindal; Martinsen, Egil W; Kirkevold, Marit

2011-04-01

This study aimed to assess changes in psychological distress and social participation in adults diagnosed with clinical depression during and after participating in a therapeutic horticulture programme, and to investigate if the changes covaried with levels of group cohesiveness during the intervention. An intervention with a single-group design was repeated with different samples in successive years (pooled n = 46). In each year, five groups of 3-7 participants went through the intervention. Data were collected before, twice during, and immediately after a 12-week therapeutic horticulture programme, as well as at 3-months' follow up. Mental health assessments included the Beck Depression Inventory, the State Subscale of Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Positive Affect Scale from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Therapeutic Factors Inventory-Cohesiveness Scale. The analysis of the pooled data confirmed significant beneficial change in all mental health variables during the intervention. Change from baseline in depression severity persisted at 3-months' follow up. Increased social activity after the intervention was reported for 38% of the participants. The groups quickly established strong cohesiveness, and this continued to increase during the intervention. The average level of group cohesiveness correlated positively, but not significantly, with change in all mental health outcome variables. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing © 2011 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Social Trust, Safety and the Choice of Tourist Destination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Susanne; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2016-01-01

Does social trust influence safety and tourists’ destination choice? Our claim is that the roots of safety may take two forms: either formal institutions or informal institutions. Formal institutions concern how society can build up control mechanisms through the legal system, police authority...... and military. The problem is that high visibility of police and military in public spaces may give the tourist the impression of an unsafe and insecure destination. Instead, social trust through self-enforcements of social norms for behaviour may be important because the informal institutions guarantee...... the safety of tourists (and locals) without signalling a problem with safety. Building social trust may further enhance the feeling of safety and thereby attract even more tourists. Thus, our trust-safety theory may guide the active use of social trust by tourist officials and policy makers....

Grooming network cohesion and the role of individuals in a captive chimpanzee group.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanngiesser, Patricia; Sueur, Cédric; Riedl, Katrin; Grossmann, Johannes; Call, Josep

2011-08-01

Social network analysis offers new tools to study the social structure of primate groups. We used social network analysis to investigate the cohesiveness of a grooming network in a captive chimpanzee group (N = 17) and the role that individuals may play in it. Using data from a year-long observation, we constructed an unweighted social network of preferred grooming interactions by retaining only those dyads that groomed above the group mean. This choice of criterion was validated by the finding that the properties of the unweighted network correlated with the properties of a weighted network (i.e. a network representing the frequency of grooming interactions) constructed from the same data. To investigate group cohesion, we tested the resilience of the unweighted grooming network to the removal of central individuals (i.e. individuals with high betweenness centrality). The network fragmented more after the removal of individuals with high betweenness centrality than after the removal of random individuals. Central individuals played a pivotal role in maintaining the network's cohesiveness, and we suggest that this may be a typical property of affiliative networks like grooming networks. We found that the grooming network correlated with kinship and age, and that individuals with higher social status occupied more central positions in the network. Overall, the grooming network showed a heterogeneous structure, yet did not exhibit scale-free properties similar to many other primate networks. We discuss our results in light of recent findings on animal social networks and chimpanzee grooming. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A Study on the Effect of Cohesive Laws on Finite Element Analysis of Crack Propagation Using Cohesive Elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seo, Hyeongseok; Baek, Hyungchan; Kim, Hyungyu [Seoul Nat' l Univ. of Sci. and Tech., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-04-15

In this paper, the effect of cohesive laws on the finite element analysis of crack propagation using cohesive elements is investigated through three-point bending and double cantilever beam problems. The cohesive elements are implemented into ABAQUS/Standard user subroutines(UEL), and the shape of cohesive law is varied by changing parameters in polynomial functions of cohesive traction-separation relations. In particular, crack propagation behaviors are studied by comparing load-displacement curves of the analysis models which have different shapes of cohesive laws with the same values of fracture energy and cohesive strength. Furthermore, the influence of the element size on crack propagation is discussed in this study.

Hospital safety climate and safety behavior: A social exchange perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ancarani, Alessandro; Di Mauro, Carmela; Giammanco, Maria D

Safety climate is considered beneficial to the improvement of hospital safety outcomes. Nevertheless, the relations between two of its key constituents, namely those stemming from leader-subordinate relations and coworker support for safety, are still to be fully ascertained. This article uses the theoretical lens of Social Exchange Theory to study the joint impact of leader-member exchange in the safety sphere and coworker support for safety on safety-related behavior at the hospital ward level. Social exchange constructs are further related to the existence of a shame-/blame-free environment, seen as a potential antecedent of safety behavior. A cross-sectional study including 166 inpatients in hospital wards belonging to 10 public hospitals in Italy was undertaken to test the hypotheses developed. Hypothesized relations have been analyzed through a fully mediated multilevel structural equation model. This methodology allows studying behavior at the individual level, while keeping into account the heterogeneity among hospital specialties. Results suggest that the linkage between leader support for safety and individual safety behavior is mediated by coworker support on safety issues and by the creation of a shame-free environment. These findings call for the creation of a safety climate in which managerial efforts should be directed not only to the provision of new safety resources and the enforcement of safety rules but also to the encouragement of teamwork and freedom to report errors as ways to foster the capacity of the staff to communicate, share, and learn from each other.

Associations between physical activity and the neighbourhood social environment: baseline results from the HABITAT multilevel study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rachele, Jerome N; Ghani, Fatima; Loh, Venurs H Y; Brown, Wendy J; Turrell, Gavin

2016-12-01

Limitations have arisen when measuring associations between the neighbourhood social environment and physical activity, including same-source bias, and the reliability of aggregated neighbourhood-level social environment measures. This study examines cross-sectional associations between the neighbourhood social environment (perceptions of incivilities, crime, and social cohesion) and self-reported physical activity, while accounting for same-source bias and reliability of neighbourhood-level exposure measures, using data from a large population-based clustered sample. This investigation included 11,035 residents aged 40-65years from 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia, in 2007. Respondents self-reported their physical activity and perceptions of the social environment (neighbourhood incivilities, crime and safety, and social cohesion). Models were adjusted for individual-level education, occupation, and household income, and neighbourhood disadvantage. Exposure measures were generated via split clusters and an empirical Bayes estimation procedure. Data were analysed in 2016 using multilevel multinomial logistic regression. Residents of neighbourhoods with the highest incivilities and crime, and lowest social cohesion were reference categories. Individuals were more likely to be in the higher physical activity categories if they were in neighbourhoods with the lowest incivilities and the lowest crime. No associations were found between social cohesion and physical activity. This study provides a basis from which to gain a clearer understanding of the relationship between the neighbourhood social environment and individual physical activity. Further work is required to explore the pathways between perceptions of the neighbourhood social environment and physical activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity in adolescent migrant athletes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morela, Eleftheria; Hatzigeorgiadis, Antonis; Kouli, Olga; Elbe, Anne-Marie; Sanchez, Xavier

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport participation in the social integration of adolescents with non-dominant ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In particular, this study investigated the relationship between team cohesion and ethnic-cultural identity. Participants were 83 young

The communities first (ComFi) study: protocol for a prospective controlled quasi-experimental study to evaluate the impact of area-wide regeneration on mental health and social cohesion in deprived communities.

Science.gov (United States)

White, James; Greene, Giles; Dunstan, Frank; Rodgers, Sarah; Lyons, Ronan A; Humphreys, Ioan; John, Ann; Webster, Chris; Palmer, Stephen; Elliott, Eva; Phillips, Ceri J; Fone, David

2014-10-14

Recent systematic reviews have highlighted the dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of regeneration on health and health inequalities. 'Communities First' is an area-wide regeneration scheme to improve the lives of people living in the most deprived areas in Wales (UK). This study will evaluate the impact of Communities First on residents' mental health and social cohesion. A prospective controlled quasi-experimental study of the association between residence in Communities First regeneration areas in Caerphilly county borough and change in mental health and social cohesion. The study population is the 4226 residents aged 18-74 years who responded to the Caerphilly Health and Social Needs Study in 2001 (before delivery) and 2008 (after delivery of Communities First). Data on the location, type and cost of Communities First interventions will be extracted from records collected by Caerphilly county borough council. The primary outcome is the change in mental health between 2001 and 2008. Secondary outcomes are changes: in common mental disorder case status (using survey and general practice data), social cohesion and mental health inequalities. Multilevel models will examine change in mental health and social cohesion between Communities First and control areas, adjusting for individual and household level confounding factors. Further models will examine the effects of (1) different types of intervention, (2) contamination across areas, (3) length of residence in a Communities First area, and (4) population migration. We will carry out a cost-consequences analysis to summarise the outcomes generated for participants, as well as service utilisation and utility gains. This study has had approval from the Information Governance Review Panel at Swansea University (Ref: 0266 CF). Findings will be disseminated through peer-review publications, international conferences, policy and practice partners in local and national government, and updates on our study website

Crecimiento y cohesión social: Un debate abierto y necesario… también en Europa | Growth and social cohesion: An open and needed debate...also in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando LUENGO

2012-10-01

Full Text Available El artículo analiza la relación existente entre crecimiento económico y cohesión social en los países que configuraban la Unión Europea 15, a lo largo de un dilatado periodo de tiempo (desde la década de los ochenta del pasado siglo hasta la actualidad. Esa relación se aborda desde dos perspectivas complementarias. En primer término, se considera la intensidad del crecimiento; en segundo lugar, se discute su impacto sobre dos variables centrales para la cohesión social: el empleo y los salarios. El texto concluye que el nexo entre ambos planos, lejos de lo que supone la economía convencional, ha sido, en esos años y en ese espacio económico, débil y ambiguo, lo cual obliga a un replanteamiento en profundidad de los contenidos y la calidad de los modelos de crecimiento implementados. This article analyses the relationship between the economic growth and social cohesion along the countries that constituted the European Union 15, over a long term period (1880’s-present. This relationship is studied from two complementary perspectives. On the one hand, growth’s intensity is considered. On the other hand, the impact among two central variables for the social cohesion is discussed: employment and salaries. The text concludes that the correlation between both ideas, too different compared to what the usual economy is supposed to be, has been, in those years and in that economical space, both weak and ambiguous, which suggests that a deep change has to be made, in relation with the contents and the quality of the implemented growing models.

Assessing Software Quality Through Visualised Cohesion Metrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy Shih

2001-05-01

Full Text Available Cohesion is one of the most important factors for software quality as well as maintainability, reliability and reusability. Module cohesion is defined as a quality attribute that seeks for measuring the singleness of the purpose of a module. The module of poor quality can be a serious obstacle to the system quality. In order to design a good software quality, software managers and engineers need to introduce cohesion metrics to measure and produce desirable software. A highly cohesion software is thought to be a desirable constructing. In this paper, we propose a function-oriented cohesion metrics based on the analysis of live variables, live span and the visualization of processing element dependency graph. We give six typical cohesion examples to be measured as our experiments and justification. Therefore, a well-defined, well-normalized, well-visualized and well-experimented cohesion metrics is proposed to indicate and thus enhance software cohesion strength. Furthermore, this cohesion metrics can be easily incorporated with software CASE tool to help software engineers to improve software quality.

FUNDING COHESION POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ROMANIA DURING 2014 – 2020

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIA VASILESCU

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Cohesion policy is one of the most important and complex policy of the European Union, a position clearly derived from the assumed objective of "harmonious development by reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions or islands". Its unique role in shaping and implementing integrated development strategies, which involve activities in various fields such as education, research and innovation, employment, business environment, infrastructure, environmental protection, climate change and energy efficiency is undeniable. To accomplish these goals cohesion policy is benefiting from its own budget for each Member State in relation to the national objectives of economic and social development and to integration into the Single Internal Market and achieving territorial cohesion

Scour in cohesive soils

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-01

This study of scour in cohesive soils had two objectives. The first was to introduce and demonstrate a new ex situ erosion testing device (ESTD) that can mimic the near-bed flow of open channels to erode cohesive soils within a specified range of she...

Dynamics of Cohesive Sediments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Claus

The present thesis considers the transport processes of cohesive sediments. The cohesive sediment used in the laboratory experiments was kaolinite, a clay mineral, in order to be able to reproduce the individual experiments. In the first part of the thesis, the theoretical considerations regarding...

Family cohesion and the loneliness of adolescents from temporarily disconnected families due to economic migration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dołęga Zofia

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The paper reports the results of a comparative analysis of the two groups students coming from temporarily disconnected families due to foreign work parents (TDF, n = 68; male = 30, female = 38 and teenagers with the same social environment (NDF, n = 179, male = 89, female = 90, but without the experience of separation time (N= 247. The subject of the analysis was: the cohesion of a family from the perspective of the evaluated adolescent and three factors of psychological loneliness: social loneliness (sense of social marginalization and isolation, emotional loneliness (solitude and existential loneliness (sense of self-alienation. The Loneliness Scale (SBS was used based on an original concept of multidimensional sense of loneliness. The questionnaire for the survey of family cohesion (KSR were used too. The age (12-14 and 15-17, gender, family structure and the family lifestyle were controlled. Obtained results revealed significantly lower cohesion and significantly higher existential loneliness in group of teenagers from temporarily disconnected families (TDF. Not confirmed the supposition that made in earlier studies of temporarily disconnected families due to economic migration, that these teenagers suffer from a sense of emotional loneliness There has also confirmed the belief that the level of family cohesion and a sense of loneliness in adolescents is associated with atypical organization of family life associated with the duration of migration of parent/parents, frequency of contact with family members working abroad: mothers, fathers or broth parents, the duration of stays at home

Psychological characteristics of group cohesion athletes.

OpenAIRE

Sheriff Sarhan

2011-01-01

The basic components of group cohesion in sport teams. An analysis of publications on cohesion within the groups where an interconnection of individual goals of each participant group with common goals and the end result of teamwork. The concept of harmony in the team sports, where the rate of group cohesion is dependent on such integrative index as psychological climate. It is established that a number of athletes to achieve high results require high cohesion, unity, value-normative orientat...

Force Transmission Modes of Non-Cohesive and Cohesive Materials at the Critical State.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ji-Peng

2017-08-31

This paper investigates the force transmission modes, mainly described by probability density distributions, in non-cohesive dry and cohesive wet granular materials by discrete element modeling. The critical state force transmission patterns are focused on with the contact model effect being analyzed. By shearing relatively dense and loose dry specimens to the critical state in the conventional triaxial loading path, it is observed that there is a unique critical state force transmission mode. There is a universe critical state force distribution pattern for both the normal contact forces and tangential contact forces. Furthermore, it is found that using either the linear Hooke or the non-linear Hertz model does not affect the universe force transmission mode, and it is only related to the grain size distribution. Wet granular materials are also simulated by incorporating a water bridge model. Dense and loose wet granular materials are tested, and the critical state behavior for the wet material is also observed. The critical state strength and void ratio of wet granular materials are higher than those of a non-cohesive material. The critical state inter-particle distribution is altered from that of a non-cohesive material with higher probability in relatively weak forces. Grains in non-cohesive materials are under compressive stresses, and their principal directions are mainly in the axial loading direction. However, for cohesive wet granular materials, some particles are in tension, and the tensile stresses are in the horizontal direction on which the confinement is applied. The additional confinement by the tensile stress explains the macro strength and dilatancy increase in wet samples.

Sense of Cohesion among Community Activists Engaging in Volunteer Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Drorit; Itzhaky, Haya; Zanbar, Lea; Schwartz, Chaya

2012-01-01

The present article attempts to shed light on the direct and indirect contribution of personal resources and community indices to Sense of Cohesion among activists engaging in community volunteer work. The sample comprised 481 activists. Based on social systems theory, three levels of variables were examined: (1) inputs, which included personal…

Safety culture and accident analysis-A socio-management approach based on organizational safety social capital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, Suman

2007-01-01

One of the biggest challenges for organizations in today's competitive business environment is to create and preserve a self-sustaining safety culture. Typically, Key drivers of safety culture in many organizations are regulation, audits, safety training, various types of employee exhortations to comply with safety norms, etc. However, less evident factors like networking relationships and social trust amongst employees, as also extended networking relationships and social trust of organizations with external stakeholders like government, suppliers, regulators, etc., which constitute the safety social capital in the Organization-seem to also influence the sustenance of organizational safety culture. Can erosion in safety social capital cause deterioration in safety culture and contribute to accidents? If so, how does it contribute? As existing accident analysis models do not provide answers to these questions, CAMSoC (Curtailing Accidents by Managing Social Capital), an accident analysis model, is proposed. As an illustration, five accidents: Bhopal (India), Hyatt Regency (USA), Tenerife (Canary Islands), Westray (Canada) and Exxon Valdez (USA) have been analyzed using CAMSoC. This limited cross-industry analysis provides two key socio-management insights: the biggest source of motivation that causes deviant behavior leading to accidents is 'Faulty Value Systems'. The second biggest source is 'Enforceable Trust'. From a management control perspective, deterioration in safety culture and resultant accidents is more due to the 'action controls' rather than explicit 'cultural controls'. Future research directions to enhance the model's utility through layering are addressed briefly

Team cohesion and team success in sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Carron, Albert V; Bray, Steven R; Eys, Mark A

2002-02-01

The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between task cohesiveness and team success in elite teams using composite team estimates of cohesion. A secondary aim was to determine statistically the consistency (i.e. 'groupness') present in team members' perceptions of cohesion. Elite university basketball teams (n = 18) and club soccer teams (n = 9) were assessed for cohesiveness and winning percentages. Measures were recorded towards the end of each team's competitive season. Our results indicate that cohesiveness is a shared perception, thereby providing statistical support for the use of composite team scores. Further analyses indicated a strong relationship between cohesion and success (r = 0.55-0.67). Further research using multi-level statistical techniques is recommended.

Psychological characteristics of group cohesion athletes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheriff Sarhan

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The basic components of group cohesion in sport teams. An analysis of publications on cohesion within the groups where an interconnection of individual goals of each participant group with common goals and the end result of teamwork. The concept of harmony in the team sports, where the rate of group cohesion is dependent on such integrative index as psychological climate. It is established that a number of athletes to achieve high results require high cohesion, unity, value-normative orientation, deep identification and responsibility for the results of the joint group activities.

Regions and the Territorial Cohesion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioan Ianos

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Territorial cohesion is an important target of European Union, constantly promoted by its institutions and their representatives. In the context of the Europe 2020 strategy, one of the most important support documents, the region represents a very important issue, being considered to be the key to its successfulness. The region is seen as a support for the smart growth and all the operational policy concepts try to make use of the spatial potential, by taking better account of the territorial specificities. Two main questions play attention: the need to transform the present-day developmental regions into administrative ones is a priority? What kind of regionalization it must to be promoted? Correlating these issues with already defined territorial cohesion, the administrative region is a real tool for the future territorial development. The experience of the last 14 years asks urgently the building of a new territorial administrative reform, giving competences to regions. For instant, each development region is a construction resulted from a free association of the counties. Their role in the regional development is much reduced one, because their regional councils are not elected; decisions taken at this level are consultative for the social, economical, cultural or political actors.

Safety culture and accident analysis-A socio-management approach based on organizational safety social capital

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rao, Suman [Risk Analyst (India)]. E-mail: sumanashokrao@yahoo.co.in

2007-04-11

One of the biggest challenges for organizations in today's competitive business environment is to create and preserve a self-sustaining safety culture. Typically, Key drivers of safety culture in many organizations are regulation, audits, safety training, various types of employee exhortations to comply with safety norms, etc. However, less evident factors like networking relationships and social trust amongst employees, as also extended networking relationships and social trust of organizations with external stakeholders like government, suppliers, regulators, etc., which constitute the safety social capital in the Organization-seem to also influence the sustenance of organizational safety culture. Can erosion in safety social capital cause deterioration in safety culture and contribute to accidents? If so, how does it contribute? As existing accident analysis models do not provide answers to these questions, CAMSoC (Curtailing Accidents by Managing Social Capital), an accident analysis model, is proposed. As an illustration, five accidents: Bhopal (India), Hyatt Regency (USA), Tenerife (Canary Islands), Westray (Canada) and Exxon Valdez (USA) have been analyzed using CAMSoC. This limited cross-industry analysis provides two key socio-management insights: the biggest source of motivation that causes deviant behavior leading to accidents is 'Faulty Value Systems'. The second biggest source is 'Enforceable Trust'. From a management control perspective, deterioration in safety culture and resultant accidents is more due to the 'action controls' rather than explicit 'cultural controls'. Future research directions to enhance the model's utility through layering are addressed briefly.

Appraisal in a Team Context: Perceptions of Cohesion Predict Competition Importance and Prospects for Coping.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Svenja A; Eys, Mark A; Sadler, Pamela; Kleinert, Jens

2015-10-01

Athletes' precompetitive appraisal is important because it determines emotions, which may impact performance. When part of a team, athletes make their appraisal within a social context, and in this study we examined whether perceived team cohesion, as a characteristic of this context, related to appraisal. We asked 386 male and female intercollegiate team-sport athletes to respond to measures of cohesion and precompetitive appraisal before an in-season game. For males and females, across all teams, (a) an appraisal of increased competition importance was predicted by perceptions of higher task cohesion (individual level), better previous team performance, and a weaker opponent (team level) and (b) an appraisal of more positive prospects for coping with competitive demands was predicted by higher individual attractions to the group (individual level). Consequently, athletes who perceive their team as more cohesive likely appraise the pending competition as a challenge, which would benefit both emotions and performance.

Cohesion, Cracking, Dilation, and Flow -- Rheological Behavior of Cohesive Pharmaceutical Powders

Science.gov (United States)

Muzzio, Fernando

2007-03-01

Cohesive powders can be loosely defined as systems where the attractive forced between particles exceed the average particle weight. Cohesive powder flow is interesting from a wide range of reasons. Their main characteristic, intermittence, is evidenced both in the interruption of flow out of hoppers (a mundane issue causing great annoyance to industrial practitioners) and in the sudden avalanching of snow and dirt that has terrified and terrified mankind since the dawn of time. At the present time, our ability to predict either of these phenomena (and many more involving cohesive powders) is very limited, primarily due to an incomplete understanding of their constitutive behavior. To wit, consider just a simple fact: a flowing powder never has constant density. Equations describing the relationship between velocity, shear, stress, and density are rudimentary at best. Computational and experimental approaches for characterizing flow behavior are in their infancy. In this talk, I will describe some recent progress achieved at Rutgers by our group. New instruments have been developed to determine simultaneously powder density and cohesive flow effects. Extensive measurements have been carried out focusing on pharmaceutical blends. These results have been used to fine-tune computational models that accurately predict dilation, flow in drums, and flow in hoppers. Impact of these observations for pharmaceutical manufacturing applications will be discussed in some detail.

Transfer and Cohesion in Interdisciplinary Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Søren Harnow Klausen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available One of the great challenges of interdisciplinary education is to create sufficient cohesion between disciplines. It is suggested that cohesion depends on the transfer of knowledge (in a broad sense, which includes skill and competences among the disciplines involved. Some of the most characteristic types of such transfer are identified and analyzed: Transfer of factual knowledge, theories, methods, models, skills, modes of collaboration and organization, meta-competences, disciplinary self-consciousness, problem selection, framework construction and motivation. Though some of these types of transfer may have a greater or smaller potential for creating cohesion, different kinds of cohesion may serve different interests, and there is no reason to assume that e.g. joint problem solving or theoretical integration should be more conducive to cohesion than e.g. contributions to motivation or disciplinary self-consciousness.

Associations between parental chronic pain and self-esteem, social competence, and family cohesion in adolescent girls and boys--family linkage data from the HUNT study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaasbøll, Jannike; Ranøyen, Ingunn; Nilsen, Wendy; Lydersen, Stian; Indredavik, Marit S

2015-08-22

Parental chronic pain has been associated with adverse outcomes in offspring. However, knowledge on individual and family resilience factors in adolescent offspring of chronic pain sufferers is scarce. This study thus aimed to investigate the associations between parental chronic pain and self-esteem, social competence, and family cohesion levels reported by adolescent girls and boys. Based on cross-sectional surveys from the Nord Trøndelag Health Study (the HUNT 3 study), the study used independent self-reports from adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (n = 3227) and their parents and conducted separate linear regression analyses for girls and boys. Concurrent maternal and paternal chronic pain was associated with reduced self-esteem, social competence, and family cohesion in girls. Moreover, maternal chronic pain was associated with higher social competence in boys and reduced self-esteem in girls. The majority of the observed associations were significantly different between girls and boys. Paternal chronic pain was not found to be associated with child outcomes. The findings indicate that the presence of both maternal and paternal chronic pain could be a potential risk factor for lower levels of individual and family resilience factors reported by girls. Further research on the relationship between parental pain and sex-specific offspring characteristics, including positive resilience factors, is warranted. The study demonstrates the importance of targeting the entire family in chronic pain care.

Neighbourhood social trust and youth perceptions of safety during daily activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Kalen; Richmond, Therese S; Branas, Charles C; Wiebe, Douglas J

2017-10-07

Exposure to adverse neighbourhood conditions can negatively impact adolescent well-being and perceived safety. However, the impact of neighbourhood social trust on perceived safety is largely unknown. We studied 139 adolescent men to investigate how their perceptions of safety varied as a function of social trust levels in the neighbourhoods they traversed; neighbourhoods that were not necessarily their own. Adolescents mapped their minute-by-minute activities over a recent day and rated their perceived safety on a 10-point scale during in-person interviews. Neighbourhood social trust was measured via a citywide random sample survey. Mixed effects regression showed that, compared with their safety perceptions when in areas of low social trust, older adolescents were 73% more likely to feel unsafe when in areas of medium social trust, and 89% more likely to feel unsafe when in areas of high social trust. Inverse relationships between neighbourhood social trust and adolescents' perceived safety highlight the complex interplay between youth, environmental contexts and safety. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Sustaining exercise participation through group cohesion.

Science.gov (United States)

Estabrooks, P A

2000-04-01

The general hypothesis to be examined by this article is that increased group cohesion leads to an increase in adherence to an exercise program over time. Although preliminary research is promising, there is a need for further research aimed at examining the model of group development in exercise classes, the impact of group cohesion on both group and individual exercise behavior, and the measurement of group cohesion.

Examination of group cohesiveness levels and goal orientations of basketball players

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ötkan Can Çavin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This research intends to examine goal orientation and group cohesiveness levels of basketball players. 243 mature players who play in the leagues of Turkish Basketball Federation in 2016- 2017 season participated the study. “Task and Ego Orientation in Sports” and “Group Cohesiveness” questionnaires are used in study. While frequency, arithmetic mean and standard deviation is used for the analysis of data, T-Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA and Post-Hoc test statistics (Tukey HSD are used for independent samples. Depending on the variables of gender and educational background of players, a significant difference is identified in sub-dimension of Task Attraction of Group and a low-level negatively significant difference is identified between Ego Orientation in terms of age and sportive age. Significant differences are identified between the Perception of Team Success and sub-dimensions of Social Integration of Group and Social Attraction of Group. No statistically significant difference can be found for the variable of time spent in team in terms of group cohesiveness and goal orientation.

Investigating Some Technical Issues on Cohesive Zone Modeling of Fracture

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, John T.

2011-01-01

This study investigates some technical issues related to the use of cohesive zone models (CZMs) in modeling fracture processes. These issues include: why cohesive laws of different shapes can produce similar fracture predictions; under what conditions CZM predictions have a high degree of agreement with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) analysis results; when the shape of cohesive laws becomes important in the fracture predictions; and why the opening profile along the cohesive zone length needs to be accurately predicted. Two cohesive models were used in this study to address these technical issues. They are the linear softening cohesive model and the Dugdale perfectly plastic cohesive model. Each cohesive model constitutes five cohesive laws of different maximum tractions. All cohesive laws have the same cohesive work rate (CWR) which is defined by the area under the traction-separation curve. The effects of the maximum traction on the cohesive zone length and the critical remote applied stress are investigated for both models. For a CZM to predict a fracture load similar to that obtained by an LEFM analysis, the cohesive zone length needs to be much smaller than the crack length, which reflects the small scale yielding condition requirement for LEFM analysis to be valid. For large-scale cohesive zone cases, the predicted critical remote applied stresses depend on the shape of cohesive models used and can significantly deviate from LEFM results. Furthermore, this study also reveals the importance of accurately predicting the cohesive zone profile in determining the critical remote applied load.

Maintaining social cohesion is a more important determinant of patch residence time than maximizing food intake rate in a group-living primate, Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata).

Science.gov (United States)

Kazahari, Nobuko

2014-04-01

Animals have been assumed to employ an optimal foraging strategy (e.g., rate-maximizing strategy). In patchy food environments, intake rate within patches is positively correlated with patch quality, and declines as patches are depleted through consumption. This causes patch-leaving and determines patch residence time. In group-foraging situations, patch residence times are also affected by patch sharing. Optimal patch models for groups predict that patch residence times decrease as the number of co-feeding animals increases because of accelerated patch depletion. However, group members often depart patches without patch depletion, and their patch residence time deviates from patch models. It has been pointed out that patch residence time is also influenced by maintaining social proximity with others among group-living animals. In this study, the effects of maintaining social cohesion and that of rate-maximizing strategy on patch residence time were examined in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). I hypothesized that foragers give up patches to remain in the proximity of their troop members. On the other hand, foragers may stay for a relatively long period when they do not have to abandon patches to follow the troop. In this study, intake rate and foraging effort (i.e., movement) did not change during patch residency. Macaques maintained their intake rate with only a little foraging effort. Therefore, the patches were assumed to be undepleted during patch residency. Further, patch residence time was affected by patch-leaving to maintain social proximity, but not by the intake rate. Macaques tended to stay in patches for short periods when they needed to give up patches for social proximity, and remained for long periods when they did not need to leave to keep social proximity. Patch-leaving and patch residence time that prioritize the maintenance of social cohesion may be a behavioral pattern in group-living primates.

Auto consolidated cohesive sediments erosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ternat, F.

2007-02-01

Pollutants and suspended matters of a river can accumulate into the sedimentary column. Once deposited, they are submitted to self-weight consolidation processes, ageing and burying, leading to an increase of their erosion resistance. Pollutant fluxes can be related to sedimentary fluxes, determined by threshold laws. In this work, an erosion threshold model is suggested by introducing a cohesion force into the usual force balance. A model of cohesion is developed on the basis of interactions between argillaceous cohesive particles (clays), particularly the Van der Waals force, whose parameterization is ensured by means of granulometry and porosity. Artificial erosion experiments were performed in a recirculating erosion flume with natural cored sediments where critical shear stress measurements were performed. Other analyses provided granulometry and porosity. The results obtained constitute a good database for the literature. The model is then applied to the experimental conditions and gives good agreement with measurements. An example of the accounting for self-weight consolidation processes is finally suggested, before finishing on a Mohr like diagram dedicated to soft cohesive sediment erosion. (author)

Group cohesion, task performance, and the experimenter expectancy effect.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogstraten, J.; Vorst, H.C.M.

1978-01-01

Studied the effects of cohesion on task fulfillment and explored the influence of task fulfillment on the initial level of cohesion. Within 4-person groups of undergraduates, cohesion was manipulated successfully by a triple procedure. The level of cohesion was ascertained directly after the

Enhancing Unit Cohesion Via Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-10

Leavenworth, March 22, 2016). 8 Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, Social Media Communication : Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics (New York, NY...Gazette 97, no. 2 (February 2013): 8-14. Lipschultz, Jeremy Harris. Social Media Communication : Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics . New York, NY... communicate , but usually limit their scope of online participation to simply obtaining a social media presence. Although having a presence online is

The Importance of Structural and Cohesion Funds on Regional Development in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuela Panaitescu

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: the financing of regional policy and, in general terms, of the economic and social cohesion from structural and cohesion funds is important due to its results, with regard to costs and net benefits on the development of Romania; Prior Work: this work continues prior research carried out for the “European Programs and Projects Management” MA thesis; Approach: the primary methods used were the analysis of the legal framework and other official European documents and the observation of their influence on Romania; Results: While during the pre-accession period the financial instruments created by the EU for Romania had been made after the model of structural and cohesion funds, precisely in order to get the national authorities ready for the reality implied by its membership, the EU common position on regional policy and coordination of structural instruments and documents further stated that the Romanian authorities do not yet have the adequate capacity to manage the structural instruments, which obviously has implications in terms of costs.

Micromechanical modeling and inverse identification of damage using cohesive approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blal, Nawfal

2013-01-01

In this study a micromechanical model is proposed for a collection of cohesive zone models embedded between two each elements of a standard cohesive-volumetric finite element method. An equivalent 'matrix-inclusions' composite is proposed as a representation of the cohesive-volumetric discretization. The overall behaviour is obtained using homogenization approaches (Hashin Shtrikman scheme and the P. Ponte Castaneda approach). The derived model deals with elastic, brittle and ductile materials. It is available whatever the triaxiality loading rate and the shape of the cohesive law, and leads to direct relationships between the overall material properties and the local cohesive parameters and the mesh density. First, rigorous bounds on the normal and tangential cohesive stiffnesses are obtained leading to a suitable control of the inherent artificial elastic loss induced by intrinsic cohesive models. Second, theoretical criteria on damageable and ductile cohesive parameters are established (cohesive peak stress, critical separation, cohesive failure energy,... ). These criteria allow a practical calibration of the cohesive zone parameters as function of the overall material properties and the mesh length. The main interest of such calibration is its promising capacity to lead to a mesh-insensitive overall response in surface damage. (author) [fr

The importance of cohesion and enjoyment for the fitness improvement of 8-10-year-old children participating in a team and individual sport school-based physical activity intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Elbe, Anne-Marie; Wikman, Johan Michael; Zheng, Miky; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Nielsen, Glen; Krustrup, Peter

2017-04-01

This study investigates the enjoyment and cohesion of school children participating in a school-based high-intensity physical activity (PA) intervention. Both enjoyment and cohesion have been found to be important factors for adherence to regular physical and sport activity, an important outcome of PA interventions. The sample consisted of 300 pupils (mean age: 9.3 years; 52.7% female) assigned to a team sport intervention, an individual sport intervention, or a control group for 10 months. The Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale and Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire were used to measure enjoyment and cohesion. The Yo-Yo IR1C test determined fitness improvements. Results showed that enjoyment and cohesion (social) measured at the beginning of the intervention significantly predict fitness improvements achieved after 10 months. No differing developmental effects over time could be found in the intervention groups with regard to cohesion and enjoyment when comparing them to the control group. However, enjoyment and cohesion (social) significantly decreased in the groups that performed individual sports. Team sports seem to be more advantageous for the development of enjoyment and cohesion, which are both factors that positively impact the health outcomes of the intervention.

Relationship between group cohesion and anxiety in soccer.

Science.gov (United States)

Borrego, Carla Chicau; Cid, Luis; Silva, Carlos

2012-10-01

Group cohesion in sport is a widely spread theme today. Research has found cohesion to be influenced by several individual and group components. Among the cognitive variables that relate to cohesion we found competitive anxiety. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between task cohesion (ATG-T, and GI-T) and competitive state anxiety (A-state), and also if there would be a relation between cohesion and self-confidence. Participants were 366 football players of both genders male and female, aged between 15 to 23 years old, from Portugal's championships. Cohesion was measured using the Portuguese version of the Group Environment Questionnaire, and to assess competitive anxiety, we used the Portuguese version of the Competition State Anxiety Inventory 2. Our results show that female athletes report experiencing more cognitive anxiety and less self-confidence than male athletes. Only cognitive anxiety relates in a significantly negative way with the perception of cohesion (GI-T e ATG-T) in the total number of participants and in male athletes. Relatively to the somatic anxiety, it only relates negatively with the perception of the integration of the group in the total number of participants and in the male gender.

Environmental cohesion across the Hungarian-Croatian border

OpenAIRE

Varjú Viktor

2016-01-01

Environmental cohesion (as a new EU paradigm for a place-based interpretation of environmental justice) has a clear connection to territorial cohesion. Based on this idea, advantages for people can include an equitable distribution of environmental protection and access to environmental services. In non-EU countries regional environmental cohesion is used as an instrument to accelerate accession to the EU and it may be manifested as a declaration of environ...

Relating Cohesive Zone Model to Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, John T.

2010-01-01

The conditions required for a cohesive zone model (CZM) to predict a failure load of a cracked structure similar to that obtained by a linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) analysis are investigated in this paper. This study clarifies why many different phenomenological cohesive laws can produce similar fracture predictions. Analytical results for five cohesive zone models are obtained, using five different cohesive laws that have the same cohesive work rate (CWR-area under the traction-separation curve) but different maximum tractions. The effect of the maximum traction on the predicted cohesive zone length and the remote applied load at fracture is presented. Similar to the small scale yielding condition for an LEFM analysis to be valid. the cohesive zone length also needs to be much smaller than the crack length. This is a necessary condition for a CZM to obtain a fracture prediction equivalent to an LEFM result.

The use of social media for campus safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Haupt, Brittany; Kapucu, Naim; Morgan, Jeffrey

As public safety communication evolved, each disaster or emergency presented unique challenges for emergency managers and others response to disasters. Yet, a foundational focus is the timely dissemination of accurate information to keep communities informed and able to prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover. For the campus community, the increase in bomb threats, active shooter incidents, and geographic-based natural disasters call for the discovery of reliable and cost-effective solutions for emergency information management. Social media is becoming a critical asset in this endeavor. This article examines the evolution of public safety communication, the unique setting of the campus community, and social media's role in campus disaster resilience. In addition, an exploratory study was done to better understand the perception of social media use for public safety within the campus community. The findings provide practical recommendations for campus emergency management professions; however, future research is needed to provide specific, actionable ways to achieve these goals as well as understand how diverse universities utilize a variety of platforms.

[A measure of team cohesion in sport. Spanish adaptation of Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ)].

Science.gov (United States)

Iturbide, Luis María; Elosua, Paula; Yanes, Félix

2010-08-01

The aim of this work was to adapt the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) to Spanish. Judgmental procedures were used to assess the linguistic and cultural equivalence of the versions. Psychometric procedures were used in the operational phase of the study. The normative sample comprised 924 sportsmen/sportswomen from 75 teams. The GEQ scale showed suitable indexes of internal consistency and a bidimensional structure based on two factors of the cohesion model, the Task component and the Social component. In addition, a positive relation between team-performance and the Task component of team cohesion was observed. Overall, the results supported the Spanish version of the GEQ.

Social Media Listening for Routine Post-Marketing Safety Surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Gregory E; Seifert, Harry A; Reblin, Tjark; Burstein, Phil J; Blowers, James; Menius, J Alan; Painter, Jeffery L; Thomas, Michele; Pierce, Carrie E; Rodriguez, Harold W; Brownstein, John S; Freifeld, Clark C; Bell, Heidi G; Dasgupta, Nabarun

2016-05-01

Post-marketing safety surveillance primarily relies on data from spontaneous adverse event reports, medical literature, and observational databases. Limitations of these data sources include potential under-reporting, lack of geographic diversity, and time lag between event occurrence and discovery. There is growing interest in exploring the use of social media ('social listening') to supplement established approaches for pharmacovigilance. Although social listening is commonly used for commercial purposes, there are only anecdotal reports of its use in pharmacovigilance. Health information posted online by patients is often publicly available, representing an untapped source of post-marketing safety data that could supplement data from existing sources. The objective of this paper is to describe one methodology that could help unlock the potential of social media for safety surveillance. A third-party vendor acquired 24 months of publicly available Facebook and Twitter data, then processed the data by standardizing drug names and vernacular symptoms, removing duplicates and noise, masking personally identifiable information, and adding supplemental data to facilitate the review process. The resulting dataset was analyzed for safety and benefit information. In Twitter, a total of 6,441,679 Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA(®)) Preferred Terms (PTs) representing 702 individual PTs were discussed in the same post as a drug compared with 15,650,108 total PTs representing 946 individual PTs in Facebook. Further analysis revealed that 26 % of posts also contained benefit information. Social media listening is an important tool to augment post-marketing safety surveillance. Much work remains to determine best practices for using this rapidly evolving data source.

Making work safer: testing a model of social exchange and safety management.

Science.gov (United States)

DeJoy, David M; Della, Lindsay J; Vandenberg, Robert J; Wilson, Mark G

2010-04-01

This study tests a conceptual model that focuses on social exchange in the context of safety management. The model hypothesizes that supportive safety policies and programs should impact both safety climate and organizational commitment. Further, perceived organizational support is predicted to partially mediate both of these relationships. Study outcomes included traditional outcomes for both organizational commitment (e.g., withdrawal behaviors) as well as safety climate (e.g., self-reported work accidents). Questionnaire responses were obtained from 1,723 employees of a large national retailer. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, all of the model's hypothesized relationships were statistically significant and in the expected directions. The results are discussed in terms of social exchange in organizations and research on safety climate. Maximizing safety is a social-technical enterprise. Expectations related to social exchange and reciprocity figure prominently in creating a positive climate for safety within the organization. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Networking for Emergency Management and Public Safety

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lesperance, Ann M.; Olson, Jarrod; Godinez, Melanie A.

2010-08-31

On March 10, 2010 the workshop titled Social Networking for Emergency Management and Public Safety was held in Seattle, WA. The objective of this workshop was to showcase ways social media networking technologies can be used to support emergency management and public safety operations. The workshop highlighted the current state of social networking and where this dynamic engagement is heading, demonstrated some of the more commonly used technologies, highlighted case studies on how these tools have been used in a variety of jurisdictions and engaged the private sector on how these tools might serve as a conduit for two way communication between with the public sector to address regional recovery issues and decision making.

Cohesive zone model for direct silicon wafer bonding

Science.gov (United States)

Kubair, D. V.; Spearing, S. M.

2007-05-01

Direct silicon wafer bonding and decohesion are simulated using a spectral scheme in conjunction with a rate-dependent cohesive model. The cohesive model is derived assuming the presence of a thin continuum liquid layer at the interface. Cohesive tractions due to the presence of a liquid meniscus always tend to reduce the separation distance between the wafers, thereby opposing debonding, while assisting the bonding process. In the absence of the rate-dependence effects the energy needed to bond a pair of wafers is equal to that needed to separate them. When rate-dependence is considered in the cohesive law, the experimentally observed asymmetry in the energetics can be explained. The derived cohesive model has the potential to form a bridge between experiments and a multiscale-modelling approach to understand the mechanics of wafer bonding.

Spirituality for democracy and social cohesion versus the spirituality of money

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulrich Duchrow

2014-08-01

Full Text Available We live in a life-killing global system, and thus, we are called by our own biblical basis � re-read in the spirit of other than Western traditions � to search for life-giving alternatives and to develop democracy accordingly. However, this is not a geographical exercise. We cannot count on South Africa as a place where Ubuntu is practiced or on South Korea living in communities according to Sangsaeng. The reason is that Western civilisation, with its own spirituality, has permeated all corners of the earth. My thesis is that this is the spirituality of money; biblically speaking, of Mammon. Before we can talk about a spirituality for democracy and social cohesion, we need to address the spirituality of the status quo in order to understand what the alternative could be. The issue gets complicated by the new insight that Western civilisation has deep roots in history; in fact a history of almost 3000 years. Only by looking at this history can we really understand how money did not only change socio-economic and political structures but also hearts, minds and the spirituality of people.Intradisciplinary and/or�interdisciplinary�implications: This article challenges the normal Western assumption that democracy is but a political issue of voting every 4 or 5 years. Instead it shows that real democracy is linked to economic and social justice, as well as to deep cultural and spiritual roots. Authors should carefully identify the contextual perspective they challenge, identifying the potential results of the proposed research and whether it calls for a change in traditional discourse as well as whether such a change is possible. Key insights into the research results and its future function should be revealed.Today we are faced with life-killing civilization, manifested in economic injustice, ecological destruction, the threat of Empire, and the escalation of religious conflicts. This compels us to urgently explore the possibility of life

Leveraging best practices to promote health, safety, sustainability, and stewardship.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Marjorie D

2013-08-01

Strategically leveraging health and safety initiatives with sustainability and stewardship helps organizations improve profitability and positively impact team member and customer attachment to the organization. Collective efficacy enhances the triple bottom line: healthy people, healthy planet, and healthy profits. The HS(3)™ Best Practice Exchanges group demonstrated that collective efficacy can leverage the social cohesion, communication channels, and activities within workplaces to promote a healthy, sustainable work culture. This in turn (1) protects the health and safety of workers, (2) preserves the natural environment, and (3) increases attachment to the organization. Community-based participatory research using the Attach21 survey assessed the progress of these companies in their efforts to integrate health, safety, sustainability, and stewardship. Monthly Best Practice Exchanges promoted collective efficacy by providing support, encouragement, and motivation to share and adopt new ideas. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

Correlates of socio-economic inequalities in women's television viewing: a study of intrapersonal, social and environmental mediators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teychenne Megan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Socio-economically disadvantaged women are at a greater risk of spending excess time engaged in television viewing, a behavior linked to several adverse health outcomes. However, the factors which explain socio-economic differences in television viewing are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of intrapersonal, social and environmental factors to mediating socio-economic (educational inequalities in women's television viewing. Methods Cross-sectional data were provided by 1,554 women (aged 18-65 who participated in the 'Socio-economic Status and Activity in Women study' of 2004. Based on an ecological framework, women self-reported their socio-economic position (highest education level, television viewing, as well as a number of potential intrapersonal (enjoyment of television viewing, preference for leisure-time sedentary behavior, depression, stress, weight status, social (social participation, interpersonal trust, social cohesion, social support for physical activity from friends and from family and physical activity environmental factors (safety, aesthetics, distance to places of interest, and distance to physical activity facilities. Results Multiple mediating analyses showed that two intrapersonal factors (enjoyment of television viewing and weight status and two social factors (social cohesion and social support from friends for physical activity partly explained the educational inequalities in women's television viewing. No physical activity environmental factors mediated educational variations in television viewing. Conclusions Acknowledging the cross-sectional nature of this study, these findings suggest that health promotion interventions aimed at reducing educational inequalities in television viewing should focus on intrapersonal and social strategies, particularly providing enjoyable alternatives to television viewing, weight-loss/management information, increasing social cohesion in the

INTANGIBLE ASSETS THROUGH THE COHESION POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Popescu (Stingaciu Ana-Maria

2012-07-01

Full Text Available INTANGIBLE ASSETS THROUGH THE COHESION POLICY Roth Anne-Marie-Monika West University of Timisoara Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Popescu (Stingaciu Ana-Maria West University of Timisoara Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Intangible assets in general and intellectual capital in particular are important to both society and organizations. It can be a source of competitive advantage for business and stimulate innovation that leads to wealth generation. Technological revolutions, the rise of the knowledge-based economy and the networked society have all led to the same conclusion that intangibles and how they contribute to value creation have to be appreciated so that the appropriate decisions can be made to protect and enhance them. The Cohesion Policy represents the main EU measure to ensure a balanced and sustainable growth in Europe by promoting harmonious development and reducing the regional disparities. The general objective of the paper is to highlight the important role of the Cohesion Policy in the development of intangible assets. The objectives and the instruments of the Cohesion Policy are designed to support programs on regional development, economic change, enhanced competitiveness and territorial cooperation through the European Union, to develop human resources and employability. Keywords: intangible assets, intellectual capital, Cohesion policy, development; JEL Classification: O43, G32, D24, O34

Relational approach in managing construction project safety: a social capital perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Koh, Tas Yong; Rowlinson, Steve

2012-09-01

Existing initiatives in the management of construction project safety are largely based on normative compliance and error prevention, a risk management approach. Although advantageous, these approaches are not wholly successful in further lowering accident rates. A major limitation lies with the approaches' lack of emphasis on the social and team processes inherent in construction project settings. We advance the enquiry by invoking the concept of social capital and project organisational processes, and their impacts on project safety performance. Because social capital is a primordial concept and affects project participants' interactions, its impact on project safety performance is hypothesised to be indirect, i.e. the impact of social capital on safety performance is mediated by organisational processes in adaptation and cooperation. A questionnaire survey was conducted within Hong Kong construction industry to test the hypotheses. 376 usable responses were received and used for analyses. The results reveal that, while the structural dimension is not significant, the mediational thesis is generally supported with the cognitive and relational dimensions affecting project participants' adaptation and cooperation, and the latter two processes affect safety performance. However, the cognitive dimension also directly affects safety performance. The implications of these results for project safety management are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Economics of MOOCs and Their Interrelationship to Competitiveness and Cohesiveness: The Case of Israel

Science.gov (United States)

BenDavid-Hadar, Iris

2015-01-01

Higher education contributes to state competitiveness via human capital development that provides future returns to the economy through increases in labour productivity. Additionally, higher education is an infrastructure for future state-level social cohesiveness. Those countries where the education system produces more equitable outcomes are…

Psychobiological Assessment and Enhancement of Team Cohesion and Psychological Resilience in ROTC Cadets Using a Virtual-Reality Team Cohesion Test

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

Using a Virtual - Reality Team Cohesion Test PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Josh Woolley MD/PhD CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE SAN...Team Cohesion and Psychological Resilience in ROTC Cadets Using a Virtual - Reality Team Cohesion Test 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-15-1-0042 5c. PROGRAM...targets while flying a virtual air vehicle. No individual has access to all the necessary information or controls, so operating as a team is crucial

Cohesion energetics of carbon allotropes: Quantum Monte Carlo study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Hyeondeok; Kang, Sinabro; Koo, Jahyun; Lee, Hoonkyung; Kwon, Yongkyung, E-mail: ykwon@konkuk.ac.kr [Division of Quantum Phases and Devices, School of Physics, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jeongnim, E-mail: jnkim@ornl.gov [Materials Science and Technology Division and Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States)

2014-03-21

We have performed quantum Monte Carlo calculations to study the cohesion energetics of carbon allotropes, including sp{sup 3}-bonded diamond, sp{sup 2}-bonded graphene, sp–sp{sup 2} hybridized graphynes, and sp-bonded carbyne. The computed cohesive energies of diamond and graphene are found to be in excellent agreement with the corresponding values determined experimentally for diamond and graphite, respectively, when the zero-point energies, along with the interlayer binding in the case of graphite, are included. We have also found that the cohesive energy of graphyne decreases systematically as the ratio of sp-bonded carbon atoms increases. The cohesive energy of γ-graphyne, the most energetically stable graphyne, turns out to be 6.766(6) eV/atom, which is smaller than that of graphene by 0.698(12) eV/atom. Experimental difficulty in synthesizing graphynes could be explained by their significantly smaller cohesive energies. Finally, we conclude that the cohesive energy of a newly proposed graphyne can be accurately estimated with the carbon–carbon bond energies determined from the cohesive energies of graphene and three different graphynes considered here.

Cohesion Energetics of Carbon Allotropes: Quantum Monte Carlo Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Hyeondeok [Konkuk University, South Korea; Kang, Sinabro [Konkuk University, South Korea; Koo, Jahyun [Konkuk University, South Korea; Lee, Hoonkyung [Konkuk University, South Korea; Kim, Jeongnim [ORNL; Kwon, Yongkyung [Konkuk University, South Korea

2014-01-01

We have performed quantum Monte Carlo calculations to study the cohesion energetics of carbon allotropes, including sp3-bonded diamond, sp2-bonded graphene, sp-sp2 hybridized graphynes, and sp-bonded carbyne. The comput- ed cohesive energies of diamond and graphene are found to be in excellent agreement with the corresponding values de- termined experimentally for diamond and graphite, respectively, when the zero-point energies, along with the interlayer binding in the case of graphite, are included. We have also found that the cohesive energy of graphyne decreases system- atically as the ratio of sp-bonded carbon atoms increases. The cohesive energy of -graphyne, the most energetically- stable graphyne, turns out to be 6.766(6) eV/atom, which is smaller than that of graphene by 0.698(12) eV/atom. Experi- mental difficulty in synthesizing graphynes could be explained by their significantly smaller cohesive energies. Finally we conclude that the cohesive energy of a newly-proposed two-dimensional carbon network can be accurately estimated with the carbon-carbon bond energies determined from the cohesive energies of graphene and three different graphynes.

Territorial cohesion post - 2013 : To whomsoever it may concern

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faludi, A.K.F.

2010-01-01

Conceived as a motion for resolution, the paper considers territorial cohesion now being on the statute book, the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion, Barca making the case for integrated, place-based strategies, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the future of Cohesion policy. The

Cohesion and Coalition Formation in the European Parliament: Roll-Call Votes and Twitter Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherepnalkoski, Darko; Karpf, Andreas; Mozetič, Igor; Grčar, Miha

2016-01-01

We study the cohesion within and the coalitions between political groups in the Eighth European Parliament (2014-2019) by analyzing two entirely different aspects of the behavior of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the policy-making processes. On one hand, we analyze their co-voting patterns and, on the other, their retweeting behavior. We make use of two diverse datasets in the analysis. The first one is the roll-call vote dataset, where cohesion is regarded as the tendency to co-vote within a group, and a coalition is formed when the members of several groups exhibit a high degree of co-voting agreement on a subject. The second dataset comes from Twitter; it captures the retweeting (i.e., endorsing) behavior of the MEPs and implies cohesion (retweets within the same group) and coalitions (retweets between groups) from a completely different perspective. We employ two different methodologies to analyze the cohesion and coalitions. The first one is based on Krippendorff's Alpha reliability, used to measure the agreement between raters in data-analysis scenarios, and the second one is based on Exponential Random Graph Models, often used in social-network analysis. We give general insights into the cohesion of political groups in the European Parliament, explore whether coalitions are formed in the same way for different policy areas, and examine to what degree the retweeting behavior of MEPs corresponds to their co-voting patterns. A novel and interesting aspect of our work is the relationship between the co-voting and retweeting patterns.

Written cohesion in children with and without language learning disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Koutsoftas, Anthony D; Petersen, Victoria

2017-09-01

Cohesion refers to the linguistic elements of discourse that contribute to its continuity and is an important element to consider as part of written language intervention, especially in children with language learning disabilities (LLD). There is substantial evidence that children with LLD perform more poorly than typically developing (TD) peers on measures of cohesion in spoken language and on written transcription measures; however, there is far less research comparing groups on cohesion as a measure of written language across genres. The current study addresses this gap through the following two aims. First, to describe and compare cohesion in narrative and expository writing samples of children with and without language learning disabilities. Second, to relate measures of cohesion to written transcription and translation measures, oral language, and writing quality. Fifty intermediate-grade children produced one narrative and one expository writing sample from which measures of written cohesion were obtained. These included the frequency, adequacy and complexity of referential and conjunctive ties. Expository samples resulted in more complex cohesive ties and children with TD used more complex ties than peers with LLD. Different relationships among cohesion measures and writing were observed for narrative verse expository samples. Findings from this study demonstrate cohesion as a discourse-level measure of written transcription and how the use of cohesion can vary by genre and group (LLD, TD). Clinical implications for assessment, intervention, and future research are provided. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

The association between status and cohesion in sport teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, C S; Carron, A V

1998-02-01

The main objective of this study was to establish the relationship between perceptions of status attributes and cohesion and status ranking and cohesion. A secondary aim was to determine whether age (operationalized by scholastic levels) or culture serves as a moderator in the relationship between either status attributes or status ranking and cohesion. Another secondary aim was to determine if differences are present in the importance attached by athletes to status attributes. Canadian and Indian athletes were tested. Although perceptions of the importance of status attributes and cohesiveness were related, the effect size was small (Green, 1991); perceptions of status ranking and cohesiveness were not related. Neither scholastic level nor culture served as a moderator in the association between either status attributes or status rank and cohesion. The importance that athletes attach to status attributes is similar between scholastic levels and across cultures. The results are discussed in terms of the role of status in sport teams.

Safety: Science and technique in social problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smit, W.A.

1982-01-01

The author describes in a simple and clearly written Dutch text the relationship between scientific and technical knowledge and the social problems concerning the safety of nuclear energy. He begins with the cooling system of reactors and the safety aspects of the associated pumps. He uses this example to illustrate that the quantative determination of failure risks need not necessarily be relevant for judging the acceptance of the risk but is always relevant as a method of judging the effect of technical improvements on safety values. The author then considers the radiological effects of the operation of a nuclear plant by presenting the doses of radioactivity released if a reactor is operating normally, if there are technical problems and in the case of accidents. The corresponding biological effects on man are also presented and in an appendix the radiological consequences of reactor accidents are considered in some detail. He describes a number of models used in such calculations - for metereological distribution, dosimetry for internal radiation, cancer induction - to illustrate the margins of uncertainty in the predictions. According to the author safety aspects should not just be seen as a purely technical problem, starting with the fact that nuclear energy is desirable and then ensuring that all required safety regulations are met. Safety aspects are a social problem and should be considered by first discussing whether nuclear energy is acceptable, taking into consideration such consequences as the effects of possible accidents and the long term effects of reactor operation. (C.F.)

Why are Rich Countries more Politically Cohesive?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars; Olsson, Ola

of other groups in society. If the gains from specialization become sufficiently large, however, a market economy will emerge. From being essentially non-cohesive under self-sufficiency, the political decision making process becomes cohesive in the market economy, as the welfare of individuals...

Molecular Intercalation and Cohesion of Organic Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Devices

KAUST Repository

Bruner, Christopher; Miller, Nichole C.; McGehee, Michael D.; Dauskardt, Reinhold H.

2013-01-01

The phase separated bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer in BHJ polymer:fullerene organic photovoltaic devices (OPV) are mechanically weak with low values of cohesion. Improved cohesion is important for OPV device thermomechanical reliability. BHJ devices are investigated and how fullerene intercalation within the active layer affects cohesive properties in the BHJ is shown. The intercalation of fullerenes between the side chains of the polymers poly(3,3″′-didocecyl quaterthiophene) (PQT-12) and poly(2,5-bis(3-hexadecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (pBTTT) is shown to enhance BHJ layer cohesion. Cohesion values range from ≈1 to 5 J m -2, depending on the polymer:fullerene blend, processing conditions, and composition. Devices with non-intercalated BHJ layers are found to have significantly reduced values of cohesion. The resulting device power conversion efficiencies (PCE) are also investigated and correlated with the device cohesion. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Molecular Intercalation and Cohesion of Organic Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Devices

KAUST Repository

Bruner, Christopher

2013-01-17

The phase separated bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer in BHJ polymer:fullerene organic photovoltaic devices (OPV) are mechanically weak with low values of cohesion. Improved cohesion is important for OPV device thermomechanical reliability. BHJ devices are investigated and how fullerene intercalation within the active layer affects cohesive properties in the BHJ is shown. The intercalation of fullerenes between the side chains of the polymers poly(3,3″′-didocecyl quaterthiophene) (PQT-12) and poly(2,5-bis(3-hexadecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (pBTTT) is shown to enhance BHJ layer cohesion. Cohesion values range from ≈1 to 5 J m -2, depending on the polymer:fullerene blend, processing conditions, and composition. Devices with non-intercalated BHJ layers are found to have significantly reduced values of cohesion. The resulting device power conversion efficiencies (PCE) are also investigated and correlated with the device cohesion. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Social identity, safety climate and self-reported accidents among construction workers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lars Peter; Nørdam, Line; Jønsson, Thomas Faurholt

2018-01-01

The construction industry has one of the highest frequencies of work-related accidents. We examined whether construction workers predominantly identify themselves in terms of their workgroup or in terms of the construction site. In addition, we examined the associations between social identity...... themselves primarily with their workgroup, and to a lesser degree with the construction site. Social identity and safety climate were related both at the workgroup and construction site levels, meaning that social identity may be an antecedent for safety climate. The association between social identity...

Evaluation of Safety Culture Implementation and Socialization Results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Situmorang, Johnny

2003-01-01

Evaluation of safety culture implementation and socialization results has been perform. Evaluation is carried out with specifying safety culture indicators, namely: Meeting between management and employee, system for incidents analysis, training activities related to improving safety, meeting with regulator, contractors, surveys on behavioural attitudes, and resources allocated to promote safety culture. Evaluation is based on observation and visiting the facilities to show the compliance indicator in term of good practices in the frame of safety culture implementation. For three facilities of research reactors, Kartini Yogyakarta, TRIGA Mark II Bandung and MPR-GAS Serpong, implementation of safety culture is considered good enough and progressive. Furthermore some indicator should be considered more intensive, for example the allocated resources, self assesment based on own questionnaire in the frame of improving the safety culture implementation. (author)

Team social cohesion, professionalism, and patient-centeredness: Gendered care work, with special reference to elderly care - a mixed methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

Öhman, Ann; Keisu, Britt-Inger; Enberg, Birgit

2017-06-02

Healthcare organisations are facing large demands in recruiting employees with adequate competency to care for the increasing numbers of elderly. High degrees of turnover and dissatisfaction with working conditions are common. The gendered notion of care work as 'women's work', in combination with low salaries and status, may contribute to negative work experiences. There is abundant information about the negative aspects of elderly care health services, but little is known about positive aspects of this work. The study aim was to investigate work satisfaction from a gender perspective among Swedish registered nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists, focusing specifically on healthcare services for the elderly. A mixed methods approach was adopted in which we combined statistics and open-ended responses from a national survey with qualitative research interviews with healthcare professionals in elderly care organisations. The survey was administered to a random sample of 1578 registered nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Qualitative interviews with 17 professionals were conducted in six elderly care facilities. Qualitative and quantitative content analyses, chi 2 and constructivist grounded theory were used to analyse the data. There was a statistically significant difference in overall work satisfaction between those who worked in elderly care and those who did not (64 and 74,4% respectively, p Team social cohesion', 'Career development and autonomy', 'Client-centeredness', and 'Invisible and ignored power structures'. The results show the complexity of elderly care work and describe several aspects that are important for work satisfaction among health professionals. The results reveal that work satisfaction is dependent on social interrelations and cohesion in the work team, in possibilities to use humour and to have fun together, and in the ability to work as professionals to provide client-centered elderly care. Power relations

Nuclear safety targets and problems of social acceptability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macgill, S.M.

1989-01-01

The following are among the factors which make the problem of setting acceptable safety targets for societal protection from possible nuclear accidents one of such formidable proportion: The varied and often conflicting positions among and between the many constituencies with a claim to interest in the problem: local, national and international populations; lay, workplace and professional communities; private and public interests; active environmental lobbies and intentionally passive publics; powerful influences and politically unprivileged classes; press and mass media. To seek 'acceptability' of safety targets through common consensus is problematised by the difficulty in overcoming the immense social and historical forces that give rise to the prevailing contrariety among different people's positions. To seek resolution of differences by some appropriate weighting of the different views of different constituencies is problematised by the lack of unique identification of what the constituencies are, by the difficulty in faithfully representing their views, and by the absence of 'laws of social entitlement' vis-a-vis the weight that should be given to each. In sum, the problem of setting socially acceptable safety targets is itself bound up with inherently open ended questions of democracy and representation. (author)

Cohesion as interaction in ELF spoken discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Christiansen

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Hitherto, most research into cohesion has concentrated on texts (usually written only in standard Native Speaker English – e.g. Halliday and Hasan (1976. By contrast, following on the work in anaphora of such scholars as Reinhart (1983 and Cornish (1999, Christiansen (2011 describes cohesion as an interac­tive process focusing on the link between text cohesion and discourse coherence. Such a consideration of cohesion from the perspective of discourse (i.e. the process of which text is the product -- Widdowson 1984, p. 100 is especially relevant within a lingua franca context as the issue of different variations of ELF and inter-cultural concerns (Guido 2008 add extra dimensions to the complex multi-code interaction. In this case study, six extracts of transcripts (approximately 1000 words each, taken from the VOICE corpus (2011 of conference question and answer sessions (spoken interaction set in multicultural university con­texts are analysed in depth by means of a qualitative method.

A Systematic Review of the Use of Social Media for Food Safety Risk Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Overbey, Katie N; Jaykus, Lee-Ann; Chapman, Benjamin J

2017-09-01

This article covers the current published literature related to the use of social media in food safety and infectious disease communication. The aim was to analyze literature recommendations and draw conclusions about how best to utilize social media for food safety risk communication going forward. A systematic literature review was conducted, and 24 articles were included for analysis. The inclusion criteria were (i) original peer-reviewed articles and (ii) primary focus on communication through social media about food safety and/or infectious diseases. Studies were coded for themes about social media applications, benefits, limitations, and best practices. Trust and personal beliefs were important drivers of social media use. The wide reach, immediacy, and information gathering capacities of social media were frequently cited benefits. Suggestions for social media best practices were inconsistent among studies, and study designs were highly variable. More evidence-based suggestions are needed to better establish guidelines for social media use in food safety and infectious disease risk communication. The information gleaned from this review can be used to create effective messages for shaping food safety behaviors.

Private Tutoring and Social Cohesion

Science.gov (United States)

Heyneman, Stephen P.

2011-01-01

Mastering the public school curriculum is so important to a child's occupational future that in many regions of the world "shadow" education outside of the public system has now become the norm. In one way, this is excellent news because private investment in human capital is a strong contributor to economic and social development.…

Neighborhood cohesion, neighborhood disorder, and cardiometabolic risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinette, Jennifer W; Charles, Susan T; Gruenewald, Tara L

2018-02-01

Perceptions of neighborhood disorder (trash, vandalism) and cohesion (neighbors trust one another) are related to residents' health. Affective and behavioral factors have been identified, but often in studies using geographically select samples. We use a nationally representative sample (n = 9032) of United States older adults from the Health and Retirement Study to examine cardiometabolic risk in relation to perceptions of neighborhood cohesion and disorder. Lower cohesion is significantly related to greater cardiometabolic risk in 2006/2008 and predicts greater risk four years later (2010/2012). The longitudinal relation is partially accounted for by anxiety and physical activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A community based intervention program to enhance neighborhood cohesion: The Learning Families Project in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Chen; Wan, Alice; Kwok, Lit Tung; Pang, Sally; Wang, Xin; Stewart, Sunita M; Lam, Tai Hing; Chan, Sophia S

2017-01-01

Neighborhood cohesion, which refers to the extent of the connectedness and solidarity among residents in a community or neighborhood, is an important determinant of human health. To enhance neighborhood cohesion, the "Learning Families Project" was developed with a series of intervention programs in Kwun Tong in Hong Kong, a district with low neighborhood cohesion. This project, based on the social ecological model, provided a platform for neighbors to learn, communicate and interact with each other. This quasi-experimental study included two nearby government subsidized low rent housing estates separated by busy main roads. One served as the intervention (Tsui Ping (South) Estate) and one as the control (Shun Tin Estate) estate. The intervention included promotion, resident training and learning programs, embodied by a series of community activities such as talks, day camp, thematic activities and horticulture class. Baseline (before the programs) and follow-up (one year after the programs) surveys were conducted both in the intervention and control estate to assess the impact of the programs on neighborhood cohesion. The number of residents who completed both the baseline and follow-up surveys was 502 in the intervention estate and 476 in the control estate. Neighborhood cohesion significantly improved in the intervention group after the programs (Cohen effect size d: 0.15). Compared with the control group, the improvements in closeness of the neighborhood and trust in neighbors were significantly greater in the intervention group (Cohen effect size d: 0.13 and 0.14, respectively). This brief intervention program using a quasi-experimental study design increased neighborhood cohesion in a low rent housing estate. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02851667.

EU COHESION POLICY NEEDS DIFFERENTIATED POLICY MIX ADEQUATE TO SPECIFICS OF ECONOMIC REGIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe ZAMAN

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The 2007-2013 programming period of the EU focuses on economic and social cohesion via three fundamental objectives: convergence – competitiveness and employment – European territorial co-operation. The horizontal dimension of cohesion policy refers to diminishing the regional disparities and solidarity with the lagging regions’ population. Considering the big regional disparities in the New Member States (NMS as well as the gap between their GDP per capita at national level and the EU average, these countries are the main beneficiary of the EU financial allocations, especially via convergence objective. However, two interrelated questions are entailed by this issue. One of them refers to the capacity of these countries to absorb effectively the EU funds. The other one concentrates on the impact of the absorbed EU funds, in other words to the qualitative aspects of the absorption capacity. Our paper discusses these aspects mainly from the viewpoint of regional disparities in the NMS, proposing a typology of their regions based on the main regional growth characteristics. The implications of the structural assistance on regional disparities are also addressed, taking into consideration economic and social criteria and requirements at EU, national, regional and local levels.

[Family cohesion associated with oral health, socioeconomic factors and health behavior].

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Luale Leão; Brandão, Gustavo Antônio Martins; Garcia, Gustavo; Batista, Marília Jesus; Costa, Ludmila da Silva Tavares; Ambrosano, Gláucia Maria Bovi; Possobon, Rosana de Fátima

2013-08-01

Overall health surveys have related family cohesion to socio-economic status and behavioral factors. The scope of this study was to investigate the association between family cohesion and socio-economic, behavioral and oral health factors. This was a, cross-sectional study with two-stage cluster sampling. The random sample consisted of 524 adolescents attending public schools in the city of Piracicaba-SP. Variables were evaluated by self-applied questionnaires and caries and periodontal disease were assessed by DMF-T and CPI indices. The adolescent's perception of family cohesion was assessed using the family adaptability and cohesion scale. Univariate and multinomial logistic regression shows that adolescents with low family cohesion were more likely than those with medium family cohesion to have low income (OR 2,28 95% CI 1,14- 4,55), presence of caries (OR 2,23 95% CI 1,21-4,09), less than two daily brushings (OR 1,91 95% CI 1,03-3,54). Adolescents with high family cohesion were more likely than those with medium family cohesion to have high income and protective behavior against the habit of smoking. Thus, the data shows that adolescent perception of family cohesion was associated with behavioral, socio-economic and oral health variables, indicating the importance of an integral approach to patient health.

Cohesion and Hierarchy in Physically Abusive Families

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clarissa De Antoni

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates cohesion (emotional bonding and hierarchy (powerstructure in families with abuse against their children. Twenty low-incomefamilies participated. Father, mother and child’s perspective of family relations(cohesion and hierarchy were evaluated by the Family System Test(FAST. The relationship between father-child, mother-child, couple, andamong siblings were evaluated at typical and conflictive situations. Resultsshow a significance regarding to cohesion in typical and conflictive situationfor father-child and mother-child dyads in all perspectives (by father, mother,and child. There is no significant differences regarding to hierarchy. Theseresults suggest that the families see the intrafamilial violence as a constant,since they cannot differentiate between both situations.

The effect of biological cohesion on current ripple development

Science.gov (United States)

Malarkey, Jonathan; Baas, Jaco H.; Hope, Julie

2014-05-01

Results are presented from laboratory experiments examining the role of biological cohesion, associated with Extra Polymeric Substances, on the development of current ripples. The results demonstrate the importance of biological cohesion compared to the effect of physical cohesion associated with clays in an otherwise sandy bed. FURTHER INFORMATION In fluvial and marine environments sediment transport is mainly dependent on the nature of the bed surface (rippled or flat) and the nature of cohesion in the bed. Cohesion can be either physical, as a result of the presence of clays, or biological as a result of the presence of organisms. In the case of the latter, biological cohesion occurs as a result of the presence of Extra Polymeric Substances (EPS) secreted by microorganisms. While it is known that EPS can dramatically increase the threshold of motion (Grant and Gust, 1987), comparatively little is known about the effect of EPS on ripple formation and development. The experiments described here seek to fill this gap. They also allow the effect of biological cohesion to be compared with that of physical cohesion from previous experiments (Baas et al., 2013). The experiments, which were conducted in a 10m flume at Bangor University, involved a current over a bed made of fine sand, with a median diameter of 0.148mm, and various amounts of xanthan gum, a proxy for naturally occurring EPS (Vardy et al., 2007). The hydrodynamic experimental conditions were matched very closely to those of Baas et al. (2013). The ripple dimensions were recorded through the glass side wall of the tank using time lapse photography. In the physical cohesion experiments of Baas et al. (2013) for clay contents up to 12%, the clay was very quickly winnowed out of the bed, leaving essentially clay-free ripples that developed at more or less the same rate as clean sand ripples. The resulting equilibrium ripples were essentially the same length as the clean sand ripples but reduced in height. By

Determination of mode-I cohesive strength for interfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, J. B.; Thouless, M. D.; Sørensen, Bent F.

2016-01-01

The cohesive strength is one of the governing parameters controlling crack deflection at interfaces, but measuring its magnitude is challenging. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel approach to determine the mode-I cohesive strength of an interface by using a 4-point single-edge-notch beam...... in response to this stress, before the main crack starts to grow. Observations using 2D digital-image correlation showed that an ''apparent" strain across the interface initially increases linearly with the applied load, but becomes nonlinear upon the initiation of the interface crack. The cohesive strength...

Corporate social responsibility and safety and health at work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zwetsloot, G.I.J.M.

2004-01-01

This paper about European situation and perspectives on corporate social responsibility and safety and health at work was presented at Jornada Tecnica: Conditiones de Trabajo y Responsabilidad Social. This congress was organised by the Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (INHST)

Complex problems require complex solutions: the utility of social quality theory for addressing the Social Determinants of Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ward Paul R

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In order to improve the health of the most vulnerable groups in society, the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH called for multi-sectoral action, which requires research and policy on the multiple and inter-linking factors shaping health outcomes. Most conceptual tools available to researchers tend to focus on singular and specific social determinants of health (SDH (e.g. social capital, empowerment, social inclusion. However, a new and innovative conceptual framework, known as social quality theory, facilitates a more complex and complete understanding of the SDH, with its focus on four domains: social cohesion, social inclusion, social empowerment and socioeconomic security, all within the same conceptual framework. This paper provides both an overview of social quality theory in addition to findings from a national survey of social quality in Australia, as a means of demonstrating the operationalisation of the theory. Methods Data were collected using a national random postal survey of 1044 respondents in September, 2009. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results Statistical analysis revealed that people on lower incomes (less than $45000 experience worse social quality across all of the four domains: lower socio-economic security, lower levels of membership of organisations (lower social cohesion, higher levels of discrimination and less political action (lower social inclusion and lower social empowerment. The findings were mixed in terms of age, with people over 65 years experiencing lower socio-economic security, but having higher levels of social cohesion, experiencing lower levels of discrimination (higher social inclusion and engaging in more political action (higher social empowerment. In terms of gender, women had higher social cohesion than men, although also experienced more discrimination (lower social inclusion. Conclusions Applying social quality theory allows

The rational weakness of strong ties : Failure of group solidarity in a highly cohesive group of rational agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flache, Andreas

2002-01-01

Recent research (Flache, 1996; Flache and Macy, 1996) suggests a "weakness of strong ties." Cohesive social networks may undermine group solidarity, rather than sustain it. In the original analysis, simulations showed that adaptive actors learn cooperation in bilateral exchanges faster than

The rational weakness of strong ties : Failure of group solidarity in a highly cohesive group of rational agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flache, A; Yamamoto, H

2006-01-01

Recent research (Flache 1996; Flache and Macy 1996) suggests a "weakness of strong ties." Cohesive social networks may undermine group solidarity, rather than sustain it. In the original analysis, simulations showed that adaptive actors learn cooperation in bilateral exchanges faster than

Developmental social isolation affects adult behavior, social interaction, and dopamine metabolite levels in zebrafish.

Science.gov (United States)

Shams, Soaleha; Amlani, Shahid; Buske, Christine; Chatterjee, Diptendu; Gerlai, Robert

2018-01-01

The zebrafish is a social vertebrate and an excellent translational model for a variety of human disorders. Abnormal social behavior is a hallmark of several human brain disorders. Social behavioral problems can arise as a result of adverse early social environment. Little is known about the effects of early social isolation in adult zebrafish. We compared zebrafish that were isolated for either short (7 days) or long duration (180 days) to socially housed zebrafish, testing their behavior across ontogenesis (ages 10, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 days), and shoal cohesion and whole-brain monoamines and their metabolites in adulthood. Long social isolation increased locomotion and decreased shoal cohesion and anxiety in the open-field in adult. Additionally, both short and long social isolation reduced dopamine metabolite levels in response to social stimuli. Thus, early social isolation has lasting effects in zebrafish, and may be employed to generate zebrafish models of human neuropsychiatric conditions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Rise and Fall of Social Cohesion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Christian Albrekt

Afhandlingens spørgsmål er, hvorfor tilliden mellem mennesker er faldende i USA og Storbritannien, mens den er stigende i Danmark og Sverige. Afhandlingens overordnede tema er således, hvordan social sammenhængskraft kan undergraves og opbygges. Afhandlingen giver en social konstruktivistisk fork...

Social contention about safety of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemoto, Kazuyasu

1978-01-01

In Japan, the contentions and arguments on the safety of nuclear power generation have been active since its first introduction, and these are greatly influenced by the nation's experiences of atomic bombs in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Bikini. As the result, the attitude of peoples toward the acceptance of nuclear power plants is significantly different from that in other countries. The situation in Japan of social contentions about nuclear power safety is explained in two aspects: acceptance of the safety, by peoples and Japanese pattern of safety contentions. In both upstream and downstream of nuclear power generation, not only the safety but also the right or wrong for nuclear power generation itself is discussed. The problem of nuclear power safety has gone into the region beyond the technological viewpoint. The pattern of safety contentions in Japan is the entanglement of three sectors; i.e. local people, labor unions and political parties, enterprises and administration, and intellectuals. (Mori, K.)

Social acceptance for seismic safety of nuclear installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oiso, Shinichi

2010-01-01

The social acceptance of seismic safety of the nuclear installations was considered based on the situation that people's concern and anxieties for it having risen by earthquake suffering of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa facility in 2007, etc. It aimed mainly to extract a social awareness (acknowledgment and evaluation) which is peculiar to the earthquake in the field of nuclear power generation, and to show the attention point concerning the public relations of seismic safety of the nuclear power plant. As a result, it was suggested that we should explain based on the opinion of the third party which has a high trust such as specialist scholars, and emphasize that the severe examinations of outside third parties such as committee of the prefecture are conducted. (author)

Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers?

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Annie Y S; Gabarron, Elia; Fernandez-Luque, Luis; Armayones, Manuel

Recent literature has discussed the unintended consequences of clinical information technologies (IT) on patient safety, yet there has been little discussion about the safety concerns in the area of consumer health IT. This paper presents a range of safety concerns for consumers in social media, with a case study on YouTube. We conducted a scan of abstracts on 'quality criteria' related to YouTube. Five areas regarding the safety of YouTube for consumers were identified: (a) harmful health material targeted at consumers (such as inappropriate marketing of tobacco or direct-to-consumer drug advertising); (b) public display of unhealthy behaviour (such as people displaying self-injury behaviours or hurting others); (c) tainted public health messages (i.e. the rise of negative voices against public health messages); (d) psychological impact from accessing inappropriate, offensive or biased social media content; and (e) using social media to distort policy and research funding agendas. The examples presented should contribute to a better understanding about how to promote a safe consumption and production of social media for consumers, and an evidence-based approach to designing social media interventions for health. The potential harm associated with the use of unsafe social media content on the Internet is a major concern. More empirical and theoretical studies are needed to examine how social media influences consumer health decisions, behaviours and outcomes, and devise ways to deter the dissemination of harmful influences in social media.

Emotional ties that bind: the roles of valence and consistency of group emotion in inferences of cohesiveness and common fate.

Science.gov (United States)

Magee, Joe C; Tiedens, Larissa Z

2006-12-01

In three studies, observers based inferences about the cohesiveness and common fate of groups on the emotions expressed by group members. The valence of expressions affected cohesiveness inferences, whereas the consistency of expressions affected inferences of whether members have common fate. These emotion composition effects were stronger than those due to the race or sex composition of the group. Furthermore, the authors show that emotion valence and consistency are differentially involved in judgments about the degree to which the group as a whole was responsible for group performance. Finally, it is demonstrated that valence-cohesiveness effects are mediated by inferences of interpersonal liking and that consistency-common fate effects are mediated by inferences of psychological similarity. These findings have implications for the literature on entitativity and regarding the function of emotions in social contexts.

Development of an evaluation method for fracture mechanical tests on small samples based on a cohesive zone model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahler, Michael

2016-01-01

The safety and reliability of nuclear power plants of the fourth generation is an important issue. It is based on a reliable interpretation of the components for which, among other fracture mechanical material properties are required. The existing irradiation in the power plants significantly affects the material properties which therefore need to be determined on irradiated material. Often only small amounts of irradiated material are available for characterization. In that case it is not possible to manufacture sufficiently large specimens, which are necessary for fracture mechanical testing in agreement with the standard. Small specimens must be used. From this follows the idea of this study, in which the fracture toughness can be predicted with the developed method based on tests of small specimens. For this purpose, the fracture process including the crack growth is described with a continuum mechanical approach using the finite element method and the cohesive zone model. The experiments on small specimens are used for parameter identification of the cohesive zone model. The two parameters of the cohesive zone model are determined by tensile tests on notched specimens (cohesive stress) and by parameter fitting to the fracture behavior of smalls specimens (cohesive energy). To account the different triaxialities of the specimens, the cohesive stress is used depending on the triaxiality. After parameter identification a large specimen can be simulated with the cohesive zone parameters derived from small specimens. The predicted fracture toughness of this big specimen fulfills the size requirements in the standard (ASTM E1820 or ASTM E399) in contrast to the small specimen. This method can be used for ductile and brittle material behavior and was validated in this work. In summary, this method offers the possibility to determine the fracture toughness indirectly based on small specimen testing. Main advantage is the low required specimen volume. Thereby massively

Grain-resolving simulations of settling cohesive sediment

Science.gov (United States)

Vowinckel, Bernhard; Whithers, Jade; Meiburg, Eckart; Luzzatto-Fegiz, Paolo

2017-11-01

Cohesive sediment is ubiquitous in natural environments such as rivers, lakes and coastal ecosystems. For this type of sediment, we can no longer ignore the short-range attractive forces that result in flocculation of aggregates much larger than the individual grain size. Hence, understanding the complex dynamics of the interplay between flocculated sediment and the ambient fluid is of prime interest for managing aquatic environments, although a comprehensive understanding of these phenomena is still lacking. In the present study, we address this issue by carrying out grain-resolved simulations of cohesive particles settling under gravity using the Immersed Boundary Method. We present a computational model formulation to accurately resolve the process of flocculation. The cohesive model is then applied to a complex test case. A randomly distributed ensemble of 1261 polydisperse particles is released in a tank of quiescent fluid. Subsequently, particles start to settle, thereby replacing fluid at the bottom of the tank, which induces a counter flow opposing the settling direction. This mechanism will be compared to experimental studies from the literature, as well as to the non-cohesive counterpart to assessthe impact of flocculation on sedimentation.

Cohesion Policy Contributing to Territorial Cohesion – Future Scenarios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Faludi

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The Barca Report advocates for developmental policies to be ‘place-based’: integrated as far as they affect ‘places’. The debate on territorial cohesion is equally concerned with integrating relevant policies and actions. This requires well-established democratic institutions and adequate responses to the demands of technical systems and of markets. Following Lisbeth Hooghe and Gary Marks, the respective arrangements are described as Governance Type I and Type II. All levels of government, including that of the EU, partake in both types, but relations between them are problematic, particularly in the context of Europe 2020: Will this EU strategy be mainly a matter for Directorate-Generals and their various clients pursuing their policies (Governance Type II, or will Cohesion policy, with its more integrated and decentralised approach, involving many levels of government and stakeholders (Governance Type I form platforms for integrating them? This paper presents four scenarios; each based on a combination of strong/weak Governance Type I and Type II, which are labelled as the ‘Anglo-Saxon’, ‘Saint-Simonian’, ‘Rhineland’ and the ‘European’ Scenarios. The authors prefer the latter, but the best one can hope for in the short term is for this option not to fall by the wayside.

The relation of parent-child interaction qualities to social skills in children with and without autism spectrum disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Haven, Erin L; Manangan, Christen N; Sparrow, Joanne K; Wilson, Beverly J

2014-04-01

This study examined associations between parent-child interactions and the development of social skills in 42 children (21 typically developing and 21 with autism spectrum disorders) between the ages of 3 years, 0 months and 6 years, 11 months. We expected that positive parent-child interaction qualities would be related to children's social skills and would mediate the negative relation between children's developmental status (typical development vs autism spectrum disorders) and social skills. Videotapes of parents and children during a 5-min wordless book task were coded for parent positive affect and emotional support as well as parent-child cohesiveness. Emotional support and cohesiveness were significantly related to children's social skills, such that higher emotional support and cohesiveness were associated with higher social skills, R (2) = .29, p = .02, and R (2) = .38, p = .002, respectively. Additionally, cohesiveness mediated the relation between children's developmental status and social skills. These findings suggest that parent emotional support and cohesiveness between parents and children positively influence children's social skills. Parent positive affect was unrelated to social skills. Implications of these findings for social skills interventions are discussed, particularly for young children with autism spectrum disorders.

Cohesion in Online Student Teams versus Traditional Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, David E.

2016-01-01

Researchers have found that the electronic methods in use for online team communication today increase communication quality in project-based work situations. Because communication quality is known to influence group cohesion, the present research examined whether online student project teams are more cohesive than traditional teams. We tested…

Level of athlete satisfaction and group cohesion in adult indoor soccer teams. DOI: 10.5007/1980-0037.2011v13n2p138

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Roberto Andrade do Nascimento Junior

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This descriptive study investigated the levels of athlete satisfaction and group cohesion in adult indoor soccer teams. Fifty-eight male athletes of the Parana indoor soccer. Championship participated in the study. The Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Group Environment Questionnaire were used for assessment. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Cronbach’s alpha, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, Manova, and the post hoc Scheffe test were used for data analysis (p < 0.05. The results showed that teams with higher levels of athlete satisfaction had higher perception of group cohesion. Teams with low levels of personal satisfaction had lower perception of group cohesion. Comparison of the teams showed differences in three dimensions of satisfaction (training-education, team performance, and strategy and in all dimensions of cohesion. The more satisfied the athletes were with the instruction of the coach, personal treatment and strategies, the more cohesive were the teams for the task. It was concluded that the level of athlete satisfaction plays a key role in the perception of cohesion in sport teams, with a predominance of aspects related to the group-task dimensions over social-group dimensions.

Level of athlete satisfaction and group cohesion in adult indoor soccer teams. DOI: 10.5007/1980-0037.2011v13n2p138

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Roberto Andrade do Nascimento Junior

2011-02-01

Full Text Available This descriptive study investigated the levels of athlete satisfaction and group cohesion in adult indoor soccer teams. Fifty-eight male athletes of the Parana indoor soccer. Championship participated in the study. The Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Group Environment Questionnaire were used for assessment. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Cronbach’s alpha, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, Manova, and the post hoc Scheffe test were used for data analysis (p < 0.05. The results showed that teams with higher levels of athlete satisfaction had higher perception of group cohesion. Teams with low levels of personal satisfaction had lower perception of group cohesion. Comparison of the teams showed differences in three dimensions of satisfaction (training-education, team performance, and strategy and in all dimensions of cohesion. The more satisfied the athletes were with the instruction of the coach, personal treatment and strategies, the more cohesive were the teams for the task. It was concluded that the level of athlete satisfaction plays a key role in the perception of cohesion in sport teams, with a predominance of aspects related to the group-task dimensions over social-group dimensions.

Relationships between cohesion, collective efficacy and performance in professional basketball teams: an examination of mediating effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Heuzé, Jean-Philippe; Raimbault, Nicolas; Fontayne, Paul

2006-01-01

The main aim of this study was to examine mediating effects in the relationships between cohesion, collective efficacy and performance in professional basketball teams. A secondary aim was to examine the correlates of collective efficacy in a professional sport. A total of 154 French and foreign professional players completed French or English versions of questionnaires about cohesion and collective efficacy. Two composite measures of individual performance were used (pre- and post-performance). Individual-level analyses were performed. Regression analyses supported two mediating relationships with collective efficacy as a mediator of the pre-performance - Group integration-task relationship, and Group integration-task as a mediator of the pre-performance - collective efficacy relationship. Statistical analyses indicated that neither Group integration-task nor collective efficacy was a better mediator in the relationship between pre-performance and the other group variables. Results also revealed positive relationships between three dimensions of cohesion (i.e. Individual attractions to the group-task, Group integration-task, Group integration-social) and collective efficacy. These findings suggest that in professional basketball teams, staff members should look after athletes who perform at a lower or below their usual level because their performances might lead them into a downward cohesion - collective efficacy spiral. Staff members should also develop a high quality of group functioning, both on and off the basketball court, given its relationship with collective efficacy.

Investigating the settling dynamics of cohesive silt particles with particle-resolving simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Rui; Xiao, Heng; Sun, Honglei

2018-01-01

The settling of cohesive sediment is ubiquitous in aquatic environments, and the study of the settling process is important for both engineering and environmental reasons. In the settling process, the silt particles show behaviors that are different from non-cohesive particles due to the influence of inter-particle cohesive force. For instance, the flocs formed in the settling process of cohesive silt can loosen the packing, and thus the structural densities of cohesive silt beds are much smaller than that of non-cohesive sand beds. While there is a consensus that cohesive behaviors depend on the characteristics of sediment particles (e.g., Bond number, particle size distribution), little is known about the exact influence of these characteristics on the cohesive behaviors. In addition, since the cohesive behaviors of the silt are caused by the inter-particle cohesive forces, the motions of and the contacts among silt particles should be resolved to study these cohesive behaviors in the settling process. However, studies of the cohesive behaviors of silt particles in the settling process based on particle-resolving approach are still lacking. In the present work, three-dimensional settling process is investigated numerically by using CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method). The inter-particle collision force, the van der Waals force, and the fluid-particle interaction forces are considered. The numerical model is used to simulate the hindered settling process of silt based on the experimental setup in the literature. The results obtained in the simulations, including the structural densities of the beds, the characteristic lines, and the particle terminal velocity, are in good agreement with the experimental observations in the literature. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that the influences of non-dimensional Bond number and particle polydispersity on the structural densities of silt beds have been investigated separately

A Reappraisal of Lexical Cohesion in Conversational Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez Gonzalez, Maria De Los Angeles

2013-01-01

Cohesion, or the connectedness of discourse, has been recognized as playing a crucial role in both language production and comprehension processes. Researchers have debated about the "right" number and classification of cohesive devices, as well as about their interaction with coherence and/or genre. The present study proposes an integrative model…

Social identification moderates the effect of crowd density on safety at the Hajj.

Science.gov (United States)

Alnabulsi, Hani; Drury, John

2014-06-24

Crowd safety is a major concern for those attending and managing mass gatherings, such as the annual Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca (also called Makkah). One threat to crowd safety at such events is crowd density. However, recent research also suggests that psychological membership of crowds can have positive benefits. We tested the hypothesis that the effect of density on safety might vary depending on whether there is shared social identification in the crowd. We surveyed 1,194 pilgrims at the Holy Mosque, Mecca, during the 2012 Hajj. Analysis of the data showed that the negative effect of crowd density on reported safety was moderated by social identification with the crowd. Whereas low identifiers reported reduced safety with greater crowd density, high identifiers reported increased safety with greater crowd density. Mediation analysis suggested that a reason for these moderation effects was the perception that other crowd members were supportive. Differences in reported safety across national groups (Arab countries and Iran compared with the rest) were also explicable in terms of crowd identification and perceived support. These findings support a social identity account of crowd behavior and offer a novel perspective on crowd safety management.

Anisotropy in cohesive, frictional granular media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luding, Stefan

2005-01-01

The modelling of cohesive, frictional granular materials with a discrete particle molecular dynamics is reviewed. From the structure of the quasi-static granular solid, the fabric, stress, and stiffness tensors are determined, including both normal and tangential forces. The influence of the material properties on the flow behaviour is also reported, including relations between the microscopic attractive force and the macroscopic cohesion as well as the dependence of the macroscopic friction on the microscopic contact friction coefficient. Related to the dynamics, the anisotropy of both structure and stress are exponentially approaching the maximum

Emerging technologies, innovative teachers and moral cohesion

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Batchelor, J

2012-05-01

Full Text Available efficacy when they engage with emerging technologies. The concept of moral cohesion is further expanded and forms the main focus of this article. Keywords: emerging technologies, innovative teachers, moral cohesion, pedagogies, ethics, teacher.... African Renaissance and teacher disposition is identified as the strongest drivers. Teacher training forms the link between the strong drivers and the outcomes manifest as Stewardship and ethical considerations. 3.2 Professional Burden The theme...

Consideration of social scientific issues in a safety case. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sailer, Michael; Kallenbach-Herbert, Beate; Brohmann, Bettina; Spieth-Achtnich, Angelika

2010-01-01

The research outcome presented here - a model for identifying and describing safety-relevant social scientific issues - provides a scientific basis for addressing these issues in a safety case. In order for them to be implemented in a repository process, it would be necessary to elaborate in greater detail the initial conceptual foundations that have been laid in this research project in line with the project's terms of reference. The requisite elaboration relates to binding rules for designing the repository process, particularly with regard to the stages in which the safety case is to be developed during planning, approval, construction and operation through to repository closure. Such detailed elaboration also needs to involve specifying the extent to which each social scientific issue and sub-issue is to be addressed in the different stages. Consideration would need to be given not only to the relevance of the issue for a given stage but also to the various options and methods for providing proof of safety. It would be possible to draw on experiences with handling safety management in nuclear power plants - a sphere in which over the last ten years efforts have been ongoing to develop methods for presentation by the operator and review by the authorities. Furthermore, it is likely that the social scientific issues relevant to a safety case cannot be defined once and for all in a single process, but that the need for continual revision and adaptation will arise due to both the increasing knowledge acquired during the course of the repository process and the experiences and expectations of stakeholders (similarly to experiences in the sphere of scientific-technological requirements). Appropriate conditions need to be defined for such a process. This process could be supported by implementing the option mentioned above whereby a regulatory definition of safety management for geological disposal is formulated which encompasses all safety-relevant social scientific

Increasing social capital to combat social exclusion; The Social Action contribution

OpenAIRE

Boeck, T. G.; McCullogh, P.; Ward, David, 1946-

2001-01-01

This chapter explores some of the findings of a TSER Project "Making New Local Policies Against Social Exclusion In European Cities" which was based on European and local networks. The importance of this chapter was that it was one of the first to highlight the contextual importance of social capital. It has policy implications for drawing together issues of social exclusion and community cohesion. It influenced local policy making and was presented in several international conferences.

The Limits of Logic-Based Inherent Safety of Social Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentzen, Martin Mose

2017-01-01

Social robots can reason and act while taking into accountsocial and cultural structures, for instance by complying withsocial or ethical norms or values. As social robots are likely to becomemore common and advanced and thus likely to interact withhuman beings in increasingly complex situations......-based safety for ethical robots is shown. Afterwards,an empirical study is used to show that there is a clash betweendeontic reasoning and most formal deontic logics. I give anexample as to how this clash can cause problems in human-robot interaction.I conclude that deontic logics closer to natural...... languagereasoning are needed and that logic only should play a limited partin the overall safety architecture of a social robot, which should alsobe based on other principles of safe design....

cohesión social y espacio de aparición: el papel de los espectadores en el concepto de ciudadanía de Hannah Arendt Social Cohesion and Space of Appearance: Spectators Role in the Concept of Citizenship by Hannah Arendt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandro Mesa Arango

2012-06-01

Full Text Available En este artículo se exploran las categorías de cohesión social y espacio de aparición en el concepto de ciudadanía de Hannah Arendt y más específicamente el papel de los espectadores. En el análisis realizado al concepto de ciudadanía en Arendt se expone la paradoja que señala acerca de lo social y lo político, siendo el primero determinante para la cohesión social y el segundo para la construcción y desarrollo de comunidades políticas, cuyo centro de gravedad es la dignidad humana. El artículo parte de consideraciones generales sobre el concepto de ciudadanía en Arendt a fin de adentrar al lector en el espacio de aparición, compartido por actores, pero sobre todo por espectadores, cuya preponderancia sobre lo social cristaliza en la trama plural de historias tejidas acerca de los hechos en el espacio común en que se aparecen unos a otros, equivalente al ''entre'', base del ejercicio de la ciudadanía con sus consecuentes implicaciones para el concepto mismo y para los planes y programas emergentes de educación para la ciudadanía y de formación ciudadana.In this paper, categories of social cohesion and space of appearance are explored in the concept of citizenship by Hannah Arendt and more specifically about spectators role. In the analysis of citizenship concept in Arendt, the paradox that says about the social and political, being the first factor decisive for social cohesion and the second one for construction and development of political communities, whose basis is human dignity. The article firstly deals with general considerations about Arendt's concept of citizenship in order to go the reader into space of appearance, shared by actors, but mostly by spectators, whose preponderance over the social is defined in the plural plot of developed stories about events in space that are common in each other, equivalent to ''between'', the basis of citizenship practice with its consistent implications for the concept and

Rotational Failure of Rubble-pile Bodies: Influences of Shear and Cohesive Strengths

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yun; Richardson, Derek C.; Barnouin, Olivier S.; Michel, Patrick; Schwartz, Stephen R.; Ballouz, Ronald-Louis

2018-04-01

The shear and cohesive strengths of a rubble-pile asteroid could influence the critical spin at which the body fails and its subsequent evolution. We present results using a soft-sphere discrete element method to explore the mechanical properties and dynamical behaviors of self-gravitating rubble piles experiencing increasing rotational centrifugal forces. A comprehensive contact model incorporating translational and rotational friction and van der Waals cohesive interactions is developed to simulate rubble-pile asteroids. It is observed that the critical spin depends strongly on both the frictional and cohesive forces between particles in contact; however, the failure behaviors only show dependence on the cohesive force. As cohesion increases, the deformation of the simulated body prior to disruption is diminished, the disruption process is more abrupt, and the component size of the fissioned material is increased. When the cohesive strength is high enough, the body can disaggregate into similar-size fragments, which could be a plausible mechanism to form asteroid pairs or active asteroids. The size distribution and velocity dispersion of the fragments in high-cohesion simulations show similarities to the disintegrating asteroid P/2013 R3, indicating that this asteroid may possess comparable cohesion in its structure and experience rotational fission in a similar manner. Additionally, we propose a method for estimating a rubble pile’s friction angle and bulk cohesion from spin-up numerical experiments, which provides the opportunity for making quantitative comparisons with continuum theory. The results show that the present technique has great potential for predicting the behaviors and estimating the material strengths of cohesive rubble-pile asteroids.

Long Fibre Composite Modelling Using Cohesive User's Element

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozak, Vladislav; Chlup, Zdenek

2010-01-01

The development glass matrix composites reinforced by unidirectional long ceramic fibre has resulted in a family of very perspective structural materials. The only disadvantage of such materials is relatively high brittleness at room temperature. The main micromechanisms acting as toughening mechanism are the pull out, crack bridging, matrix cracking. There are other mechanisms as crack deflection etc. but the primer mechanism is mentioned pull out which is governed by interface between fibre and matrix. The contribution shows a way how to predict and/or optimise mechanical behaviour of composite by application of cohesive zone method and write user's cohesive element into the FEM numerical package Abaqus. The presented results from numerical calculations are compared with experimental data. Crack extension is simulated by means of element extinction algorithms. The principal effort is concentrated on the application of the cohesive zone model with the special traction separation (bridging) law and on the cohesive zone modelling. Determination of micro-mechanical parameters is based on the combination of static tests, microscopic observations and numerical calibration procedures.

Video Modeling to Teach Social Safety Skills to Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

Science.gov (United States)

Spivey, Corrine E.; Mechling, Linda C.

2016-01-01

This study evaluated the effectiveness of video modeling with a constant time delay procedure to teach social safety skills to three young women with intellectual disability. A multiple probe design across three social safety skills (responding to strangers who: requested personal information; requested money; and entered the participant's…

Anaphoric Referencing: A Cohesive Device in Written and Spoken ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

unique firstlady

cohesive function "if and when they can be interpreted through their relation to some other (explicit) encoding device in the same passage". ... is Anaphoric but when the implicit term precedes its linguistic referent, the cohesive tie is known as ...

A study on relationship between social capital and sustainable development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shabnam Fotovvat

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between social capital components, social trust, social cohesion, social participation and social security, and sustainable development in city of Salmas, Iran. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale, distributes it among 384 randomly selected people who live in this city. Cronbach alpha has been calculated as 0.92, which is well above the minimum acceptable level. Using regression technique, the study has determined a positive and meaningful relationship between three components of social capital and sustainable development including social cohesion, social participation and social security. However, the study does not confirm the relationship between social trust and sustainable development.

MODERN THREATS OF SOCIAL SAFETY OF THE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR PREVENTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Павел Александрович Кисляков

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: identify modern threats of safety of the school and substantiate the direction of their prevention.Methodology: a theoretical analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature on the issues of safety of students.Results: on the basis of theoretical and empirical analysis identified the following threats of social safety of the education environment: criminal threats, threats of extremism and terrorism, physical and mental abuse, interpersonal conflicts, addictive behavior of students. Substantiates the necessity the design of social safety protection, including space of health, space of tolerance, psychologically comfortable space without violence also providing appropriate training of educators.Practical implications: the system of education.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-2-2

Substitution as a Device of Grammatical Cohesion in English Contexts

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Mohammad Reza Hasannejad

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The present study set out to investigate the effect of teaching substitution as a kind of grammatical cohesion on the true identification of confusing substitution elements with cohesive or non-cohesive roles in different contexts and also the production of modal, reporting and conditional contexts through clausal substitution acquaintance. To this end, the following procedures were taken. First 120 male and female EFL students were selected from Iranshahr Azad University. Having administered the language proficiency test, researchers selected 80 students as intermediate subjects according to their TOEFL band scores. First, pretests of cohesion identification (substitution and production of modal, reporting and conditional environments were administered to both control and experimental groups. Then, the experimental group was exposed to the teaching of the above-said above-mentioned cohesive device. Finally, post-tests of substitution elements’ identification and modal, reporting and conditional contexts’ production through clausal substitution familiarity were administered. The results showed that cohesive device treatment helped students on the true identification of substitution elements. Another finding proved that EFL students might have no difficulty in learning certain rules or classification of rules and application of their clausal substitution knowledge in creating modal, reporting and conditional contexts. Our findings can have implications for the field of language learning and teaching.

Group cohesion in sports teams of different professional level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vazha M. Devishvili

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background. Team sports are not only the most exciting sporting events. but also complex activities that make serious demands on players. The effectiveness of the team depends not only on the high level of gaming interaction. but also on the relationship between the players. The work is based on the material of sports teams and is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of group cohesion. As a basic model. the authors choose a 4-factor model that describes cohesion in sports teams. The paper also considered the phenomenon of the emergence of the aggregate subject in the process of joint activity. when the participants feel themselves as a whole and experience feelings of satisfaction and a surge of energy. Objective. The main objective of the work is to investigate the relationship between the level of team cohesion and subjective feelings of unity of its players. As additional variables in the study there is a sport (football and volleyball and team level (amateur and professional. To test the assumptions. two methods were used (the Sport Team Cohesion Questionnaire and the Subject Unity Index. which allow not only to determine the overall level of cohesion and unity. but also to reveal the structure of both phenomena. The study involved two men’s volleyball and two men’s football teams of different ages: 8-9 years (39 athletes; 12-14 years (24 athletes and 18-25 years (41 athletes. Design. For amateur groups represented by children’s and teenage sports teams. significant correlations between unity and unity were obtained (r = 0.618. p <0.01; r = 0.477. p <0.05. For professional teams. no significant correlations were found. Influence of the sport on cohesion is also different for amateur and professional teams. In the first case. the cohesion is higher for football players (U = 118. p <0.05. and in the second case for volleyball players (U = 124. p <0.05. Results. The findings indicate that the professional level of players affects group

Adsorption induced losses in interfacial cohesion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asaro, R.J.

1977-07-01

A model for interfacial cohesion is developed which describes the loss in the strength of an interface due to the segregation and adsorption of impurities on it. Distinctions are made between interface separations that occur too rapidly for any significant redistribution of adsorbing matter to take place and separations that are slow enough to allow full adsorption equilibrium. Expressions for the total work of complete decohesion are presented for both cases. The results are applied to well-known model adsorption isotherms and some experimental data for grain boundary adsorption of phosphorus in iron is analyzed with respect to the losses in intergranular cohesion

Perceptions as the crucial link? The mediating role of neighborhood perceptions in the relationship between the neighborhood context and neighborhood cohesion.

Science.gov (United States)

Laméris, Joran; Hipp, John R; Tolsma, Jochem

2018-05-01

This study examines the effects of neighborhood racial in-group size, economic deprivation and the prevalence of crime on neighborhood cohesion among U.S. whites. We explore to what extent residents' perceptions of their neighborhood mediate these macro-micro relationships. We use a recent individual-level data set, the American Social Fabric Study (2012/2013), enriched with contextual-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2010) and employ multi-level structural equation models. We show that the racial in-group size is positively related to neighborhood cohesion and that neighborhood cohesion is lower in communities with a high crime rate. Individuals' perceptions of the racial in-group size partly mediate the relationship between the objective racial in-group size and neighborhood cohesion. Residents' perceptions of unsafety from crime also appear to be a mediating factor, not only for the objective crime rate but also for the objective racial in-group size. This is in line with our idea that racial stereotypes link racial minorities to crime whereby neighborhoods with a large non-white population are perceived to be more unsafe. Residents of the same neighborhood differ in how they perceive the degree of economic decay of the neighborhood and this causes them to evaluate neighborhood cohesion differently, however perceptions of neighborhood economic decay do not explain the link between the objective neighborhood context and neighborhood cohesion. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Derivation of Path Independent Coupled Mix Mode Cohesive Laws from Fracture Resistance Curves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goutianos, Stergios

2016-01-01

A generalised approach is presented to derive coupled mixed mode cohesive laws described with physical parameters such as peak traction, critical opening, fracture energy and cohesive shape. The approach is based on deriving mix mode fracture resistance curves from an effective mix mode cohesive...... law at different mode mixities. From the fracture resistance curves, the normal and shear stresses of the cohesive laws can be obtained by differentiation. Since, the mixed mode cohesive laws are obtained from a fracture resistance curve (potential function), path independence is automatically...

Packing and Cohesive Properties of Some Locally Extracted Starches

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... properties of the particles affect the packing and cohesive properties of the starches, and are important in predicting the behaviour of the starches during handling and use in pharmaceutical preparations. These properties need to be closely controlled in pre-formulation studies. Keywords: Packing and cohesive properties, ...

Narrative, memory and social representations: a conversation between history and social psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Jovchelovitch, Sandra

2012-12-01

This paper explores relations between narrative, memory and social representations by examining how social representations express the ways in which communities deal with the historical past. Drawing on a case study of social representations of the Brazilian public sphere, it shows how a specific narrative of origins re-invents history as a useful mythological resource for defending identity, building inter-group solidarity and maintaining social cohesion. Produced by a time-travelling dialogue between multiple sources, this historical narrative is functional both to transform, to stabilise and give resilience to specific social representations of public life. The Brazilian case shows that historical narratives, which tend to be considered as part of the stable core of representational fields, are neither homogenous nor consensual but open polyphasic platforms for the construction of alternative, often contradictory, representations. These representations do not go away because they are ever changing and situated, recruit multiple ways of thinking and fulfil functions of identity, inter-group solidarity and social cohesion. In the disjunction between historiography and the past as social representation are the challenges and opportunities for the dialogue between historians and social psychologists.

[Effects of family cohesion and adaptability on behavioral problems in preschool children].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yan-Ni; Xue, Hong-Li; Chen, Qian

2016-05-01

To investigate the effects of family cohesion and adaptability on behavioral problems in preschool children. The stratified cluster multistage sampling method was used to perform a questionnaire survey in the parents of 1 284 children aged 3-6 years in the urban area of Lanzhou, China. The general status questionnaire, Conners Child Behavior Checklist (Parent Symptom Question), and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale, Second edition, Chinese version (FACESII-CV) were used to investigate behavioral problems and family cohesion and adaptability. The overall detection rate of behavioral problems in preschool children was 17.13%. The children with different types of family cohesion had different detection rates of behavioral problems, and those with free-type family cohesion showed the highest detection rate of behavioral problems (40.2%). The children with different types of family adaptability also had different detection rates of behavioral problems, and those with stiffness type showed the highest detection rate of behavioral problems (25.1%). The behavioral problems in preschool children were negatively correlated with family cohesion and adaptability. During the growth of preschool children, family cohesion and adaptability have certain effects on the mental development of preschool children.

Cohesion: An Overview for the Teacher of Reading. Revised.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, L. John

Pronouns, substitutes, elipses, conjunctions, synonyms, antonyms, superordinates and subordinates, and part-whole relations all provide cohesive ties that help a reader understand text. A study at Britain's Open University (England) has revealed the way in which the perception of cohesive ties is achieved as children's reading ability grows.…

The Impact of Coworkers’ Safety Violations on an Individual Worker: A Social Contagion Effect within the Construction Crew

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shoujian; Su, Yikun

2018-01-01

This research developed and tested a model of the social contagion effect of coworkers’ safety violations on individual workers within construction crews. Both situational and routine safety violations were considered in this model. Empirical data were collected from 345 construction workers in China using a detailed questionnaire. The results showed that both types of safety violations made by coworkers were significantly related to individuals’ perceived social support and production pressure. Individuals’ attitudinal ambivalence toward safety compliance mediated the relationships between perceived social support and production pressure and both types of individuals’ safety violations. However, safety motivation only mediated the effects of perceived social support and production pressure on individuals’ situational safety violations. Further, this research supported the differences between situational and routine safety violations. Specifically, we found that individuals were more likely to imitate coworkers’ routine safety violations than their situational safety violations. Coworkers’ situational safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ situational safety violations mainly through perceived social support and safety motivation. By contrast, coworkers’ routine safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ routine safety violations mainly through perceived production pressure and attitudinal ambivalence. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications, research limitations, and future directions were discussed. PMID:29673149

The Impact of Coworkers' Safety Violations on an Individual Worker: A Social Contagion Effect within the Construction Crew.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Huakang; Lin, Ken-Yu; Zhang, Shoujian; Su, Yikun

2018-04-17

This research developed and tested a model of the social contagion effect of coworkers’ safety violations on individual workers within construction crews. Both situational and routine safety violations were considered in this model. Empirical data were collected from 345 construction workers in China using a detailed questionnaire. The results showed that both types of safety violations made by coworkers were significantly related to individuals’ perceived social support and production pressure. Individuals’ attitudinal ambivalence toward safety compliance mediated the relationships between perceived social support and production pressure and both types of individuals’ safety violations. However, safety motivation only mediated the effects of perceived social support and production pressure on individuals’ situational safety violations. Further, this research supported the differences between situational and routine safety violations. Specifically, we found that individuals were more likely to imitate coworkers’ routine safety violations than their situational safety violations. Coworkers’ situational safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ situational safety violations mainly through perceived social support and safety motivation. By contrast, coworkers’ routine safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ routine safety violations mainly through perceived production pressure and attitudinal ambivalence. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications, research limitations, and future directions were discussed.

Social capital and knowledge sharing: effects on patient safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chia-Wen; Huang, Heng-Chiang; Chiang, Chi-Yun; Hsu, Chiu-Ping; Chang, Chia-Chen

2012-08-01

This article is a report on a study that empirically examines the influence of social capital on knowledge sharing and the impact of knowledge sharing on patient safety. Knowledge sharing is linked to many desirable managerial outcomes, including learning and problem-solving, which are essential for patient safety. Rather than studying the tangible effects of rewards, this study examines whether social capital (including social interaction, trust and shared vision) directly supports individual knowledge sharing in an organization. This cross-sectional study analysed data collected through a questionnaire survey of nurses from a major medical centre in northern Taiwan. The data were collected over a 9-month period from 2008 to 2009. The data analysis was conducted using the Partial Least Squares Graph v3.0 program to evaluate the measurement properties and the structural relationships specified in the research model. Based on a large-scale survey, empirical results indicate that Registered Nurses' perceptions of trust and shared vision have statistically significant and direct effects on knowledge sharing. In addition, knowledge sharing is significantly and positively associated with patient safety. The findings suggest that hospital administrators should foster group trust and initiate a common vision among Registered Nurses. In addition, administrators and chief knowledge officers of hospitals should encourage positive intentions towards knowledge sharing. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Maintenance of cultural diversity: social roles, social networks, and cognitive networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Marshall

2014-06-01

Smaldino suggests that patterns that give rise to group-level cultural traits can also increase individual-level cultural diversity. I distinguish social roles and related social network structures and discuss ways in which each might maintain diversity. I suggest that cognitive analogs of "cohesion," a property of networks that helps maintenance of diversity, might mediate the effects of social roles on diversity.

Application of factor analysis in psychological diagnostics (sample: study of students’ social safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel Aleksandrovich Kislyakov

2015-10-01

Our recommendations for the use of factor analysis, with necessary restrictions and clear reasons of a possible ambiguity of solutions, will be useful to everyone interested in mastering an adequate mathematical tool for solving problems pertaining to the humanities, in particular, those of practical psychology. As a practical example is presented the research of the psychological factors which provide students’ social safety. With the help of the factor analysis relevant personal and professional qualities of a teacher were revealed which are the subjective factors of students’ social safety, namely: social anticipation, socio-psychological stress resistance, social tolerance, professional orientation, responsibility, communication skills.

Effect of cohesion on local compaction and granulation of sheared soft granular materials

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Roy Sudeshna

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper results from an ongoing investigation of the effect of cohesion on the compaction of sheared soft wet granular materials. We compare dry non-cohesive and wet moderately-to-strongly cohesive soft almost frictionless granular materials and report the effect of cohesion between the grains on the local volume fraction. We study this in a three dimensional, unconfined, slowly sheared split-bottom ring shear cell, where materials while sheared are subject to compression under the confining weight of the material above. Our results show that inter-particle cohesion has a considerable impact on the compaction of soft materials. Cohesion causes additional stresses, due to capillary forces between particles, leading to an increase in volume fraction due to higher compaction. This effect is not visible in a system of infinitely stiff particles. In addition, acting oppositely, we observe a general decrease in volume fraction due to increased cohesion for frictional particle, which we attribute to the role of contact friction that enhances dilation.

Sister chromatid cohesion defects are associated with chromosome instability in Hodgkin lymphoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajesh, Babu V; Lichtensztejn, Zelda; McManus, Kirk J

2013-01-01

Chromosome instability manifests as an abnormal chromosome complement and is a pathogenic event in cancer. Although a correlation between abnormal chromosome numbers and cancer exist, the underlying mechanisms that cause chromosome instability are poorly understood. Recent data suggests that aberrant sister chromatid cohesion causes chromosome instability and thus contributes to the development of cancer. Cohesion normally functions by tethering nascently synthesized chromatids together to prevent premature segregation and thus chromosome instability. Although the prevalence of aberrant cohesion has been reported for some solid tumors, its prevalence within liquid tumors is unknown. Consequently, the current study was undertaken to evaluate aberrant cohesion within Hodgkin lymphoma, a lymphoid malignancy that frequently exhibits chromosome instability. Using established cytogenetic techniques, the prevalence of chromosome instability and aberrant cohesion was examined within mitotic spreads generated from five commonly employed Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines (L-1236, KM-H2, L-428, L-540 and HDLM-2) and a lymphocyte control. Indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses were performed to evaluate the localization and expression of six critical proteins involved in the regulation of sister chromatid cohesion. We first confirmed that all five Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines exhibited chromosome instability relative to the lymphocyte control. We then determined that each Hodgkin lymphoma cell line exhibited cohesion defects that were subsequently classified into mild, moderate or severe categories. Surprisingly, ~50% of the mitotic spreads generated from L-540 and HDLM-2 harbored cohesion defects. To gain mechanistic insight into the underlying cause of the aberrant cohesion we examined the localization and expression of six critical proteins involved in cohesion. Although all proteins produced the expected nuclear localization pattern, striking differences in RAD21

Probabilistic method for geotechnical design. Application to cohesive soils; Metodo probabilista de diseno geotecnico. Aplicacion en Suelos Cohesivos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez Rodriguez, A. J.; Quevedo Sotolongo, G.

2012-07-01

A methodology to carry out a process of stochastic modelling in the calculation of the bearing capacity of a strip footing, on a purely cohesive soil, is proposed. the mentioned modelling is based on the application of Monte Carlo Simulation, which is more efficient, in terms of results, than classic procedures using deterministic models. These results will be the base for the application of a probabilistic design method, specifically the safety theory, starting by a statistical characterization of every random variables the impact in the problem, and it defines as a final result, a safety level for the structure, whose value will be the nearest to required safety in first limit state design or stability limit state, which is equivalent to 0.98. By this way it is established the design point of the structure according to safety design condition. (Author) 9 refs.

Transport and deposition of cohesive pharmaceutical powders in human airway

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Wang Yuan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Pharmaceutical powders used in inhalation therapy are in the size range of 1-5 microns and are usually cohesive. Understanding the cohesive behaviour of pharmaceutical powders during their transportation in human airway is significant in optimising aerosol drug delivery and targeting. In this study, the transport and deposition of cohesive pharmaceutical powders in a human airway model is simulated by a well-established numerical model which combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD and discrete element method (DEM. The van der Waals force, as the dominant cohesive force, is simulated and its influence on particle transport and deposition behaviour is discussed. It is observed that even for dilute particle flow, the local particle concentration in the oral to trachea region can be high and particle aggregation happens due to the van der Waals force of attraction. It is concluded that the deposition mechanism for cohesive pharmaceutical powders, on one hand, is dominated by particle inertial impaction, as proven by previous studies; on the other hand, is significantly affected by particle aggregation induced by van der Waals force. To maximum respiratory drug delivery efficiency, efforts should be made to avoid pharmaceutical powder aggregation in human oral-to-trachea airway.

Transport and deposition of cohesive pharmaceutical powders in human airway

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuan; Chu, Kaiwei; Yu, Aibing

2017-06-01

Pharmaceutical powders used in inhalation therapy are in the size range of 1-5 microns and are usually cohesive. Understanding the cohesive behaviour of pharmaceutical powders during their transportation in human airway is significant in optimising aerosol drug delivery and targeting. In this study, the transport and deposition of cohesive pharmaceutical powders in a human airway model is simulated by a well-established numerical model which combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM). The van der Waals force, as the dominant cohesive force, is simulated and its influence on particle transport and deposition behaviour is discussed. It is observed that even for dilute particle flow, the local particle concentration in the oral to trachea region can be high and particle aggregation happens due to the van der Waals force of attraction. It is concluded that the deposition mechanism for cohesive pharmaceutical powders, on one hand, is dominated by particle inertial impaction, as proven by previous studies; on the other hand, is significantly affected by particle aggregation induced by van der Waals force. To maximum respiratory drug delivery efficiency, efforts should be made to avoid pharmaceutical powder aggregation in human oral-to-trachea airway.

Relationship Among Team Collective Efficacy, Cohesion, and Coaching Competency in Sports

OpenAIRE

Manning, Clayton T.

2007-01-01

A team's performance in any sport can be predicted by many factors. Some of these factors include team collective efficacy, team cohesiveness, and coaching competency. Currently, there is little research investigating the relationships among teams' beliefs about their capabilities, their level of cohesion, and their perceptions of coaching competency on overall sport performance. The purpose of this study was to document the relationship among collective efficacy, cohesion, and coaching on sp...

Bolting state-building fault lines with social capital

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-12-15

Dec 15, 2013 ... distribution of power between contending social groups and social classes, on which ...... Boege, Volker, Anne Brown, Kevin Clements and Anna Nolan 2008. ... and social cohesion: Case studies from Cambodia and Rwanda.

Mixed Mode cohesive law with interface dilatation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Bent F.; Goutianos, Stergios

2014-01-01

displacements. As the crack faces displace relatively to each other, the roughness asperities ride on top of each other and result in an opening (dilatation) in the normal direction. Furthermore, the interaction of the crack surfaces in the contact zone gives rise to compressive normal stresses and frictional...... shear stresses opposing the crack face displacements. A phenomenological Mixed Mode cohesive zone law, derived from a potential function, is developed to describe the above mentioned fracture behaviour under monotonic opening. The interface dilatation introduces two new lengths. The cohesive law...

Elongational rheology and cohesive fracture of photo-oxidated LDPE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rolón-Garrido, Víctor H., E-mail: victor.h.rolongarrido@tu-berlin.de; Wagner, Manfred H. [Chair of Polymer Engineering/Polymer Physics, Berlin Institute of Technology (TU Berlin), Fasanenstrasse 90, D-10623 Berlin (Germany)

2014-01-15

It was found recently that low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samples with different degrees of photo-oxidation represent an interesting system to study the transition from ductile to cohesive fracture and the aspects of the cohesive rupture in elongational flow. Sheets of LDPE were subjected to photo-oxidation in the presence of air using a xenon lamp to irradiate the samples for times between 1 day and 6 weeks. Characterisation methods included Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solvent extraction method, and rheology in shear and uniaxial extensional flows. Linear viscoelasticity was increasingly affected by increasing photo-oxidation due to crosslinking of LDPE, as corroborated by the carbonyl index, acid and aldehydes groups, and gel fraction. The molecular stress function model was used to quantify the experimental data, and the nonlinear model parameter β was found to be correlated with the gel content. The uniaxial data showed that the transition from ductile to cohesive fracture was shifted to lower elongational rates, the higher the gel content was. From 2 weeks photo-oxidation onwards, cohesive rupture occurred at every strain rate investigated. The true strain and true stress at cohesive fracture as well as the energy density applied to the sample up to fracture were analyzed. At low gel content, rupture was mainly determined by the melt fraction while at high gel content, rupture occurred predominantly in the gel structure. The strain at break was found to be independent of strain rate, contrary to the stress at break and the energy density. Thus, the true strain and not the stress at break or the energy density was found to be the relevant physical quantity to describe cohesive fracture behavior of photo-oxidated LDPE. The equilibrium modulus of the gel structures was correlated with the true strain at rupture. The stiffer the gel structure, the lower was the deformation tolerated before the sample breaks.

Evaluating Lexical Cohesion in Nigerian Newspaper Genres: Focus on the Editorials

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Zubairu Malah

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Applied linguists paying scholarly attention to newspaper genres have often argued that findings emerging from such studies would be of pedagogical significance because most of the newspaper genres share certain conventional features with school genres. Similarly, this study explored lexical cohesion in newspaper editorials, and it is understood that the findings could help learners in handling persuasive writings. The study sought to identify the dominant sources of lexical cohesion in the editorials, and also to examine how lexical cohesion is utilized to achieve coherence in the editorials. Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL, the study applied Eggins’ (2004 model of lexical cohesion and analyzed 30 editorial texts of 20, 354 words drawn from three major Nigerian newspapers: The Guardian, The Nation, and Vanguard. The analysis revealed 2, 685 ties across 849 sentences. The data demonstrated that the major types of lexical cohesion in the editorials include: repetition (49.5%, expectancy relations (15. 8%, class/sub-class (11%, and synonymy (10.8%. It was further revealed that lexical cohesion devices, which formed into chains (586 and isolated ties (837, were utilized in building coherence in the editorial texts. It was finally shown how findings of the study could be beneficial in ESP, EAP, and EGP learning, especially in persuasive writings.

Cohesion and device reliability in organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

KAUST Repository

Brand, Vitali; Bruner, Christopher; Dauskardt, Reinhold H.

2012-01-01

that the phase separated bulk heterojunction layer is the weakest layer and report quantitative cohesion values which ranged from ∼1 to 20 J m -2. The effects of layer thickness, composition, and annealing treatments on layer cohesion are investigated. Using

Analysis of group cohesion levels and pre-competitive psychological stress in volleyball athletes.. http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2012v14n6p704

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Guilherme Moraes Balbim

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This descriptive study was designed to analyze the level of group cohesion and pre-competitive psychological stress of adult volleyball athletes. The subjects consisted of 155 male and female athletes from the state of Parana who played in the JAPS/ 1st division (A, and 2nd division (B. The assessment instruments used were the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ and the Volleyball Psychic Stress Test (V-PST. For data analysis, the following tools were used: Cronbach’s alpha, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney, one-way Anova, and Tukey’s post hoc (p<0.05. The results revealed that athletes of division A were more negatively influenced by stress factors than the athletes of division B; in terms of individual attraction to the social group (p=0.014 and tasks (p=0016 athletes of division B had higher levels of group cohesion than athletes from division A; athletes with low social cohesion were negatively impacted by factors of "inappropriate physical conditioning" and "excessive nervousness;" athletes with low levels of cohesion for the task were negatively influenced by the factors of "Pressure from other people to win" and positively by the factor "Behavior of the fans in the game outside." It was concluded that group cohesion is demonstrated to be an intervening factor in pre-competitive stress thereby demonstrating that the higher the dispute level, the higher the negative influence of stress.

Differences by Sexual Orientation in Perceptions of Neighborhood Cohesion: Implications for Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Henning-Smith, Carrie; Gonzales, Gilbert

2018-06-01

A large body of research documents the relationship between health and place, including the positive association between neighborhood cohesion and health. However, very little research has examined neighborhood cohesion by sexual orientation. This paper addresses that gap by examining differences in perceived neighborhood cohesion by sexual orientation. We use data from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (n = 28,164 respondents aged 18 years and older) to examine bivariate differences by sexual orientation in four measures of neighborhood cohesion. We then use ordered logistic regression models to assess the relationship between sexual orientation and a scaled measure of neighborhood cohesion, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, living arrangements, health status, region, and neighborhood tenure. We find that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults are less likely to say that they live in a close-knit neighborhood (54.6 vs. 65.6%, p < 0.001), they can count on their neighbors (74.7 vs. 83.1%, p < 0.001), they trust their neighbors (75.5 vs. 83.7%, p < 0.001), or people in their neighborhood help each other out (72.9 vs. 83.1%, p < 0.001), compared to heterosexual adults. Even after controlling for socio-demographic factors, neighborhood cohesion scores are lower for LGB adults compared to heterosexual adults (odds ratio of better perceived neighborhood cohesion for sexual minorities: 0.70, p < 0.001). Overall, LGB adults report worse neighborhood cohesion across multiple measures, even after adjusting for individual characteristics and neighborhood tenure. Because living in a cohesive neighborhood is associated with better health outcomes, future research, community-level initiatives, and public policy efforts should focus on creating welcoming neighborhood environments for sexual minorities.

Building social capital in healthcare organizations: thinking ecologically for safer care.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmeyer, Anne; Marck, Patricia B

2008-01-01

Research on patient safety and health human resources, 2 critical issues for 21st century healthcare, converges on similar findings. Specifically, it is apparent that along with the patients, families, and communities we serve, nurses and other healthcare professionals navigate a volatile health care system where persistent restructuring, market pressures, and workforce instability present ongoing threats to the delivery of safer care. Drawing from the fields of nursing, healthcare ethics, health systems management, and ecological restoration, we outline the role of social capital for organizational integrity, healthy workplace cultures, sustainable resource management, improved nurse retention, effective knowledge translation, and safer patient care. Nursing leaders can use ecological thinking to build the vital resource of social capital by taking concrete steps to commit the necessary human and material resources to: (1) forge relations to foster bonding, bridging and linking social capital; (2) build solidarity and trust; (3) foster collective action and cooperation; (4) strengthen communication and knowledge exchange; and (5) create capacity for social cohesion and inclusion.

Authentic leadership, group cohesion and group identification in security and emergency teams.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Guiu López, Carlos; Molero Alonso, Fernando; Moya Morales, Miguel; Moriano León, Juan Antonio

2015-01-01

Authentic leadership (AL) is a kind of leadership that inspires and promotes positive psychological capacities, underlining the moral and ethical component of behavior. The proposed investigation studies the relations among AL, cohesion, and group identification in security and emergency teams. A cross-sectional research design was conducted in which participated 221 members from 26 fire departments and operative teams from the local police of three Spanish provinces. The following questionnaires were administered: Authentic Leadership (ALQ), Group Cohesion (GEQ), and Mael and Ashford's Group Identification Questionnaire. A direct and positive relation was found between AL, cohesion, and group identification. An indirect relation was also found between AL and group cohesion through group identification, indicating the existence of partial mediation. The utility of the proposed model based on AL is considered; this model can be employed by those in charge of the fire departments and operative groups in organizations to improve workteams' cohesion. Both AL and group identification help to explain group cohesion in organizations committed to security and emergencies.

Safety aid use and social anxiety symptoms: The mediating role of perceived control.

Science.gov (United States)

Korte, Kristina J; Unruh, Amanda S; Oglesby, Mary E; Schmidt, Norman B

2015-08-30

The use of safety aids, cognitive or behavioral strategies used to reduce or cope with anxiety, has emerged as a key construct of interest in anxiety disorders due to their role in the development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms. It has been suggested that individuals with anxiety engage in safety aid use to reduce their anxiety and feel more in control of a situation; however, no studies to date have examined the association between perceived control, that is, perceived level of control over internal events in anxiety provoking situations, and the use of safety aids. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association of perceived control, the use of safety aids, and symptoms of social anxiety. It was predicted that the association between safety aid use and social anxiety symptoms would be mediated by perceived control. This prediction was examined in a large sample of 281 participants. As predicted, perceived control was a significant mediator of the association between the use of safety aids and social anxiety symptoms. This effect remained significant after running a multiple mediation model with distress tolerance added as a competing mediator. Implications for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE PROGRAM SUPPORT SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY OF CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

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Pavel Aleksandrovich Kislyakov

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The article presents a description of the author’s program to support the social and psychological safety of children with intellectual disabilities enrolled in boarding school of VIII kind. The object of the study were children with intellectual disabilities. The subject of research – features of formation to children with intellectual disabilities the social and psychological safety. The methodological base are the special psychology (L.S. Vygotsky, S.L. Rubinstein, A. Speck. The results. Complex psychological and pedagogical support of social and psychological safety of children with intellectual disabilities reflects the content of psychological and pedagogical tasks (target function and technologies of their solution (instrumental function aimed at reducing internal and external risk factors. The target functions are: social and psychological adaptation, personal and developmental, the function of social support and psychological and pedagogical assistance, preventive and correctional function. Psycho-pedagogical objectives are the formation of skills of safe behavior and confront the dangers through the development of appropriate social skills, mental, physical and cognitive abilities, establishing a real and more comfortable with social contact (including municipal and educational environment, thereby ensuring individual protection and psychosocial well-being, support emotional balance, development of harmonious personality, to facilitate adaptation to the social environment, correction of risk factors of dysontogenesis. The program includes informative, technological and diagnostic modules. The basis for the construction of educational information in the field of security us based on the principle of integratively – interdisciplinary cooperation of academic subjects; a mix of mandatory core classes and extra-curricular and remedial work. Technological support included the following teaching methods: interactive (psychotechnical

Social Capital is Associated With Late HIV Diagnosis: An Ecological Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ransome, Yusuf; Galea, Sandro; Pabayo, Roman; Kawachi, Ichiro; Braunstein, Sarah; Nash, Denis

2016-10-01

Late HIV diagnosis is associated with higher medical costs, early mortality among individuals, and HIV transmission in the population. Even under optimal configurations of stable or declining HIV incidence and increase in HIV case findings, no change in proportion of late HIV diagnosis is projected after year 2019. We investigated the association among social capital, gender, and late HIV diagnosis. We conduct ecological analyses (ZIP code, N = 166) using negative binomial regression of gender-specific rates of late HIV diagnoses (an AIDS defining illness or a CD4 count ≤200 cell/μL within 12 months of a new HIV diagnosis) in 2005 and 2006 obtained from the New York City HIV Surveillance Registry, and social capital indicators (civic engagement, political participation, social cohesion, and informal social control) from the New York Social Indicators Survey, 2004. Overall, low to high political participation and social cohesion corresponded with significant (P social control [RR = 0.67, 95% CI: (0.48 to 0.93)] among men only and moderate social cohesion [RR = 0.71, 95% CI: (0.55 to 0.92)] among women only were associated with the outcome adjusting for social fragmentation, income inequality, and racial composition. The magnitude of association between social capital and late HIV diagnosis varies by gender and by social capital indicator.

Community empowerment and community cohesion: parallel agendas for community building in England?

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Marjorie Mayo

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Community empowerment and community capacity building have been central to government agendas in Britain over the past decade. Agendas for tackling the so-called ‘War on Terrorism’ and promoting community cohesion have become increasingly significant in addition, especially since the bombings in London in 2005. This article focuses upon the current gap between these differing agendas. This is particularly relevant in an era of increasing globalisation, with considerable debate on the impact of migration, and anxieties about previous approaches to multiculturalism that have been the subject of growing criticism. Having set out these gaps in public policy and research in this field, the article examines the evidence from research, including 100 interviews together with focus groups conducted in three localities in England, identifying the problems, in terms of the lack of engagement of ‘new communities’ and in terms of the potential tensions within and between communities. There was, however, encouraging evidence that strategies were being developed to develop more inclusive, more democratically accountable and more effective forms of community engagement. The article concludes by summarising potential implications for building community cohesion and social solidarity.

Enabling social listening for cardiac safety monitoring: Proceedings from a drug information association-cardiac safety research consortium cosponsored think tank.

Science.gov (United States)

Seifert, Harry A; Malik, Raleigh E; Bhattacharya, Mondira; Campbell, Kevin R; Okun, Sally; Pierce, Carrie; Terkowitz, Jeffrey; Turner, J Rick; Krucoff, Mitchell W; Powell, Gregory E

2017-12-01

This white paper provides a summary of the presentations and discussions from a think tank on "Enabling Social Listening for Cardiac Safety Monitoring" trials that was cosponsored by the Drug Information Association and the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium, and held at the White Oak headquarters of the US Food and Drug Administration on June 3, 2016. The meeting's goals were to explore current methods of collecting and evaluating social listening data and to consider their applicability to cardiac safety surveillance. Social listening is defined as the act of monitoring public postings on the Internet. It has several theoretical advantages for drug and device safety. First, these include the ability to detect adverse events that are "missed" by traditional sources and the ability to detect adverse events sooner than would be allowed by traditional sources, both by affording near-real-time access to data from culturally and geographically diverse sources. Social listening can also potentially introduce a novel patient voice into the conversation about drug safety, which could uniquely augment understanding of real-world medication use obtained from more traditional methodologies. Finally, it can allow for access to information about drug misuse and diversion. To date, the latter 2 of these have been realized. Although regulators from the Food and Drug Administration and the United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency participated in the think tank along with representatives from industry, academia, and patient groups, this article should not be construed to constitute regulatory guidance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neighbourhood green space, social environment and mental health: an examination in four European cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruijsbroek, Annemarie; Mohnen, Sigrid M; Droomers, Mariël; Kruize, Hanneke; Gidlow, Christopher; Gražulevičiene, Regina; Andrusaityte, Sandra; Maas, Jolanda; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Triguero-Mas, Margarita; Masterson, Daniel; Ellis, Naomi; van Kempen, Elise; Hardyns, Wim; Stronks, Karien; Groenewegen, Peter P

2017-07-01

This study examines the relationship between neighbourhood green space, the neighbourhood social environment (social cohesion, neighbourhood attachment, social contacts), and mental health in four European cities. The PHENOTYPE study was carried out in 2013 in Barcelona (Spain), Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom), Doetinchem (The Netherlands), and Kaunas (Lithuania). 3771 adults living in 124 neighbourhoods answered questions on mental health, neighbourhood social environment, and amount and quality of green space. Additionally, audit data on neighbourhood green space were collected. Multilevel regression analyses examined the relation between neighbourhood green space and individual mental health and the influence of neighbourhood social environment. Mental health was only related to green (audit) in Barcelona. The amount and quality of neighbourhood green space (audit and perceived) were related to social cohesion in Doetinchem and Stoke-on-Trent and to neighbourhood attachment in Doetinchem. In all four cities, mental health was associated with social contacts. Neighbourhood green was related to mental health only in Barcelona. Though neighbourhood green was related to social cohesion and attachment, the neighbourhood social environment seems not the underlying mechanism for this relationship.

Cohesion and device reliability in organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

KAUST Repository

Brand, Vitali

2012-04-01

The fracture resistance of P3HT:PC 60BM-based photovoltaic devices are characterized using quantitative adhesion and cohesion metrologies that allow identification of the weakest layer or interface in the device structure. We demonstrate that the phase separated bulk heterojunction layer is the weakest layer and report quantitative cohesion values which ranged from ∼1 to 20 J m -2. The effects of layer thickness, composition, and annealing treatments on layer cohesion are investigated. Using depth profiling and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on the resulting fracture surfaces, we examine the gradient of molecular components through the thickness of the bulk heterojunction layer. Finally, using atomic force microscopy we show how the topography of the failure path is related to buckling of the metal electrode and how it develops with annealing. The research provides new insights on how the molecular design, structure and composition affect the cohesive properties of organic photovoltaics. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The territorial approach to EU cohesion policy: Current issues and evidence from Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thoidou Elisavet

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The importance attributed to the territorial dimension of the European Union cohesion policy steadily influences its successive reforms and adaptations, while in recent years there has been an evolution in the way this particular dimension of cohesion policy is perceived. Important evidence for this is the way in which the Community Strategic Guidelines on cohesion 2007-13 take account of the territorial dimension of cohesion policy. This paper discusses the territorial approach to cohesion policy in relation to both policy and practice. Specifically, it examines the territorial dimension of regional development planning in Greece as it has emerged in the relevant official documents, namely the successive three Community Support Frameworks since 1989 and the National Strategic Reference Framework for the current 2007-13 period. The territorial dimension of the organization of the planning system is also considered in an effort to understand limitations and prospects, in light of the importance of the territorial approach to cohesion policy post-2013.

Group cohesion and starting status in successful and less successful elite volleyball teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Spink, K S

1992-08-01

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between members' perceptions of group cohesion and starting status in elite volleyball teams. The results of the study revealed that the form of the cohesion-starting status relationship was moderated by the variable of success. The results for less successful teams revealed that differences did emerge between specific measures of cohesion endorsed by starters and non-starters. No such differences in cohesion emerged when the starters and non-starters on successful teams were compared. These results provide initial support for the suggestion that the most successful teams are the ones where the perceptions of cohesiveness by starters and non-starters are similar. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine whether those teams that were the most successful and similar in their members' perceptions of cohesiveness, were also the teams whose members have the most positive outcome expectancy. The results supported this prediction.

Effects of interface roughness on cohesive strength of self-assembled monolayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Chen [Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801 (United States); Awasthi, Amnaya P. [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611 (United States); Geubelle, Philippe H., E-mail: geubelle@illinois.edu [Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801 (United States); Grady, Martha E.; Sottos, Nancy R. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801 (United States)

2017-03-01

Highlights: • Self-assembled monolayer/transfer-printed gold interface modeled using continuum-level simulation. • Initial deformed film profile analyzed and instability assessed. • Effective cohesive response of SAM-enhanced interface extracted from spallation model. • Reduction of up to 70% cohesive strength of the interface from incorporation of roughness demonstrated. - Abstract: Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are aggregates of small molecular chains that have the property to form highly ordered assemblies. The choice of terminal groups on the chains makes them excellent contenders of molecular-level tailoring. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experimental observations of spallation of two SAM-enhanced gold-film/silicon-substrate interfaces have shown that the cohesive strength of SAM-enriched transfer-printed interfaces is strongly dependent on the choice of terminal groups. Though the MD results of perfectly ordered atomistic surfaces show the same qualitative trend as the experiments, they over-predict the interfacial cohesive strengths by a factor of about 50. Results from AFM studies have revealed that the roughness of these interfaces is of the same order (∼1 nm) as the range of atomistic interactions. Hence, surface roughness is a key contributor in significantly reducing interfacial cohesive strength in these systems. In this manuscript, a continuum-level study is performed to investigate the influence of surface roughness on the cohesive strength of the interface between a Si/SAM substrate and a transfer-printed gold film. We approximate the film as a deformable continuum interacting with a rough substrate of SAMs represented by a harmonic function. Using a cohesive law derived from MD, spallation is simulated to evaluate the effective traction-separation characteristics for the rough SAM–gold interface. Our analysis shows that incorporating roughness may reduce the interfacial cohesive strength by an order of magnitude depending

Relationship of the perceived social and physical environment with mental health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults: mediating effects of physical activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delfien Van Dyck

Full Text Available Mental health conditions are among the leading non-fatal diseases in middle-aged and older adults in Australia. Proximal and distal social environmental factors and physical environmental factors have been associated with mental health, but the underlying mechanisms explaining these associations remain unclear. The study objective was to examine the contribution of different types of physical activity in mediating the relationship of social and physical environmental factors with mental health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults.Baseline data from the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life (WELL study were used. WELL is a prospective cohort study, conducted in Victoria, Australia. Baseline data collection took place in 2010. In total, 3,965 middle-aged and older adults (55-65 years, 47.4% males completed the SF-36 Health Survey, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and a questionnaire on socio-demographic, social and physical environmental attributes. Mediation analyses were conducted using the MacKinnon product-of-coefficients test.Personal safety, the neighbourhood physical activity environment, social support for physical activity from family or friends, and neighbourhood social cohesion were positively associated with mental health-related quality of life. Active transportation and leisure-time physical activity mediated 32.9% of the association between social support for physical activity from family or friends and mental health-related quality of life. These physical activity behaviours also mediated 11.0%, 3.4% and 2.3% respectively, of the relationship between the neighbourhood physical activity environment, personal safety and neighbourhood social cohesion and mental health-related quality of life.If these results are replicated in future longitudinal studies, tailored interventions to improve mental health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults should use a combined strategy

Relationship of the perceived social and physical environment with mental health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults: mediating effects of physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dyck, Delfien; Teychenne, Megan; McNaughton, Sarah A; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Salmon, Jo

2015-01-01

Mental health conditions are among the leading non-fatal diseases in middle-aged and older adults in Australia. Proximal and distal social environmental factors and physical environmental factors have been associated with mental health, but the underlying mechanisms explaining these associations remain unclear. The study objective was to examine the contribution of different types of physical activity in mediating the relationship of social and physical environmental factors with mental health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults. Baseline data from the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life (WELL) study were used. WELL is a prospective cohort study, conducted in Victoria, Australia. Baseline data collection took place in 2010. In total, 3,965 middle-aged and older adults (55-65 years, 47.4% males) completed the SF-36 Health Survey, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and a questionnaire on socio-demographic, social and physical environmental attributes. Mediation analyses were conducted using the MacKinnon product-of-coefficients test. Personal safety, the neighbourhood physical activity environment, social support for physical activity from family or friends, and neighbourhood social cohesion were positively associated with mental health-related quality of life. Active transportation and leisure-time physical activity mediated 32.9% of the association between social support for physical activity from family or friends and mental health-related quality of life. These physical activity behaviours also mediated 11.0%, 3.4% and 2.3% respectively, of the relationship between the neighbourhood physical activity environment, personal safety and neighbourhood social cohesion and mental health-related quality of life. If these results are replicated in future longitudinal studies, tailored interventions to improve mental health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults should use a combined strategy, focusing on

Dialogic learning and physical education: School sport and physical education promoting health, school success and social cohesion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos Castro Sandúa

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: the notion of dialogic learning is on the basis of educational practices (Successful Educational Actions and projects (Schools as Learning Communities that are currently improving coexistence and promoting school success in more and more schools around the world. Physical Education has to find its place within this context and to define how to contribute to these aims from its specificity, as it is a subject in which the body and the movement have leading roles for learning and it is increasingly emphasizing the promotion of healthy habits. Due to all that, this article pretends to offer orientations to professionals and schools for building a more dialogic Physical Education. Design/methodology: a review of scientific literature on Physical Education and dialogic learning has been done starting from the results of the Juega Dialoga y Resuelve [Play, Dialogue and Solve] project (Spanish RTD National Plan and from the results obtained in the search for the topics “dialogic learning” and ”successful educational actions” in the ISI Web of Science. Findings: the results of the literature review show that the principles of dialogic learning and their practical development can be transferred to Physical Education and school sport in order to contribute to school success and to improve students’ and their communities’ health. Practical implications: orientations for professionals and schools to organize the practice of Physical Education and school sport in accordance with the principles of dialogic learning derive from the analysis. Social implications: the orientations promote school success for students and social cohesion and health for them and their communities. Originality/value: the article presents innovative elements for the organization of Physical Education and school sport that can be useful for teachers and other professionals.

SOCIAL ECONOMY EFFICIENCY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florina Oana Virlanuta

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The social economy combines profitability with social inclusion. Social innovation is the first step in the creation of a social enterprise. Social economy development is a process underway, innovative in terms of relating the individual to the production processes, the concept of citizenship, production areas and modalities. The concern for sustainable development, analysis of economic and financial crisis, the issue of the relationship between the individual and the production process open up many opportunities for development that can influence public policies on employment and social cohesion.

Flocculation Dynamics of cohesive sediment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maggi, F.

2005-01-01

Cohesive sediment suspended in natural waters is subject not only to transport and deposition processes but also to reactions of flocculation, \\textit{i.e.} aggregation of fine particles, and breakup of aggregates. Although aggregation and breakup occur at small and very small length scales compared

Social but safe? Quality and safety of diabetes-related online social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Weitzman, Elissa R; Cole, Emily; Kaci, Liljana; Mandl, Kenneth D

2011-05-01

To foster informed decision-making about health social networking (SN) by patients and clinicians, the authors evaluated the quality/safety of SN sites' policies and practices. Multisite structured observation of diabetes-focused SN sites. Measurements 28 indicators of quality and safety covering: (1) alignment of content with diabetes science and clinical practice recommendations; (2) safety practices for auditing content, supporting transparency and moderation; (3) accessibility of privacy policies and the communication and control of privacy risks; and (4) centralized sharing of member data and member control over sharing. Quality was variable across n=10 sites: 50% were aligned with diabetes science/clinical practice recommendations with gaps in medical disclaimer use (30% have) and specification of relevant glycosylated hemoglobin levels (0% have). Safety was mixed with gaps in external review approaches (20% used audits and association links) and internal review approaches (70% use moderation). Internal safety review offers limited protection: misinformation about a diabetes 'cure' was found on four moderated sites. Of nine sites with advertising, transparency was missing on five; ads for unfounded 'cures' were present on three. Technological safety was poor with almost no use of procedures for secure data storage and transmission; only three sites support member controls over personal information. Privacy policies' poor readability impedes risk communication. Only three sites (30%) demonstrated better practice. Limitations English-language diabetes sites only. The quality/safety of diabetes SN is variable. Observed better practice suggests improvement is feasible. Mechanisms for improvement are recommended that engage key stakeholders to balance autonomy, community ownership, conditions for innovation, and consumer protection.

Interactive Effects of Team Cohesion on Perceived Efficacy in Semi-Professional Sport

OpenAIRE

Marcos, Francisco Miguel Leo; Miguel, Pedro Antonio Sánchez; Oliva, David Sánchez; Calvo, Tomás García

2010-01-01

The present study examined the relationships among cohesion, self-efficacy, coaches’ perceptions of their players’ efficacy at the individual level and athletes’ perceptions of their teammates’ efficacy. Participants (n = 76) recruited from four semi- professional soccer and basketball teams completed cohesiveness and efficacy questionnaires who. Data were analyzed through a correlational methodology. Results indicated significant correlations between self-efficacy and task cohesion and socia...

Characterizing delamination of fibre composites by mixed mode cohesive laws

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Bent F.; Jacobsen, Torben K.

2009-01-01

A novel method is used for the determination of mixed mode cohesive laws and bridging laws for the characterisation of crack bridging in composites. The approach is based on an application of the J integral. The obtained cohesive laws were found to possess high peak stress values. Mixed mode...

Strengthening the Regional Integration in Central and Eastern Europe through Cohesion Policy Instruments and Cooperation among Stock Exchanges

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JULIA STEFANOVA

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The research paper is focused on the analysis of two ways of strengthening the regional integration in the Central and Eastern Europe – through the Cohesion policy instruments and cooperation among stock exchanges. Substantial benefits from the regional integration through cohesion policy include economic and social prosperity, political understanding. It should be further intensified, as it contributes to reduce regional disparities, exchange knowledge and best practices, ensure economic development. On the other hand, the deepening intra-regional cooperation among CEE stock exchanges leads to quantitative and qualitative changes in the course of their consolidation. Some assumptions are reached regarding expected changes on the Bulgarian capital market in the course of intensifying its intra-regional integrational links to CEE capital markets in conformity with set strategic priorities.

Social Science for Safety: What Is It and Why Do We Need It?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grote, G.

2016-01-01

Many prominent authors have distinguished several eras in safety science based on the predominant focus of safety measures taken. A technical focus was followed by attention devoted to human factors, which has now broadened to an organizational or socio-technical focus. Along with this changing focus the role of social science has changed. The move from the technological era to the human factors era was spurred by the increasing awareness that human strengths and limitations need to be taken into account when designing advanced technical systems. The subsequent broadening to an organizational perspective followed the general trend in management research where describing organizations as mechanistic, technology-driven systems was left behind in favor of capturing the complex interaction between social and technological processes that generates individual and organizational performance. As a consequence the knowledge from the social sciences that is relevant for promoting safety has expanded considerably. Not only psychological knowledge concerning individuals’ abilities and attitudes as they relate to operating technical systems is important, but a broad range of theories and empirical findings from work and organizational psychology and social psychology, from the sociology of work and organizations, and even from political science in view of power relations in organizations and regulatory regimes. Embracing the wealth of knowledge in the social sciences and applying it in the service of improved safety is a complex interdisciplinary endeavor. Most fundamentally it requires openness to different world views and the readiness to challenge long-held basic assumptions. Core to any safety management strategy are decisions on risk control. Different options for managing risk and uncertainty have different theoretical assumptions and belief systems embedded in them. Minimizing uncertainty is grounded in a mechanistic understanding of organizations, giving priority to

Social Cohesion, Social Participation, and HIV Related Risk among Female Sex Workers in Swaziland

OpenAIRE

Fonner, Virginia A.; Kerrigan, Deanna; Mnisi, Zandile; Ketende, Sosthenes; Kennedy, Caitlin E.; Baral, Stefan

2014-01-01

Social capital is important to disadvantaged groups, such as sex workers, as a means of facilitating internal group-related mutual aid and support as well as access to broader social and material resources. Studies among sex workers have linked higher social capital with protective HIV-related behaviors; however, few studies have examined social capital among sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa. This cross-sectional study examined relationships between two key social capital constructs, social ...

Mind the gap! Automated concept map feedback supports students in writing cohesive explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachner, Andreas; Burkhart, Christian; Nückles, Matthias

2017-03-01

Many students are challenged with the demand of writing cohesive explanations. To support students in writing cohesive explanations, we developed a computer-based feedback tool that visualizes cohesion deficits of students' explanations in a concept map. We conducted three studies to investigate the effectiveness of such feedback as well as the underlying cognitive processes. In Study 1, we found that the concept map helped students identify potential cohesion gaps in their drafts and plan remedial revisions. In Study 2, students with concept map feedback conducted revisions that resulted in more locally and globally cohesive, and also more comprehensible, explanations than the explanations of students who revised without concept map feedback. In Study 3, we replicated the findings of Study 2 by and large. More importantly, students who had received concept map feedback on a training explanation 1 week later wrote a transfer explanation without feedback that was more cohesive than the explanation of students who had received no feedback on their training explanation. The automated concept map feedback appears to particularly support the evaluation phase of the revision process. Furthermore, the feedback enabled novice writers to acquire sustainable skills in writing cohesive explanations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship between the cohesion of guest particles on the flow behaviour of interactive mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Mangal, Sharad; Gengenbach, Thomas; Millington-Smith, Doug; Armstrong, Brian; Morton, David A V; Larson, Ian

2016-05-01

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects cohesion of small surface-engineered guest binder particles on the flow behaviour of interactive mixtures. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) - a model pharmaceutical binder - was spray-dried with varying l-leucine feed concentrations to create small surface-engineered binder particles with varying cohesion. These spray-dried formulations were characterised by their particle size distribution, morphology and cohesion. Interactive mixtures were produced by blending these spray-dried formulations with paracetamol. The resultant blends were visualised under scanning electron microscope to confirm formation of interactive mixtures. Surface coverage of paracetamol by guest particles as well as the flow behaviour of these mixtures were examined. The flow performance of interactive mixtures was evaluated using measurements of conditioned bulk density, basic flowability energy, aeration energy and compressibility. With higher feed l-leucine concentrations, the surface roughness of small binder particles increased, while their cohesion decreased. Visual inspection of the SEM images of the blends indicated that the guest particles adhered to the surface of paracetamol resulting in effective formation of interactive mixtures. These images also showed that the low-cohesion guest particles were better de-agglomerated that consequently formed a more homogeneous interactive mixture with paracetamol compared with high-cohesion formulations. The flow performance of interactive mixtures changed as a function of the cohesion of the guest particles. Interactive mixtures with low-cohesion guest binder particles showed notably improved bulk flow performance compared with those containing high-cohesion guest binder particles. Thus, our study suggests that the cohesion of guest particles dictates the flow performance of interactive mixtures. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Education and Social Cohesion for Economic Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Camilleri, Mark A.; Camilleri, Adriana

2016-01-01

Relevant theoretical underpinnings suggest that higher education, continuous professional development and training provide numerous opportunities for societal advancement. This contribution posits that interventions in the realms of education can play a significant role in shaping key performance indicators for laudable social outcomes. It…

Medical social consequences of the safety problems of oncological radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilipenko, M.Yi.; Stadnik, L.L.; Shal'opa, O.Yu.; Rigan, M.M.; Skalets'kij, Yu.M.

2015-01-01

Actuality of the problem of patient safety in oncoradiology in Ukraine is grounded. The results of international audit TLD (IAEA/WHO) quality during dosimetry procedures cobalt-telegamma vehicles in Ukraine are investigated, as well as legal and regulatory framework providing for the safety of radiotherapy care, scientific publications on patient safety. Methods: statistical, analytical, bibliographical, systematic approach. On the example of radiation therapy using the results of the international program of the IAEA/WHO TLD audit quality dosimetry calibration devices for remote gamma therapy in Ukraine from 1998 to 2014 the attempt to assess the extent of medical and social consequences of underestimating of medical errors in oncoradiology is made. The problems of regulatory nature of medical errors in oncoradiology are preliminary identified. The problem of medical errors in the treatment of cancer radiation methods in Ukraine is extremely important. Usually the problems of errors in oncoradiology are considered in organizational, technical, personnel and technical aspects, while medical and social consequences of problem are not covered. About 10 thousand of cancer patients in year may suffer from errors related only to dose calculation according to the optimistic variant, while the number of patients for the same period on the pessimistic case can reach 15 thousand. There are a number of legal character problems in oncoradiology related to patient safety that require clarification. The first priority for improving the safety of patients in oncoradiology is the recording and analysis of radiation therapy defects and their consequences

Optimal safety levels via social indicators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lind, N.C.; Nathwani, J.S.

1992-01-01

In the management of natural or technological hazards in a society, the objective should be to serve the public interest in a rational manner. Decisions with regard to risk levels for the public - if they are to be defensible and self-consistent - require an integrated system of values that covers the entire range of hazards under public regulation. The process for setting risk levels (or safety goals) should ideally involve a thorough consideration of cost and benefit of all kinds, supported by explicit quantified comparison on a widely acceptable scale. The purpose of the paper is to show how quantitative criteria within the context of an appropriate framework can be used to guide risk management decisions. Social indicators are time series, statistics that reflect some aspect of the quality of life in a society or group of individuals. Development, validation, and use of social indicators is an important current research activity, as exemplified by journals such as Social Indicators Research. The basic objective is to provide quantitative measures for assessing the rationales and effectiveness of public decision-making. The concept is applicable to the nuclear industry

Behavioural ecology and group cohesion of juvenile western lowland gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla during rehabilitation in the Batéké Plateaux National Park, Gabon.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillaume Le Flohic

Full Text Available Rehabilitation of animals followed by reintroduction into the wild can benefit conservation by supplementing depleted wild populations or reintroducing a species in an area where it has been extirpated or become extinct. The western lowland gorilla (WLG, Gorilla g. gorilla is persistently poached; infants are often illegally traded and used as pets. Some are confiscated and rehabilitated, then kept in sanctuaries or reintroduced into the wild. Prior to reintroduction, the ability of the orphans to survive independently in their environment needs to be assessed. Here, we performed a multivariate analysis, including diet composition, activity-budget, and pattern of strata using of a group of five juvenile WLG in the process of rehabilitation and distinguished three sub-periods of ecological significance: the high furgivory period, the Dialium fruits consumption period, and the high folivory period. The consequences of these variations on their well-being (play behaviour and the group cohesion (spatial proximity and social interactions were examined. Like wild WLGs, diets shifted seasonally from frugivorous to folivorous, while the same staple foods were consumed and large amounts of Dialium fruits were seasonally gathered high in trees. When succulent fruit intake was the highest, thus providing high energy from sugar, juveniles spent less time feeding, more time playing and group cohesion was the highest. Conversely, the cohesion decreased with increasing folivory, individuals spent more time feeding and less time playing together. Nonetheless, the group cohesion also decreased after the death of one highly social, wild-born orphan. This may underscore the importance of skilled individuals in the cohesion and well-being of the entire group and, ultimately, to rehabilitation success. This study evaluates the rehabilitation success with regards to the methods used and highlights the need to consider a set of individual and environmental factors for

Behavioural ecology and group cohesion of juvenile western lowland gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla) during rehabilitation in the Batéké Plateaux National Park, Gabon.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Flohic, Guillaume; Motsch, Peggy; DeNys, Hélène; Childs, Simon; Courage, Amos; King, Tony

2015-01-01

Rehabilitation of animals followed by reintroduction into the wild can benefit conservation by supplementing depleted wild populations or reintroducing a species in an area where it has been extirpated or become extinct. The western lowland gorilla (WLG, Gorilla g. gorilla) is persistently poached; infants are often illegally traded and used as pets. Some are confiscated and rehabilitated, then kept in sanctuaries or reintroduced into the wild. Prior to reintroduction, the ability of the orphans to survive independently in their environment needs to be assessed. Here, we performed a multivariate analysis, including diet composition, activity-budget, and pattern of strata using of a group of five juvenile WLG in the process of rehabilitation and distinguished three sub-periods of ecological significance: the high furgivory period, the Dialium fruits consumption period, and the high folivory period. The consequences of these variations on their well-being (play behaviour) and the group cohesion (spatial proximity and social interactions) were examined. Like wild WLGs, diets shifted seasonally from frugivorous to folivorous, while the same staple foods were consumed and large amounts of Dialium fruits were seasonally gathered high in trees. When succulent fruit intake was the highest, thus providing high energy from sugar, juveniles spent less time feeding, more time playing and group cohesion was the highest. Conversely, the cohesion decreased with increasing folivory, individuals spent more time feeding and less time playing together. Nonetheless, the group cohesion also decreased after the death of one highly social, wild-born orphan. This may underscore the importance of skilled individuals in the cohesion and well-being of the entire group and, ultimately, to rehabilitation success. This study evaluates the rehabilitation success with regards to the methods used and highlights the need to consider a set of individual and environmental factors for enhancing

Social housing of non-rodents during cardiovascular recordings in safety pharmacology and toxicology studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Prior, Helen; Bottomley, Anna; Champéroux, Pascal; Cordes, Jason; Delpy, Eric; Dybdal, Noel; Edmunds, Nick; Engwall, Mike; Foley, Mike; Hoffmann, Michael; Kaiser, Robert; Meecham, Ken; Milano, Stéphane; Milne, Aileen; Nelson, Rick; Roche, Brian; Valentin, Jean-Pierre; Ward, Gemma; Chapman, Kathryn

2016-01-01

The Safety Pharmacology Society (SPS) and National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) conducted a survey and workshop in 2015 to define current industry practices relating to housing of non-rodents during telemetry recordings in safety pharmacology and toxicology studies. The aim was to share experiences, canvas opinion on the study procedures/designs that could be used and explore the barriers to social housing. Thirty-nine sites, either running studies (Sponsors or Contract Research Organisations, CROs) and/or outsourcing work responded to the survey (51% from Europe; 41% from USA). During safety pharmacology studies, 84, 67 and 100% of respondents socially house dogs, minipigs and non-human primates (NHPs) respectively on non-recording days. However, on recording days 20, 20 and 33% of respondents socially house the animals, respectively. The main barriers for social housing were limitations in the recording equipment used, study design and animal temperament/activity. During toxicology studies, 94, 100 and 100% of respondents socially house dogs, minipigs and NHPs respectively on non-recording days. However, on recording days 31, 25 and 50% of respondents socially house the animals, respectively. The main barriers for social housing were risk of damage to and limitations in the recording equipment used, food consumption recording and temperament/activity of the animals. Although the majority of the industry does not yet socially house animals during telemetry recordings in safety pharmacology and toxicology studies, there is support to implement this refinement. Continued discussions, sharing of best practice and data from companies already socially housing, combined with technology improvements and investments in infrastructure are required to maintain the forward momentum of this refinement across the industry. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fluid Centrality: A Social Network Analysis of Social-Technical Relations in Computer-Mediated Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Enriquez, Judith Guevarra

2010-01-01

In this article, centrality is explored as a measure of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in networked learning. Centrality measure is quite common in performing social network analysis (SNA) and in analysing social cohesion, strength of ties and influence in CMC, and computer-supported collaborative learning research. It argues that measuring…

Assessing cross-cultural item bias in questionnaires : Acculturation and the Measurement of Social Support and Family Cohesion for Adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hemert, Dianne A. van; Baerveldt, Chris; Vermande, Marjolijn

2001-01-01

Amethod is presented for evaluating the presence and size of cross-cultural item biases. The examined items concern parental support and family cohesion in a Likert-type questionnaire for adolescents in The Netherlands. Each evaluated item has two versions, a collectivist and an individualistic one,

Social learning of fear and safety is determined by the demonstrator's racial group.

Science.gov (United States)

Golkar, Armita; Castro, Vasco; Olsson, Andreas

2015-01-01

Social learning offers an efficient route through which humans and other animals learn about potential dangers in the environment. Such learning inherently relies on the transmission of social information and should imply selectivity in what to learn from whom. Here, we conducted two observational learning experiments to assess how humans learn about danger and safety from members ('demonstrators') of an other social group than their own. We show that both fear and safety learning from a racial in-group demonstrator was more potent than learning from a racial out-group demonstrator. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Structural quality of polyacrylamide-treated cohesive soils in the coastal tablelands of Pernambuco

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Vandeval Maranhão de Melo

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Water-soluble polymers are characterized as effective flocculating agents due to their molecular features. Their application to soils with horizons with structural problems, e.g, a cohesive character, contributes to improvements in the physical quality and thus to the agricultural suitability of such soils. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the structural quality of soils with cohesive horizons of coastal tablelands in the State of Pernambuco treated with polyacrylamide (PAM as chemical soil conditioner. To this end, three horizons (one cohesive and two non-cohesive of a Yellow Argisol (Ultisol were evaluated and to compare cohesive horizons, the horizon of a Yellow Latosol (Oxisol was selected. The treatments consisted of aqueous PAM solutions (12.5; 50.0; 100.0 mg kg-1 and distilled water (control. The structural aspects of the horizons were evaluated by the stability (soil mass retained in five diameter classes, aggregate distribution per size class (mean weight diameter- MWD, geometric mean diameter - GMD and the magnitude of the changes introduced by PAM by measuring the sensitivity index (Si. Aqueous PAM solutions increased aggregate stability in the largest evaluated diameter class of the cohesive and non-cohesive horizons, resulting in higher MWD and GMD, with highest efficiency of the 100 mg kg-1 solution. The cohesive horizon Bt1 in the Ultisol was most sensitive to the action of PAM, where highest Si values were found, but the structural quality of the BA horizon of the Oxisol was better in terms of stability and aggregate size distribution.

Social prejudice hindering proper use of car safety seats.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanburoglu, Mehmet Kenan; Cizmeci, Mehmet Nevzat; Akelma, Ahmet Zulfikar; Orun, Emel; Yesilyurt, Kubra; Tatli, Mustafa Mansur

2013-12-01

The compliance of parents with child passenger safety (CPS) has been mainly explained by their level of knowledge. Social, ethnic and cultural factors have not been investigated in detail. This study investigated the rate of compliance of parents with CPS guidelines, as well as the factors hindering it. Parents of infants aged 2-10 days were enrolled. The proportions of families obtaining a car safety seat (CSS; 57%) and complying with CPS recommendations (2%) were very low. Most of the parents thought CSS were harmful for infants (mother, 57%; father, 63%), despite having already purchased one. Parents believed their children to be too small to use CSS and cannot sit in CSS because they should lie flat on their backs at all times. These prejudices may be due to the social and cultural circumstances specific to Turkey, or corresponding findings may be found in countries with similar socioeconomic status. © 2013 The Authors. Pediatrics International © 2013 Japan Pediatric Society.

Global Social Challenges: insights from the physical sciences and their relevance to the evolution of social science

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2014-01-01

The complex challenges confronting humanity today point to the need for new thinking and new theory in the social sciences which overcomes the limitations of compartmentalized, sectoral concepts, strategies and policies and mechanistic approaches to living social systems. The World Academy of Art & Science is convening a consortium of leading institutions and thinkers from different sectors to contribute ideas for formulation of a cohesive framework capable of addressing global social challenges in their totality and complex interrelationships. The objective of my presentation will be to explore the potential for collaboration between the physical and social sciences to arrive at a more cohesive and effective framework by exploring a series of questions, including - - Is an integrated science of society possible that transcends disciplinary boundaries based on common underlying principles as we find in the natural sciences? - To what extent can principles of natural science serve as valid models and a...

Examining the social porosity of environmental features on neighborhood sociability and attachment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John R Hipp

Full Text Available The local neighborhood forms an integral part of our lives. It provides the context through which social networks are nurtured and the foundation from which a sense of attachment and cohesion with fellow residents can be established. Whereas much of the previous research has examined the role of social and demographic characteristic in relation to the level of neighboring and cohesion, this paper explores whether particular environmental features in the neighborhood affect social porosity. We define social porosity as the degree to which social ties flow over the surface of a neighborhood. The focus of our paper is to examine the extent to which a neighborhood's environmental features impede the level of social porosity present among residents. To do this, we integrate data from the census, topographic databases and a 2010 survey of 4,351 residents from 146 neighborhoods in Australia. The study introduces the concepts of wedges and social holes. The presence of two sources of wedges is measured: rivers and highways. The presence of two sources of social holes is measured: parks and industrial areas. Borrowing from the geography literature, several measures are constructed to capture how these features collectively carve up the physical environment of neighborhoods. We then consider how this influences residents' neighboring behavior, their level of attachment to the neighborhood and their sense of neighborhood cohesion. We find that the distance of a neighborhood to one form of social hole-industrial areas-has a particularly strong negative effect on all three dependent variables. The presence of the other form of social hole-parks-has a weaker negative effect. Neighborhood wedges also impact social interaction. Both the length of a river and the number of highway fragments in a neighborhood has a consistent negative effect on neighboring, attachment and cohesion.

The Role of Conformity in Relation to Cohesiveness and Intimacy in Day-Hospital Groups of Patients with Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Il Ho; Park, Sun Young; Choi, Sulkee; Lee, Soo Young; Kim, Jae-Jin

2017-07-01

Conformity is defined as the act of adjusting one's behavior to match the social responses of others. Patients with schizophrenia often adjust their maladaptive behaviors by conforming in group treatment settings. This study aimed to examine whether the opinions of group members influence conformity of patients with schizophrenia who attend day-hospital programs. Nineteen patients with schizophrenia from four different day-hospital programs and 23 healthy controls from four different social clubs completed the homographic meaning choice task under conditions of prior exposure to the pseudo-opinions of their group members, strangers, and unknown information sources. Group influences on conformity were observed when the level of group cohesiveness was high and the level of intimacy was low across participant groups. Controls did not exhibit a significant effect of group influence on conformity, whereas patients were significantly influenced by their group members when making conformity-based decisions despite significantly lower intimacy and cohesiveness levels. These findings suggest that unlike controls, patients with schizophrenia tend to respond with conformity when influenced by the opinions of their affiliated group. In patients with schizophrenia group conformity may be used to select a more accurate decision and to enhance feelings of affiliation among them.

Influence of Sport Education on Group Cohesion in University Physical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Jayne M.; Alderman, Brandon L.

2011-01-01

The Sport Education ("SE") curricular model incorporated within university physical education Basic Instruction Program (BIP) may increase group cohesion. This study's purpose was to identify student perceptions of a BIP course taught within "SE," and investigate group cohesion in differing activity content. Participants…

The cohesion protein SOLO associates with SMC1 and is required for synapsis, recombination, homolog bias and cohesion and pairing of centromeres in Drosophila Meiosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Rihui; McKee, Bruce D

2013-01-01

Cohesion between sister chromatids is mediated by cohesin and is essential for proper meiotic segregation of both sister chromatids and homologs. solo encodes a Drosophila meiosis-specific cohesion protein with no apparent sequence homology to cohesins that is required in male meiosis for centromere cohesion, proper orientation of sister centromeres and centromere enrichment of the cohesin subunit SMC1. In this study, we show that solo is involved in multiple aspects of meiosis in female Drosophila. Null mutations in solo caused the following phenotypes: 1) high frequencies of homolog and sister chromatid nondisjunction (NDJ) and sharply reduced frequencies of homolog exchange; 2) reduced transmission of a ring-X chromosome, an indicator of elevated frequencies of sister chromatid exchange (SCE); 3) premature loss of centromere pairing and cohesion during prophase I, as indicated by elevated foci counts of the centromere protein CID; 4) instability of the lateral elements (LE)s and central regions of synaptonemal complexes (SCs), as indicated by fragmented and spotty staining of the chromosome core/LE component SMC1 and the transverse filament protein C(3)G, respectively, at all stages of pachytene. SOLO and SMC1 are both enriched on centromeres throughout prophase I, co-align along the lateral elements of SCs and reciprocally co-immunoprecipitate from ovarian protein extracts. Our studies demonstrate that SOLO is closely associated with meiotic cohesin and required both for enrichment of cohesin on centromeres and stable assembly of cohesin into chromosome cores. These events underlie and are required for stable cohesion of centromeres, synapsis of homologous chromosomes, and a recombination mechanism that suppresses SCE to preferentially generate homolog crossovers (homolog bias). We propose that SOLO is a subunit of a specialized meiotic cohesin complex that mediates both centromeric and axial arm cohesion and promotes homolog bias as a component of chromosome

Family cohesion, acculturation, maternal cortisol, and preterm birth in Mexican-American women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruiz RJ

2013-05-01

Full Text Available R Jeanne Ruiz,1 Rita H Pickler,2 C Nathan Marti,3 Nancy Jallo41College of Nursing, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; 2Department of Patient Services, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; 3Abacist Analytics, Austin, TX, USA; 4School of Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USAObjective: To examine the potential moderating effects of family cohesion and acculturation on the physiological stress response (cortisol as a predictor of preterm birth (PTB in pregnant Mexican-American women.Methods: The sample included 470 participants; 33 had preterm births. All participants were self-identified as Mexican-American. In this cross-sectional study, family cohesion was measured by a self-report questionnaire. Acculturation was measured by self-report questionnaire as well as by years in the United States and country of birth. Stress was measured by serum cortisol. All measures were obtained at 22—24 weeks gestation. Additional data including history of PTB were obtained from the health record. Data analysis was primarily conducted using logistic regression.Results: The relationship between stress and PTB was predicted by family cohesion (estimate/standard error [E/SE] = —2.46, P = 0.014 and acculturation (E/SE = 2.56, P = 0.011. In addition, there was an interaction between family cohesion and history of previous PTB (E/SE = —2.12, P = 0.035.Conclusion: Results indicate that the impact of cortisol on PTB is predicted by acculturation and family cohesion such that higher levels of cortisol in conjunction with higher levels of acculturation and lower levels of family cohesion are associated with increased risk of PTB. In addition, low family cohesion in combination with a history of PTB was associated with higher levels of PTB. Assessment of family cohesion, including problem solving, adherence to family decisions, family shared space, and activity, should be included as part of prenatal

Social mobility: the influence of het neighbourhood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Das, M.; Musterd, S.; de Vos, S.; Latten, J.J.

2010-01-01

Neighbourhoods in The Netherlands differ strongly in social compositions and in the socio-economic perspectives of their residents. Increasing fears for diminishing social cohesion stimulated policy makers to focus on bettering perspectives for residents in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Allelic Variation of Risk for Anxiety Symptoms Moderates the Relation Between Adolescent Safety Behaviors and Social Anxiety Symptoms

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Sarah A.; Weeks, Justin W.; Dougherty, Lea R.; Lipton, Melanie F.; Daruwala, Samantha E.; Kline, Kathryn

2015-01-01

Social anxiety often develops in adolescence, and precedes the onset of depression and substance use disorders. The link between social anxiety and use of behaviors to minimize distress in social situations (i.e., safety behaviors) is strong and for some patients, this link poses difficulty for engaging in, and benefiting from, exposure-based treatment. Yet, little is known about whether individual differences may moderate links between social anxiety and safety behaviors, namely variations in genetic alleles germane to anxiety. We examined the relation between adolescent social anxiety and expressions of safety behaviors, and whether allelic variation for anxiety moderates this relation. Adolescents (n=75; ages 14–17) were recruited from two larger studies investigating measurement of family relationships or adolescent social anxiety. Adolescents completed self-report measures about social anxiety symptoms and use of safety behaviors. They also provided saliva samples to assess allelic variations for anxiety from two genetic polymorphisms (BDNF rs6265; TAQ1A rs1800497). Controlling for adolescent age and gender, we observed a significant interaction between social anxiety symptoms and allelic variation (β=0.37, t=2.41, p=.02). Specifically, adolescents carrying allelic variations for anxiety evidenced a statistically significant and relatively strong positive relation between social anxiety symptoms and safety behaviors (β=0.73), whereas adolescents not carrying allelic variation evidenced a statistically non-significant and relatively weak relation (β=0.22). These findings have important implications for treating adolescent social anxiety, in that we identified an individual difference variable that can be used to identify people who evidence a particularly strong link between use of safety behaviors and expressing social anxiety. PMID:26692635

Development of low energy electron beam irradiation technology. Application to cohesive and adhesive agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Hisashi; Enomoto, Ichiro; Tsuchiya, Mitsuaki

1996-01-01

The hightening of the cohesive and adhesive performances of rubber cohesive and adhesive agents, of which the main component is electron beam-cross-linked styrene-isoprene block copolymer (SIS), was tried. Cohesive and adhesive agents are cohesive agents at the time of use, but change to adhesive property by the lapse of time or the means using heat, light or radiation, and further, partially to separating property. This time, as a cohesion-giving agent, ARKON P-100 system was examined, and the heightening of adhesive performance including the improvement of the heat resistance and solvent endurance, which are the demerits of rubber, was investigated. Also the difference of the cohesive and adhesive performances due to the kinds of cohesion-giving agents was examined. The samples were prepared by irradiating the films on which the SIS was applied. The measurement of gel proportion, the holding force test at elevated temperature, the measurement of DSC and 180deg separation test were carried out. Respective testing methods and the results are reported. By electron beam irradiation, the heat resistance and solvent endurance were improved without affecting the separation force. (K.I.)

Mode I Cohesive Law Characterization of Through-Crack Propagation in a Multidirectional Laminate

Science.gov (United States)

Bergan, Andrew C.; Davila, Carlos G.; Leone, Frank A.; Awerbuch, Jonathan; Tan, Tein-Min

2014-01-01

A method is proposed and assessed for the experimental characterization of through-the-thickness crack propagation in multidirectional composite laminates with a cohesive law. The fracture toughness and crack opening displacement are measured and used to determine a cohesive law. Two methods of computing fracture toughness are assessed and compared. While previously proposed cohesive characterizations based on the R-curve exhibit size effects, the proposed approach results in a cohesive law that is a material property. The compact tension specimen configuration is used to propagate damage while load and full-field displacements are recorded. These measurements are used to compute the fracture toughness and crack opening displacement from which the cohesive law is characterized. The experimental results show that a steady-state fracture toughness is not reached. However, the proposed method extrapolates to steady-state and is demonstrated capable of predicting the structural behavior of geometrically-scaled specimens.

The mediating role of social capital in the association between neighbourhood income inequality and body mass index.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackenbach, Joreintje D; Lakerveld, Jeroen; van Oostveen, Yavanna; Compernolle, Sofie; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Bárdos, Helga; Rutter, Harry; Glonti, Ketevan; Oppert, Jean-Michel; Charreire, Helene; Brug, Johannes; Nijpels, Giel

2017-04-01

Neighbourhood income inequality may contribute to differences in body weight. We explored whether neighbourhood social capital mediated the association of neighbourhood income inequality with individual body mass index (BMI). A total of 4126 adult participants from 48 neighbourhoods in France, Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK provided information on their levels of income, perceptions of neighbourhood social capital and BMI. Factor analysis of the 13-item social capital scale revealed two social capital constructs: social networks and social cohesion. Neighbourhood income inequality was defined as the ratio of the amount of income earned by the top 20% and the bottom 20% in a given neighbourhood. Two single mediation analyses-using multilevel linear regression analyses-with neighbourhood social networks and neighbourhood social cohesion as possible mediators-were conducted using MacKinnon's product-of-coefficients method, adjusted for age, gender, education and absolute household income. Higher neighbourhood income inequality was associated with elevated levels of BMI and lower levels of neighbourhood social networks and neighbourhood social cohesion. High levels of neighbourhood social networks were associated with lower BMI. Results stratified by country demonstrate that social networks fully explained the association between income inequality and BMI in France and the Netherlands. Social cohesion was only a significant mediating variable for Dutch participants. The results suggest that in some European urban regions, neighbourhood social capital plays a large role in the association between neighbourhood income inequality and individual BMI. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Social, occupational and cultural adaptation in Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolas, Michel; Bishop, Sheryl; Weiss, Karine; Gaudino, Marvin

2016-07-01

Life in isolated and confined environments (ICEs, e.g., polar stations, submarine or space missions), is subject to important constraints which can generate psychosociological impaired outcomes. This study investigated psychological, social, occupational and cultural variables which are among the most important determinants in adaptation to a one-year wintering in Antarctica with 13 international participants. Our findings confirm and give further insight into the role of social (Cohesiveness, Social Support) and occupational (Implementation / Preparedness, Counterproductive Activity, Decision Latitude and Psychological Job Demands) dimensions of adaptation to ICE environments. Relationships between various social and occupational dimensions studies reflected detrimental effects ranging from decrements in cohesiveness, social support and work performance which differed across professional status and multicultural factors. These psychosocial issues have important implications for pre-mission selection and training, monitoring and support of crews during the mission and post-mission readaptation. Operational recommendations are suggested to improve adaptation, success and well-being for long-term ICE missions, e.g., to Mars and beyond.

The Problem of Civic Cohesion and the Role of the State School in France and Italy: Historical, Religious and Secular Comparisons

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Alessandro

2006-01-01

The paper aims to investigate the role assigned to state schools in France and Italy in constructing social cohesion and a common citizenship. The theme will be treated by individuating three different stages of a process of progressive mutual rapprochement between state and civil society. From the separatist phase, passing through an intermediate…

Family Adaptability and Cohesion and High Blood Pressure among Urban African American women

Science.gov (United States)

Brittain, Kelly; Taylor, Jacquelyn Y.; Wu, Chun Yi

2010-01-01

African American women are at greater risk for complications related to high blood pressure. This study examined relationships between high blood pressure, pulse pressure, body mass index, family adaptability, family cohesion and social support among 146 Urban African American women. Significant relationships were found between family adaptability and systolic blood pressure (p = .03) and between adaptability and pulse pressure (p ≤ .01). Based on study results, practitioners should routinely assess family functioning, specifically family adaptability, in African American women who are at risk for high blood pressure or diagnosed with high blood pressure to minimize complications associated with hypertension. PMID:21076625

Cohesive zone modeling of intergranular cracking in polycrystalline aggregates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simonovski, Igor; Cizelj, Leon

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Alternative approach to cohesive elements is proposed: cohesive-zone contact. • Applicability to measured and simulated grain structures is demonstrated. • Normal and normal/shear separation as a damage initialization is explored. • Normal/shear damage initialization significantly reduces ductility. • Little difference in Voronoi aggregate size on macroscopic response. - Abstract: Understanding and controlling early damage initiation and evolution are amongst the most important challenges in nuclear power plants, occurring in ferritic, austenitic steels and nickel based alloys. In this work a meso-scale approach to modeling initiation and evolution of early intergranular cracking is presented. This damage mechanism is present in a number of nuclear power plant components and depends on the material (e.g. composition, heat treatment, microstructure), environment and load. Finite element modeling is used to explicitly model the microstructure – both the grains and the grain boundaries. Spatial Voronoi tessellation is used to obtain the grain topology. In addition, measured topology of a 0.4 mm stainless steel wire is used. Anisotropic elasticity and crystal plasticity are used as constitutive laws for the grains. Grain boundaries are modeled using the cohesive zone approach. Different modeling assumptions/parameters are evaluated against the numerical stability criteria. The biggest positive contribution to numerical stability is the use of cohesive-type contact instead of cohesive elements. A small amount of viscous regularization should be also used along with the addition of a small amount of viscous forces to the global equilibrium equations. Two cases of grain boundary damage initiation are explored: (1) initiation due to normal separation and (2) initiation due to a combination of normal and shear separation. The second criterion significantly decreases the ductility of an aggregate and slightly improves the numerical stability

The Effects Of Physical And Biological Cohesion On Bedforms

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, D. R.; Schindler, R.; Baas, J.; Hope, J. A.; Malarkey, J.; Paterson, D. M.; Peakall, J.; Manning, A. J.; Ye, L.; Aspden, R.; Alan, D.; Bass, S. J.

2014-12-01

Most coastal sediments consist of complex mixtures of cohesionless sands, physically-cohesive clays and extra cellular polymeric substances (EPS) that impart biological cohesion. Yet, our ability to predict bedform dimensions in these substrates is reliant on predictions based exclusively on cohesionless sand. We present findings from the COHBED project - which explicitly examines how bedform dynamics are modified by natural cohesion. Our experimental results show that for ripples, height and length are inversely proportional to initial clay content and bedforms take longer to appear, with no ripples when clay content exceeds 18%. When clay is replaced by EPS the development time and time of first appearance of ripples both increase by two orders of magnitude, with no bedforms above 0.125% EPS. For dunes, height and length are also inversely proportional to initial substrate clay content, resulting in a transition from dunes to ripples normally associated with velocity decreases. Addition of low EPS concentrations into the substrate results in yet smaller bedforms at the same clay contents and at high EPS concentrations, biological cohesion supersedes all electrostatic bonding, and bedform size is no longer related to mud content. The contrast in physical and biological cohesion effects on bedform development result from the disparity between inter-particle electrostatic bonding of clay particles and EPS grain coating and strands that physically link sediments together, which effects winnowing rates as bedforms evolve. These findings have wide ranging implications for bedform predictions in both modern and ancient environments. Coupling of biological and morphological processes not only requires an understanding of how bedform dimensions influence biota and habitat, but also how benthic species can modify bedform dimensions. Consideration of both aspects provides a means in which fluid dynamics, sediment transport and ecosystem energetics can be linked to yield

Validating Experimental Bedform Dynamics on Cohesive Sand-Mud Beds in the Dee Estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Baas, Jaco H.; Baker, Megan; Hope, Julie; Malarkey, Jonathan; Rocha, Renata

2014-05-01

Recent laboratory experiments and field measurements have shown that small quantities of cohesive clay, and in particular 'sticky' biological polymers, within a sandy substrate dramatically reduce the development rate of sedimentary bedforms, with major implications for sediment transport rate calculations and process interpretations from the sedimentary record. FURTHER INFORMATION Flow and sediment transport predictions from sedimentary structures found in modern estuaries and within estuarine geological systems are impeded by an almost complete lack of process-based knowledge of the behaviour of natural sediments that consist of mixtures of cohesionless sand and biologically-active cohesive mud. Indeed, existing predictive models are largely based on non-organic cohesionless sands, despite the fact that mud, in pure form or mixed with sand, is the most common sediment on Earth and also the most biologically active interface across a range of Earth-surface environments, including rivers and shallow seas. The multidisciplinary COHBED project uses state-of-the-art laboratory and field technologies to measure the erosional properties of mixed cohesive sediment beds and the formation and stability of sedimentary bedforms on these beds, integrating the key physical and biological processes that govern bed evolution. The development of current ripples on cohesive mixed sediment beds was investigated as a function of physical control on bed cohesion versus biological control on bed cohesion. These investigations included laboratory flume experiments in the Hydrodynamics Laboratory (Bangor University) and field experiments in the Dee estuary (at West Kirby near Liverpool). The flume experiments showed that winnowing of fine-grained cohesive sediment, including biological stabilisers, is an important process affecting the development rate, size and shape of the cohesive bedforms. The ripples developed progressively slower as the kaolin clay fraction in the sandy substrate

Validity of a scale of neighbourhood informal social control relevant to pre-schoolers’ physical activity: A cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ester Cerin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Childhood physical activity (PA is important for health across the lifespan. Time pre-schoolers spend outdoors, which has been associated with more PA, is likely influenced by parents’ perception of neighbourhood informal social control relevant to pre-schoolers' PA, defined as the willingness of neighbours to intervene to ensure social order and a safe community environment for young children's active play. To advance measurement of this construct, we assessed factorial and construct validities of the PA-related neighbourhood informal social control scale for parents of pre-schoolers (PANISC-PP. In 2013–2014, Hong Kong primary caregivers (n=394 of 3–5 year-old children completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the preliminary version of the PANISC-PP, and self-report measures of theoretical neighbourhood correlates of PA-related neighbourhood informal social control (perceived signs of physical and social disorder, community cohesion, perceived stranger danger, risk of unintentional injury and traffic safety. The fit of the data to an a priori measurement model of the PANISC-PP was examined using confirmatory factor analyses. As the a priori model showed inadequate fit to the data, the factor structure was re-specified based on theoretical considerations. The final measurement models of the PANISC-PP showed acceptable fit to the data and consisted of three correlated latent factors: “General informal supervision”, “Civic engagement for the creation of a better neighbourhood environment” and “Educating and assisting neighbourhood children”. The internal reliability of the subscales was good (Cronbach's α values 0.82–0.89. Generalised additive mixed models indicated that all subscales were positively associated with community cohesion and scores on the subscale “Educating and assisting neighbourhood children” were related in the expected direction to all indicators of traffic and personal safety, supporting construct

Cohesion Features in ESL Reading: Comparing Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Plakans, Lia; Bilki, Zeynep

2016-01-01

This study of English as a second language (ESL) reading textbooks investigates cohesion in reading passages from 27 textbooks. The guiding research questions were whether and how cohesion differs across textbooks written for beginning, intermediate, and advanced second language readers. Using a computational tool called Coh-Metrix, textual…

Fatigue damage modeling in solder interconnects using a cohesive zone approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abdul-Baqi, A.J.J.; Schreurs, P.J.G.; Geers, M.G.D.

2005-01-01

The objective of this work is to model the fatigue damage process in a solder bump subjected to cyclic loading conditions. Fatigue damage is simulated using the cohesive zone methodology. Damage is assumed to occur at interfaces modeled through cohesive zones in the material, while the bulk material

Cohesion, leadership, mental health stigmatisation and perceived barriers to care in UK military personnel.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Norman; Campion, Ben; Keeling, Mary; Greenberg, Neil

2018-02-01

Military research suggests a significant association between leadership, cohesion, mental health stigmatisation and perceived barriers to care (stigma/BTC). Most studies are cross sectional, therefore longitudinal data were used to examine the association of leadership and cohesion with stigma/BTC. Military personnel provided measures of leadership, cohesion, stigma/BTC, mental health awareness and willingness to discuss mental health following deployment (n = 2510) and 4-6 months later (n = 1636). At follow-up, baseline leadership and cohesion were significantly associated with stigma/BTC; baseline cohesion alone was significantly associated with awareness of and willingness to discuss mental health at follow-up. Over time, changes in perceived leadership and cohesion were significantly associated with corresponding changes in stigma/BTC levels. Stigma/BTC content was similar in both surveys; fear of being viewed as weak and being treated differently by leaders was most frequently endorsed while thinking less of a help-seeking team member and unawareness of potential help sources were least common. Effective leadership and cohesion building may help to reduce stigma/BTC in military personnel. Mental health awareness and promoting the discussion of mental health matters may represent core elements of supportive leader behaviour. Perceptions of weakness and fears of being treated differently represent a focus for stigma/BTC reduction.

Defining Intercultural Education for Social Cohesion in Malaysian Context

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Amrita; Awang-Hashim, Rosna; Noman, Mohammad

2017-01-01

Schools are considered as powerful institutions that are capable of fostering a sense of coherence and common identity to integrate students of different ethnic, social, and cultural origins. Effective implementation of intercultural education at schools can facilitate social integration. However, it is important that the design and implementation…

Place-based innovation in Cohesion Policy: meeting and measuring the challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alys Solly

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper, prepared in conjunction with the European Union’s Open Days 2015, examines current Cohesion Policy in terms of its place-based logic, a key aspect of the new Smart Specialisation strategy platform. After discussing changing notions of urbanization and governance, which seem to be shifting Cohesion Policy towards a more performance-oriented analysis of its outcomes, the paper focuses on the question of identifying an appropriate set of indicators and measuring framework. It suggests that measurements of Cohesion Policy performance should analyse the outcomes and indicators, as well as the European and national data sources and statistics, through the lens of effectiveness and well-being.

Cohesion and Trauma: An Examination of a Collegiate Women's Volleyball Team

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Teresa B.; Meyer, Barbara B.

2009-01-01

This study examined the effects of Adventure Based Counseling (i.e., a low-element challenge program) on the cohesion of a collegiate women's volleyball team. Results suggest postintervention improvements in team cohesion. The support created in the challenge experience also transferred to the players helping one another to grieve the untimely…

The Social Support Act: the story so far

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mirjam de Klerk; Rob Gilsing; Joost Timmermans

2010-01-01

Original title: Op weg met de Wmo. The Social Support Act (Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning - Wmo) came into force in the Netherlands on 1 January 2007. The aim of the Act is to promote people's social and life skills and ability to participate, and to strengthen social cohesion and quality

The Cohesiveness of Muslim Pangestu Members in Salatiga, Central Java

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Suciati

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The drying of spirituality and weakening of cohesiveness in the midst of materialistic hedonistic modern world become major challenge for the adherents of official religions in Indonesia. The practice of religions is considered too much focusing on ritual aspects. Therefore, those teachings cannot give the real meaningfulness of religious life. Consequently, some adherents of official religions begin to see other spiritual/mysticism sects. This study describes the social cohesiveness among muslims who become members of Pangestu, a spiritual-mysticism sect widely spreading among Javanese society in Indonesia. This research shows that the Pangestu in Salatiga, Central Java, can fulfill social, economic, and spiritual needs of its members. Among the underlying factors that make Pangestu succeed to meet its members’ needs and expectations are the capability of the members to intensely communicate with each other through meetings and bawaraos (Jv, informal gathering, the great concern between members, good-example of leadership, the defense of Pangestu’s good name, and the satisfaction in experiencing meaningfulness of religious practices.[Kekeringan spiritual dan lemahnya kebersamaan di tengah dunia modern yang serba hedonistik menjadi tantangan utama bagi para pemeluk agama di Indonesia. Praktik-praktik keagamaan terlalu banyak terfokus pada aspek ritual, sehingga ajaran agama tidak mampu menghadirkan praktek-praktek keagamaan yang benar-benar bermakna. Hal ini mendorong sebagian pemeluk agama untuk melirik aliran kepercayaan dan kebatinan. Artikel ini mendeskripsikan keguyuban sosial di antara orang-orang Islam yang menjadi anggota Pangestu, sebuah aliran kepercayaan di Indonesia yang banyak menyebar terutama di kalangan masyarakat Jawa. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Pangestu di Salatiga, Jawa Tegah, mampu memenuhi kebutuhan sosial, ekonomi, dan spiritual para anggotanya. Di antara faktor yang menentukan keberhasilan Pangestu dalam memenuhi

Investigating the relationship between leader behaviours and group cohesion within women's walking groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Caperchione, Cristina; Mummery, W Kerry; Duncan, Mitch

2011-07-01

Early research has shown that leadership behaviour is viewed as a crucial factor in successfully developing team cohesion, effectively resulting in greater team satisfaction and more positive team outcomes. However, little is understood if these same factors have an impact on physical activity groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between leader behaviours and group cohesiveness within women's physical activity groups. Participants (N = 95) included a sub-sample of adult women who were previously involved in a women's physical activity/walking program. Participants assessed their groups' leader behaviour using items pertaining to enthusiasm, motivation, instruction and availability, and their groups' cohesiveness using the Physical Activity Group Environment Questionnaire (PAGEQ). Canonical correlation analysis was used to determine the strength of association between the four concepts of group cohesion (ATG-T, ATG-S, GI-T and GI-S) and the four items pertaining to leadership behaviour. A significant multivariate relationship was revealed between group cohesion and leadership behaviour, Wilks' lambda = 0.43, F(16,170) = 5.16, p cohesion. Although a cause-effect relationship cannot be determined, the current study can serve as a valuable template in guiding future research in examining potential mechanisms that may assist with physical activity sustainability. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Education and social capital: empirical evidence from microeconomic analyses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huang, J.

2010-01-01

Social capital is considered an important asset for individuals, groups, communities and society because it is related to individual health and socio-economic status, and it affects the crime rate, social cohesion, and social welfare. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a detail

Altered social cohesion and adverse psychological experiences with chronic food insecurity in the non-market economy and complex households of Burkina Faso.

Science.gov (United States)

Nanama, Siméon; Frongillo, Edward A

2012-02-01

Food insecurity negatively impacts outcomes in adults and children including parenting practices, child development, educational achievement, school performance, diet, and nutritional status. Ethnographic and quantitative research suggests that food insecurity affects well-being not only through the lack food, poor diet, and hunger, but also through social and psychological consequences that are closely linked to it. These studies are limited in number, and have mostly been carried out in contexts with market economies where household access to food depends almost solely on income. This study considers the social and psychological experiences closely linked to food insecurity in northern Burkina Faso, a context marked by subsistence farming, chronic food insecurity with a strong seasonal pattern, and a complex social structure. A total of 33 men and women from ten households were interviewed in February 2001 using semi-structured interview guides. Data were analyzed following the principles of thematic analysis. Food insecurity is closely linked with consequences such as concern, worries, and anxiety that ultimately lead to weight and sleep loss. Food insecurity results in feelings of alienation (e.g., shame) and deprivation (e.g., guilt), and alters household cohesion leading to disputes and difficulties keeping children at home. Decisions made by household members to manage and cope with food insecurity are shaped by their fear of alienation and other cultural and social norms. These findings, although derived from data collected 10 years ago before the 2008 food and fuel crises, remain valid in the study context, and emphasize the importance of social and psychological consequences closely linked to food insecurity and their negative impact on the well-being at both individual and household levels in contexts of non-market economy and chronic food insecurity. Attention to these non-nutritional consequences will improve the design, implementation, and evaluation

The group matters: an explorative study of group cohesion and quality of life in cancer patients participating in physical exercise intervention during treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Midtgaard, J; Rorth, M; Stelter, R; Adamsen, L

2006-03-01

A series of studies have shown that physical activity improves cancer patients functional capacity and quality of life (QOL). Few of these studies have included physical exercise carried out in a group setting. However, patient's experience with the in-group processes remains unexplored. This study investigated group cohesion and changes in QOL in 55 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who participated in a 9 h weekly group exercise programme for 6 weeks. The study used a method triangulation component design. Seven qualitative group interviews were conducted post-intervention. QOL (SF-36; EORTC QLQ-C30) was assessed at baseline and after Week 6. The interviews revealed that group cohesion was an interim goal aimed to maximize peak performance potential by patients. Group cohesion was characterized by a special 'esprit de corps' and enabled the group members to feel like sport teams. The programme made purposeful togetherness possible while allowing the patients an opportunity to let their illness fade into the background. Questionnaire data showed significant improvements in mental health, social and emotional functioning. This study identified a conceptualization of group cohesion that forms a valuable basis for a larger randomized controlled trial to conclude whether the observed changes are a result of this specific intervention.

Sport psychology group consultation using social networking web sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, Frederick; Shipherd, Amber M; Gershgoren, Lael; Filho, Edson Medeiros; Basevitch, Itay

2012-08-01

A social networking Web site, Facebook, was used to deliver long-term sport psychology consultation services to student-athletes (i.e., soccer players) in 30- to 60-min weekly sessions. Additional short-term team building, group cohesion, communication, anger management, injury rehabilitation, mental toughness, commitment, and leadership workshops were provided. Cohesion and overall relationships between both the student-athletes and the sport psychology consultants benefited from this process. Social networking Web sites offer a practical way of providing sport psychology consulting services that does not require use of major resources. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Group cohesion in sports teams of different professional level

OpenAIRE

Vazha M. Devishvili; Marina O. Mdivani; Daria S. Elgina

2017-01-01

Background. Team sports are not only the most exciting sporting events. but also complex activities that make serious demands on players. The effectiveness of the team depends not only on the high level of gaming interaction. but also on the relationship between the players. The work is based on the material of sports teams and is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of group cohesion. As a basic model. the authors choose a 4-factor model that describes cohesion in sports teams. The pape...

Flow Function of Pharmaceutical Powders Is Predominantly Governed by Cohesion, Not by Friction Coefficients.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Lap Yin; Mao, Chen; Srivastava, Ishan; Du, Ping; Yang, Chia-Yi

2017-07-01

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that the flow function (FFc) of pharmaceutical powders, as measured by rotational shear cell, is predominantly governed by cohesion but not friction coefficients. Driven by an earlier report showing an inverse correlation between FFc and the cohesion divided by the corresponding pre-consolidation stress (Wang et al. 2016. Powder Tech. 294:105-112), we performed analysis on a large data set containing 1130 measurements from a ring shear tester and identified a near-perfect inverse correlation between the FFc and cohesion. Conversely, no correlation was found between FFc and friction angles. We also conducted theoretical analysis and estimated such correlations based on Mohr-Coulomb failure model. We discovered that the correlation between FFc and cohesion can sustain as long as the angle of internal friction at incipient flow is not significantly larger than the angle of internal friction at steady-state flow, a condition covering almost all pharmaceutical powders. The outcome of this study bears significance in pharmaceutical development. Because the cohesion value is strongly influenced by the interparticle cohesive forces, this study effectively shows that it is more efficient to improve the pharmaceutical powder flow by lowering the interparticle cohesive forces than by lowering the interparticle frictions. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Winnowing and Flocculation in Bio-physical Cohesive Substrate: A Flume Experimental and Estuarine Study

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, L.; Parsons, D. R.; Manning, A. J.

2016-12-01

Cohesive sediment, or mud, is ubiquitously found in most aqueous environments, such as coasts and estuaries. The study of cohesive sediment behaviors requires the synchronous description of mutual interactions of grains (e.g., winnowing and flocculation), their physical properties (e.g., grain size) and also the ambient water. Herein, a series of flume experiments (14 runs) with different substrate mixtures of sand-clay-EPS (Extracellular Polymeric Substrates: secreted by aquatic microorganisms) are combined with an estuarine field survey (Dee estuary, NW England) to investigate the behavior of suspensions over bio-physical cohesive substrates. The experimental results indicate that winnowing and flocculation occur pervasively in bio-physical cohesive flow systems. Importantly however, the evolution of the bed and bedform dynamics and hence turbulence production can be lower when cohesivity is high. The estuarine survey also revealed that the bio-physical cohesion provided by both the clay and microorganism fractions in the bed, that pervasively exists in many natural estuarine systems, plays a significant role in controlling the interactions between bed substrate and sediment suspension and deposition, including controlling processes such as sediment winnowing, flocculation and re-deposition. Full understanding of these processes are essential in advancing sediment transport modelling and prediction studies across natural estuarine systems and the work will report on an improved conceptual model for sediment sorting deposition in bio-physical cohesive substrates.

Reliability and validity of the Student Perceptions of School Cohesion Scale in a sample of Salvadoran secondary school students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arrivillaga Marcela

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite a growing body of research from the United States and other industrialized countries on the inverse association between supportive social relationships in the school and youth risk behavior engagement, research on the measurement of supportive school social relationships in Central America is limited. We examined the psychometric properties of the Student Perceptions of School Cohesion (SPSC scale, a 10-item scale that asks students to rate with a 5-point Likert-type response scale their perceptions of the school social environment, in a sample of public secondary school students (mean age = 15 years living in central El Salvador. Methods Students (n = 982 completed a self-administered questionnaire that included the SPSC scale along with measures of youth health risk behaviors based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the factor structure of the scale, and two internal consistency estimates of reliability were computed. Construct validity was assessed by examining whether students who reported low school cohesion were significantly more likely to report physical fighting and illicit drug use. Results Results indicated that the SPSC scale has three latent factors, which explained 61.6% of the variance: supportive school relationships, student-school connectedness, and student-teacher connectedness. The full scale and three subscales had good internal consistency (rs = .87 and α = .84 for the full scale; rs and α between .71 and .75 for the three subscales. Significant associations were found between the full scale and all three subscales with physical fighting (p ≤ .001 and illicit drug use (p Conclusion Findings provide evidence of reliability and validity of the SPSC for the measurement of supportive school relationships in Latino adolescents living in El Salvador. These findings provide a foundation for further research on

Auto consolidated cohesive sediments erosion; Erosion des sediments cohesifs en autoconsolidation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ternat, F

2007-02-15

Pollutants and suspended matters of a river can accumulate into the sedimentary column. Once deposited, they are submitted to self-weight consolidation processes, ageing and burying, leading to an increase of their erosion resistance. Pollutant fluxes can be related to sedimentary fluxes, determined by threshold laws. In this work, an erosion threshold model is suggested by introducing a cohesion force into the usual force balance. A model of cohesion is developed on the basis of interactions between argillaceous cohesive particles (clays), particularly the Van der Waals force, whose parameterization is ensured by means of granulometry and porosity. Artificial erosion experiments were performed in a recirculating erosion flume with natural cored sediments where critical shear stress measurements were performed. Other analyses provided granulometry and porosity. The results obtained constitute a good database for the literature. The model is then applied to the experimental conditions and gives good agreement with measurements. An example of the accounting for self-weight consolidation processes is finally suggested, before finishing on a Mohr like diagram dedicated to soft cohesive sediment erosion. (author)

Transformational leadership and task cohesion in sport: the mediating role of inside sacrifice.

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, Lorcan Donal; Arthur, Calum Alexander; Hardy, James; Callow, Nichola

2015-02-01

In this cross-sectional study, we examined a mediational model whereby transformational leadership is related to task cohesion via sacrifice. Participants were 381 American (Mage = 19.87 years, SD = 1.41) Division I university athletes (188 males, 193 females) who competed in a variety of sports. Participants completed measures of coach transformational leadership, personal and teammate inside sacrifice, and task cohesion. After conducting multilevel mediation analysis, we found that both personal and teammate inside sacrifice significantly mediated the relationships between transformational leadership behaviors and task cohesion. However, there were differential patterns of these relationships for male and female athletes. Interpretation of the results highlights that coaches should endeavor to display transformational leadership behaviors as they are related to personal and teammate inside sacrifices and task cohesion.

Mother-child conversations about safety: implications for socializing safety values in children.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neal, Elizabeth E; Plumert, Jodie M

2014-05-01

This study examined how mothers socialize their children about safety through conversations about potentially unsafe activities. Mothers and their 8- and 10-year-old children discussed and rated the safety of 12 photographs depicting another same-gender child engaged in potentially dangerous activities. Conversations usually unfolded with children giving the first rating or rationale, followed by additional discussion between the mother and child. Mothers and children relied on 2 main types of rationales to justify their ratings: potential outcomes of the activity and specific features of the situation (dangerous and nondangerous). Mothers (but not children) used dangerous feature rationales more often than dangerous outcome rationales. When disagreements arose, mothers typically guided children to adopt their own rating rather than the child's rating. Additionally, children who used more nondangerous feature and outcome rationales had experienced more injuries requiring medical attention. Mothers' focus on dangerous features appears to reflect their efforts to help children make causal connections between dangerous elements of the situation and adverse outcomes that might result.

Bedform development in mixed sand-mud: The contrasting role of cohesive forces in flow and bed

Science.gov (United States)

Baas, Jaco H.; Davies, Alan G.; Malarkey, Jonathan

2013-01-01

The majority of subaqueous sediment on Earth consists of mixtures of cohesive clay and cohesionless sand and silt, but the role of cohesion on the development and stability of sedimentary bedforms is poorly understood. The results of new laboratory flume experiments on bedform development in cohesive, mixed sand-mud beds are compared with the results of previous experiments in which cohesive forces in high concentration clay flows dominated bedform development. Even though both series of mixed sand-mud experiments were conducted at similar flow velocities, the textural and structural properties of the bedforms were sufficiently different to permit the designation of key criteria for identifying bedform generation under cohesive flows against bedform generation on cohesive substrates. These criteria are essential for improving bedform size predictions in sediment transport modelling in modern sedimentary environments and for the reconstruction of depositional processes in the geological record. The current ripples developing on the cohesive, mixed sand-mud beds, with bed mud fractions of up to 18%, were significantly smaller than equivalent bedforms in noncohesive sand. Moreover, the bedform height showed a stronger inversely proportional relationship with initial bed mud fraction than the bedform wavelength. This is in contrast with the bedforms developing under the cohesive clay flows, which tend to increase in size with increasing suspended clay concentration until the flow turbulence is fully suppressed. Selective removal of clay from the mixed beds, i.e., clay winnowing, was found to be an important process, with 82-100% clay entrained into suspension after 2 h of bedform development. This winnowing process led to the development of a sand-rich armouring layer. This armouring layer is inferred to have protected the underlying mixed sand-mud from prolonged erosion, and in conjunction with strong cohesive forces in the bed may have caused the smaller size of the

Cohesion and coordination effects on transition metal surface energies

Science.gov (United States)

Ruvireta, Judit; Vega, Lorena; Viñes, Francesc

2017-10-01

Here we explore the accuracy of Stefan equation and broken-bond model semiempirical approaches to obtain surface energies on transition metals. Cohesive factors are accounted for either via the vaporization enthalpies, as proposed in Stefan equation, or via cohesive energies, as employed in the broken-bond model. Coordination effects are considered including the saturation degree, as suggested in Stefan equation, employing Coordination Numbers (CN), or as the ratio of broken bonds, according to the bond-cutting model, considering as well the square root dependency of the bond strength on CN. Further, generalized coordination numbers CN bar are contemplated as well, exploring a total number of 12 semiempirical formulations on the three most densely packed surfaces of 3d, 4d, and 5d Transition Metals (TMs) displaying face-centered cubic (fcc), body-centered cubic (bcc), or hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystallographic structures. Estimates are compared to available experimental surface energies obtained extrapolated to zero temperature. Results reveal that Stefan formula cohesive and coordination dependencies are only qualitative suited, but unadvised for quantitative discussion, as surface energies are highly overestimated, favoring in addition the stability of under-coordinated surfaces. Broken-bond cohesion and coordination dependencies are a suited basis for quantitative comparison, where square-root dependencies on CN to account for bond weakening are sensibly worse. An analysis using Wulff shaped averaged surface energies suggests the employment of broken-bond model using CN to gain surface energies for TMs, likely applicable to other metals.

Relationship between Family Adaptability, Cohesion and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Curvilinearity of Circumplex Model

Science.gov (United States)

Joh, Ju Youn; Kim, Sun; Park, Jun Li

2013-01-01

Background The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) III using the circumplex model has been widely used in investigating family function. However, the criticism of the curvilinear hypothesis of the circumplex model has always been from an empirical point of view. This study examined the relationship between adolescent adaptability, cohesion, and adolescent problem behaviors, and especially testing the consistency of the curvilinear hypotheses with FACES III. Methods We used the data from 398 adolescent participants who were in middle school. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate the FACES III and Youth Self Report. Results According to the level of family adaptability, significant differences were evident in internalizing problems (P = 0.014). But, in externalizing problems, the results were not significant (P = 0.305). Also, according to the level of family cohesion, significant differences were in internalizing problems (P = 0.002) and externalizing problems (P = 0.004). Conclusion The relationship between the dimensions of adaptability, cohesion and adolescent problem behaviors was not curvilinear. In other words, adolescents with high adaptability and high cohesion showed low problem behaviors. PMID:23730484

Relationship between Family Adaptability, Cohesion and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: Curvilinearity of Circumplex Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Joh, Ju Youn; Kim, Sun; Park, Jun Li; Kim, Yeon Pyo

2013-05-01

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) III using the circumplex model has been widely used in investigating family function. However, the criticism of the curvilinear hypothesis of the circumplex model has always been from an empirical point of view. This study examined the relationship between adolescent adaptability, cohesion, and adolescent problem behaviors, and especially testing the consistency of the curvilinear hypotheses with FACES III. We used the data from 398 adolescent participants who were in middle school. A self-reported questionnaire was used to evaluate the FACES III and Youth Self Report. According to the level of family adaptability, significant differences were evident in internalizing problems (P = 0.014). But, in externalizing problems, the results were not significant (P = 0.305). Also, according to the level of family cohesion, significant differences were in internalizing problems (P = 0.002) and externalizing problems (P = 0.004). The relationship between the dimensions of adaptability, cohesion and adolescent problem behaviors was not curvilinear. In other words, adolescents with high adaptability and high cohesion showed low problem behaviors.

Corporal Punishment and Child Aggression: Ethnic-Level Family Cohesion as a Moderator.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yoona; Watson, Malcolm W

2017-04-01

Ethnicity has been examined as a putative moderator between parents' use of corporal punishment and children's externalizing behaviors. Yet, the reasons for this potential ethnic-level moderator have not been fully examined. The primary objective of this study was to examine whether the effect of corporal punishment on aggression is ethnic-specific using major racial groups inside and outside the U.S. samples and how the mean levels of cohesion in family relationships as found in different ethnic groups moderate the association between mothers' use of corporal punishment and children's aggression. A total of 729 mothers who had children aged 7 to 13 years were sampled from five ethnic groups (i.e., European American, African American, Hispanic American, Korean, and Chinese). Several hypotheses were tested to examine the moderating effect of ethnic-level, family cohesion on the relation of corporal punishment to children's aggression. As expected, the mean level of family cohesion was significantly different across ethnicities. Consistent results across parallel multilevel and fixed effect models showed that high corporal punishment was associated with more aggression in all ethnicities, but there was a significant variation in the association across ethnicities, and the variation was explained by ethnic-level family cohesion. There were weaker associations between corporal punishment and child aggression among ethnic groups with high family cohesion and stronger associations among ethnic groups with low family cohesion. Ethnic/cultural variation in this study emphasizes the importance of understanding family environment of diverse ethnic groups when evaluating the influence of corporal punishment on child behavior in different ethnic/cultural contexts.

Symptom fluctuations, self-esteem, and cohesion during group cognitive behaviour therapy for early psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lecomte, Tania; Leclerc, Claude; Wykes, Til

2018-03-01

Group cohesion has been linked to positive changes in self-esteem and in symptoms during group psychotherapy in people with psychosis. These changes may be linked to changes in symptoms as fluctuations in self-esteem have been linked to symptom fluctuations. We aimed to determine the relationship between these three factors - group cohesion, self-esteem, and symptoms - during group cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis (GCBTp). We hypothesized that group cohesion would precede changes in symptoms and self-esteem and that improvements in self-esteem would precede improvements in symptoms. This is an uncontrolled longitudinal study recruiting from a convenience sample within two early psychosis clinics. Sixty-six individuals from first episode of psychosis treatment programmes participated in this study and received 24 sessions of a validated GCBTp protocol. Participants answered a brief questionnaire at the end of each session, measuring their group cohesion, self-esteem, and perception of their symptoms as worse, same, or better than usual. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts for time effects were estimated with a mixed model for repeated measures with a random cluster effect and revealed a quartic trend regarding changes in symptoms over the 24 sessions. Self-esteem, symptoms, and group cohesion were strongly linked during a given session. Also, self-esteem changes predicted changes in symptoms up to two sessions later, and symptoms changes predicted self-esteem changes at the next session. Group cohesion preceded improvements in both self-esteem and symptoms; self-esteem also predicted improvements in group cohesion. These results suggest that self-esteem and symptoms influence each other during therapy, with improvements in one leading to improvements in the other. Group cohesion also appears to be an essential prerequisite to positive changes in self-esteem and symptoms during GCBTp. This study emphasizes the interrelation between self-esteem improvements and

Catching crime: detection of public safety incidents using social media

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Marivate, Vukosi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The increasing prevalence of Social Media platform use has brought with it an explosion of new user generated public data. This data is centered around many, diverse topics. One theme of interest is how one can tap into the public safety and crime...

Social Context Disambiguates the Interpretation of Laughter.

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, William; McKeown, Gary J; Rychlowska, Magdalena; André, Elisabeth; Wagner, Johannes; Lingenfelser, Florian

2017-01-01

Despite being a pan-cultural phenomenon, laughter is arguably the least understood behaviour deployed in social interaction. As well as being a response to humour, it has other important functions including promoting social affiliation, developing cooperation and regulating competitive behaviours. This multi-functional feature of laughter marks it as an adaptive behaviour central to facilitating social cohesion. However, it is not clear how laughter achieves this social cohesion. We consider two approaches to understanding how laughter facilitates social cohesion - the 'representational' approach and the 'affect-induction' approach. The representational approach suggests that laughter conveys information about the expresser's emotional state, and the listener decodes this information to gain knowledge about the laugher's felt state. The affect-induction approach views laughter as a tool to influence the affective state of listeners. We describe a modified version of the affect-induction approach, in which laughter is combined with additional factors - including social context, verbal information, other social signals and knowledge of the listener's emotional state - to influence an interaction partner. This view asserts that laughter by itself is ambiguous: the same laughter may induce positive or negative affect in a listener, with the outcome determined by the combination of these additional factors. Here we describe two experiments exploring which of these approaches accurately describes laughter. Participants judged the genuineness of audio-video recordings of social interactions containing laughter. Unknown to the participants the recordings contained either the original laughter or replacement laughter from a different part of the interaction. When replacement laughter was matched for intensity, genuineness judgements were similar to judgements of the original unmodified recordings. When replacement laughter was not matched for intensity, genuineness

Sex differences in the development of perceived family cohesion and depressive symptoms in Taiwanese adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sze, Tat-Ming; Hsieh, Pei-Jung; Lin, Sieh-Hwa; Chen, I-Jung

2013-08-01

This study investigates the progression of family cohesion perceptions and depressive symptoms during the character development stage in adolescents. Data were used from the Taiwan Youth Project. The final sample comprised 2,690 adolescents with 1,312 girls (48.8%; M age = 13.0 yr., SD = 0.5). Latent curve growth analysis was employed to explore these developments. Seventh-grade girls reported greater family cohesion and more depressive symptoms than boys, and boys reported greater growth in family cohesion than girls. However, progression of depressive symptoms was not associated with the child's sex. Higher perceived family cohesion in Grade 7 correlated with less increase of depressive symptoms from Grades 9 to 11. The long-term positive influence of family cohesion on depressive symptoms is discussed.

Cohesiveness in financial news and its relation to market volatility.

Science.gov (United States)

Piškorec, Matija; Antulov-Fantulin, Nino; Novak, Petra Kralj; Mozetič, Igor; Grčar, Miha; Vodenska, Irena; Smuc, Tomislav

2014-05-22

Motivated by recent financial crises, significant research efforts have been put into studying contagion effects and herding behaviour in financial markets. Much less has been said regarding the influence of financial news on financial markets. We propose a novel measure of collective behaviour based on financial news on the Web, the News Cohesiveness Index (NCI), and we demonstrate that the index can be used as a financial market volatility indicator. We evaluate the NCI using financial documents from large Web news sources on a daily basis from October 2011 to July 2013 and analyse the interplay between financial markets and finance-related news. We hypothesise that strong cohesion in financial news reflects movements in the financial markets. Our results indicate that cohesiveness in financial news is highly correlated with and driven by volatility in financial markets.

Cohesiveness in Financial News and its Relation to Market Volatility

Science.gov (United States)

Piškorec, Matija; Antulov-Fantulin, Nino; Novak, Petra Kralj; Mozetič, Igor; Grčar, Miha; Vodenska, Irena; Šmuc, Tomislav

2014-01-01

Motivated by recent financial crises, significant research efforts have been put into studying contagion effects and herding behaviour in financial markets. Much less has been said regarding the influence of financial news on financial markets. We propose a novel measure of collective behaviour based on financial news on the Web, the News Cohesiveness Index (NCI), and we demonstrate that the index can be used as a financial market volatility indicator. We evaluate the NCI using financial documents from large Web news sources on a daily basis from October 2011 to July 2013 and analyse the interplay between financial markets and finance-related news. We hypothesise that strong cohesion in financial news reflects movements in the financial markets. Our results indicate that cohesiveness in financial news is highly correlated with and driven by volatility in financial markets. PMID:24849598

Durkheim, social integration and suicide rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Alaszewski, A; Manthorpe, J

This second paper of six on the application of sociology in health care considers the work of Emile Durkheim. He was concerned with the production of social order through relationships and shared values. Durkheim conceived social phenomena as 'social facts' which could be studied, and his treatment of suicide as a case study of social fact is discussed here. His work on the processes of social cohesion has influenced the work of sociologists up to the present day.

The role of bio-physical cohesive substrates on sediment winnowing and bedform development

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Leiping; Parsons, Daniel; Manning, Andrew

2017-04-01

Existing sediment transport and bedform size predictions for natural open-channel flows in many environments are seriously impeded by a lack of process-based knowledge concerning the dynamics of complex bed sediment mixtures comprising cohesionless sand and biologically-active cohesive muds. A series of flume experiments (14 experimental runs) with different substrate mixtures of sand-clay-EPS (Extracellular Polymeric Substance) are combined with a detailed estuarine field survey (Dee estuary, NW England) to investigate the development of bedform morphologies and characteristics of suspended sediment over bio-physical cohesive substrates. The experimental results indicate that winnowing and sediment sorting can occur pervasively in bio-physical cohesive sediment - flow systems. Importantly however, the evolution of the bed and bedform dynamics, and hence turbulence production, is significantly reduced as bed substrate cohesivity increases. The estuarine subtidal zone survey also revealed that the bio-physical cohesion provided by both the clay and microorganism fractions in the bed plays a significant role in controlling the interactions between bed substrate and sediment suspension, deposition and bedform generation. The work will be presented here concludes by outlining the need to extend and revisit the effects of cohesivity in morphodynamic systems and the sets of parameters presently used in numerical modelling, particularly in the context of the impact of climate change on estuarine and coastal systems.

Design of Normal Concrete Mixtures Using Workability-Dispersion-Cohesion Method

OpenAIRE

Qasrawi, Hisham

2016-01-01

The workability-dispersion-cohesion method is a new proposed method for the design of normal concrete mixes. The method uses special coefficients called workability-dispersion and workability-cohesion factors. These coefficients relate workability to mobility and stability of the concrete mix. The coefficients are obtained from special charts depending on mix requirements and aggregate properties. The method is practical because it covers various types of aggregates that may not be within sta...

El principio de no regresividad de los derechos sociales en el ordenamiento constitucional español // The principle of non-regressivity of Social rights in the Spanish Constitutional Law

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Agudo Zamora

2017-12-01

This paper analyzes the constitutional recognition of the principle of non-regressivity of social rights in Spain. It starts from the succinct analysis of the social model of our Constitution which implies the recognition of economic and social rights. This recognition is the constitutionalization of the principles of solidarity and social cohesion. The principle of social cohesion has been defined by the Council of Europe and explicitly included in the constitutive treaties of the European Union. The need to achieve social cohesion underpins the inclusion in the Constitutions and international treaties of the principle of non-regression of social rights. In the Spanish Constitution of 1978 this principle is not expressly included. The non-inclusion in the Constitution of this principle poses a danger to social cohesion in times of economic crisis. For its part, the Constitutional Court has established an ambiguous doctrine on this subject, which has been analyzed in this work, as well as the most significant doctrinal contributions on the subject. In order to know which are the limits of the regressivity of the social rights that give content of this principle an international comparison has been made as well as a study of constitutional principles. Limits to the regressivity of content, effectiveness and protection of social rights have been obtained from the study of international order and constitutional values and principles. This paper concludes by suggesting a proposal for constitutional amendment that includes the principle of non-regressivity of social rights in the Spanish Constitution establishing some requirements of those measures that imply a regression of their content such as: they shall be fully justified in relationship with all the rights, values and principles contained in the Constitution and in the international treaties signed by the Spanish State and in the context of full exploitation of the maximum resources available; Shall be

Freedom and Safety of an Individual in the Attitude of Liberalism and Christian Social S

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Valdas Pruskus

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the freedom and safety of an individual under market conditions and ethical limits of market expression in the attitude of liberalism and Christian social science.Liberalism and Christian social teaching admits that market and its mechanism gives an individual and society an opportunity to fulfil their needs better, but differently estimates ethical limits of market expression. It is shown that in the attitude of Christian social teaching the goal of economic action is not only to create welfare for society and the individual but also to secure its safety. In its turn, creation of safety is associated with the necessity to overcome the single-acting dominance of economic values in the market society: ethic values by which economic action of the individual and society should be measured have to penetrate into economic space. 

Numerical insight into the micromechanics of jet erosion of a cohesive granular material

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Cuéllar Pablo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Here we investigate the physical mechanisms behind the surface erosion of a cohesive granular soil induced by an impinging jet by means of numerical simulations coupling fluid and grains at the microscale. The 2D numerical model combines the Discrete Element and Lattice Boltzmann methods (DEM-LBM and accounts for the granular cohesion with a contact model featuring a paraboloidal yield surface. Here we review first the hydrodynamical conditions imposed by the fluid jet on a solid granular packing, turning then the attention to the impact of cohesion on the erosion kinetics. Finally, the use of an additional subcritical debonding damage model based on the work of Silvani and co-workers provides a novel insight into the internal solicitation of the cohesive granular sample by the impinging jet.

Numerical insight into the micromechanics of jet erosion of a cohesive granular material

Science.gov (United States)

Cuéllar, Pablo; Benseghier, Zeyd; Luu, Li-Hua; Bonelli, Stéphane; Delenne, Jean-Yves; Radjaï, Farhang; Philippe, Pierre

2017-06-01

Here we investigate the physical mechanisms behind the surface erosion of a cohesive granular soil induced by an impinging jet by means of numerical simulations coupling fluid and grains at the microscale. The 2D numerical model combines the Discrete Element and Lattice Boltzmann methods (DEM-LBM) and accounts for the granular cohesion with a contact model featuring a paraboloidal yield surface. Here we review first the hydrodynamical conditions imposed by the fluid jet on a solid granular packing, turning then the attention to the impact of cohesion on the erosion kinetics. Finally, the use of an additional subcritical debonding damage model based on the work of Silvani and co-workers provides a novel insight into the internal solicitation of the cohesive granular sample by the impinging jet.

Family Cohesion in the Lives of Mexican American and European American Parents

Science.gov (United States)

Behnke, Andrew O.; MacDermid, Shelley M.; Coltrane, Scott L.; Parke, Ross D.; Duffy, Sharon; Widaman, Keith F.

2008-01-01

This study investigated similarities and differences in relations between stress and parenting behaviors for 509 Mexican American and European American fathers and mothers in Southern California. Our model posited that family cohesion mediates the relation between stressors and parenting behavior, and we found that family cohesion strongly…

SOLIDARIEDADE SOCIAL : as ponderações de Émile Durkheim

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Marta do Socorro Sousa de Araujo

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Analysis of the forms of social solidarity pointed by Émile Durkheim as a part of the principle of the social integration through as the balance and of t he social cohesion, indispensable considered aspects to the good operation of the society.

The potential for social media to educate farm families about health and safety for children.

Science.gov (United States)

Gualtieri, Lisa

2012-01-01

Social media has the potential to reach farm families to educate them about health and safety for children. It offers advantages over traditional approaches because of the shorter time between creation and distribution and because of the greater reach and engagement possible. Recommendations are provided for how government agencies and the private sector can learn about and use social media to promote health and safety for children as a supplement to traditional approaches.

Building social capital as a route to social inclusion?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arp Fallov, Mia

This paper investigates the instrumentalization of the concept of social capital in neighbourhood regeneration policies. The paper builds on material from a research project comparing neighbourhood regeneration policies in Denmark and England, and points to limitations to social capital...... to the capacities of inclusion. The first section of the paper discusses how active resident participation and the building of social capital in regeneration projects are constructed as legitimate and just means of achieving social inclusion. Furthermore, how slippages between social capital at different levels......; individual, communal and governmental becomes instrumental in these constructions. The second section of the paper discusses the national variations in relation to this route to inclusion and the different understandings of the relations between social capital and community cohesion in England and Denmark...

Affective expressions in groups and inferences about members' relational well-being: The effects of socially engaging and disengaging emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothman, Naomi B; Magee, Joe C

2016-01-01

Our findings draw attention to the interpersonal communication function of a relatively unexplored dimension of emotions-the level of social engagement versus disengagement. In four experiments, regardless of valence and target group gender, observers infer greater relational well-being (more cohesiveness and less conflict) between group members from socially engaging (sadness and appreciation) versus disengaging (anger and pride) emotion expressions. Supporting our argument that social (dis)engagement is a critical dimension communicated by these emotions, we demonstrate (1) that inferences about group members' self-interest mediate the effect of socially engaging emotions on cohesiveness and (2) that the influence of socially disengaging emotion expressions on inferences of conflict is attenuated when groups have collectivistic norms (i.e., members value a high level of social engagement). Furthermore, we show an important downstream consequence of these inferences of relational well-being: Groups that seem less cohesive because of their members' proud (versus appreciative) expressions are also expected to have worse task performance.

Bedform development and morphodynamics in mixed cohesive sediment substrates: the importance of winnowing and flocculation

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Leiping; Parsons, Daniel; Manning, Andrew

2016-04-01

There remains a lack of process-based knowledge of sediment dynamics within flows over bedforms generated in complex mixtures of cohesionless sand and biologically-active cohesive muds in natural estuarine flow systems. The work to be presented forms a part of the UK NERC "COHesive BEDforms (COHBED)" project which aims to fill this gap in knowledge. Herein results from a field survey in sub-tidal zone of Dee estuary (NW, England) and a set of large-scale laboratory experiments, conducted using mixtures of non-cohesive sands, cohesive muds and Xanthan gum (as a proxy for the biological stickiness of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS)) will be presented. The results indicate the significance of biological-active cohesive sediments in controlling winnowing rates and flocculation dynamics, which contributes significantly to rates of bedform evolution.

An Investigation into the Use of Cohesive Devises in Iranian High School EFL Textbooks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mansour Shabani

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed at probing into the use of grammatical and lexical cohesive subdevices in Iranian high school EFL textbooks. To this end, the reading sections of three high school EFL textbooks and one pre-university EFL textbook were analyzed in terms of the distribution of grammatical and lexical cohesive subdevices. The results of One-way ANOVA illustrated that: athere are no significant differences among the frequencies of grammatical cohesive subdevices across grade 1 high school EFL textbook and the pre-university EFL textbook, bthere are significant differences among the frequencies of grammatical cohesive subdevices across grades 2 and 3 high school EFL textbooks. Moreover, the results of Chi-Square test showed that the significant values of all of the lexical cohesive subdevices were higher than .05 across each of the Iranian EFL high school textbooks. These findings can be beneficial for textbook writers, materials developers and EFL teachers.

A Molecular-Scale Understanding of Cohesion and Fracture in P3HT:Fullerene Blends

KAUST Repository

Tummala, Naga Rajesh

2015-04-21

Quantifying cohesion and understanding fracture phenomena in thin-film electronic devices are necessary for improved materials design and processing criteria. For organic photovoltaics (OPVs), the cohesion of the photoactive layer portends its mechanical flexibility, reliability, and lifetime. Here, the molecular mechanism for the initiation of cohesive failure in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OPV active layers derived from the semiconducting polymer poly-(3-hexylthiophene) [P3HT] and two mono-substituted fullerenes is examined experimentally and through molecular-dynamics simulations. The results detail how, under identical conditions, cohesion significantly changes due to minor variations in the fullerene adduct functionality, an important materials consideration that needs to be taken into account across fields where soluble fullerene derivatives are used.

Linking green space to neighborhood social capital in older adults: The role of perceived safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Andy; Sallis, James F; King, Abby C; Conway, Terry L; Saelens, Brian; Cain, Kelli L; Fox, Eric H; Frank, Lawrence D

2018-06-01

This study examines the moderating effect of perceived safety on the association of green space with neighborhood social capital in older adults. Green space may play an important role for promoting neighborhood social capital and health for older adults; however, safety remains a significant challenge in maximizing the benefits of green space. Data were drawn from 647 independent-living seniors who participated in the Senior Neighborhood Quality of Life Study in the Seattle/King County and Baltimore/Washington DC region. The results suggest that certain green space elements, such as natural sights, may be beneficial to neighborhood social capital of older adults. However, other types of green space, such as parks and street trees, may be less advantageous to older adults who perceive their neighborhoods as unsafe for pedestrians. Findings highlight the importance of pedestrian safety in examining associations of green space with neighborhood social capital in older adults. Further studies using a longitudinal design are warranted to confirm the causality of the findings. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Older women play predominant role in building social ties and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-08-03

Aug 3, 2016 ... Older women play predominant role in building social ties and preventing ... brief demonstrates their contribution to building social cohesion and driving ... From learning to policy-oriented research: Lessons from South Africa's ...

Multiculturalism and Community Cohesion in Britain: The Case of Arab Minority

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Benitto

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This article falls within the scope of debate about 'Community Cohesion' in Britain. Community cohesion is at the centre of public policy initiated in response to the urban disturbances in northern towns. Many official reports pointed out that lack of community cohesion is an element jeopardizing security and safe coexistence. In this sense, this article explores hindrances to intergroup coexistence, given that this issue is the main concern in this pluralist society since the attacks in London in July, 7, 2005, through the study of intercultural relations between Arab minority of London and mainstream society in Britain. This research adopts an approach which aims to contribute to the understanding of the reasons hampering community cohesion through juxtaposition of viewpoints of both the minority and majority group. The originality of this approach lies in the fact that it tackles the issue of integration from two sided points of view: the point of the majority group and the point of view of the minority group; unlike most literature on intergroup relations which basically focus on the integration of the minority and its daptation to the dominant culture.

Vitamin G: effects of green space on health, well-being, and social safety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groenewegen, P.P.; Berg, van den A.E.; Vries, de S.; Verheij, R.A.

2006-01-01

Background: Looking out on and being in the green elements of the landscape around us seem to affect health, well-being and feelings of social safety. This article discusses the design of a research program on the effects of green space in the living environment on health, well-being and social

Socially Responsible Award of the Procurement Contracts

OpenAIRE

Hristina Blagoycehva

2013-01-01

With the Europe 2020 strategy the EU has set itself, under conditions of a changing world, the goal of becoming an intelligent, sustainable and inclusive economy. Under the current conditions of budget constraints and economic difficulties the conventional mechanisms for promoting social justice and social cohesion are insufficient. Through the inclusion of social criteria in the awarding of public procurement there can be guaranteed the compliance with social insurance legislation, furthered...

An acoustic method for predicting relative strengths of cohesive sediment deposits

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, A. H.; Sanders, W. M.

2017-12-01

Cohesive sediment dynamics are fundamentally determined by sediment mineralogy, organic matter composition, ionic strength of water, and currents. These factors work to bind the cohesive sediments and to determine depositional rates. Once deposited the sediments exhibit a nonlinear response to stress and they develop increases in shear strength. Shear strength is critically important in resuspension, transport, creep, and failure predictions. Typically, shear strength is determined by point measurements, both indirectly from free-fall penetrometers or directly on cores with a shear vane. These values are then used to interpolate over larger areas. However, the remote determination of these properties would provide continuos coverage, yet it has proven difficult with sonar systems. Recently, findings from an acoustic study on cohesive sediments in a laboratory setting suggests that cohesive sediments may be differentiated using parametric acoustics; this method pulses two primary frequencies into the sediment and the resultant difference frequency is used to determine the degree of acoustic nonlinearity within the sediment. In this study, two marine clay species, kaolinite and montmorillonite, and two biopolymers, guar gum and xanthan gum were mixed to make nine different samples. The samples were evaluated in a parametric acoustic measurement tank. From the parametric acoustic measurements, the quadratic nonlinearity coefficient (beta) was determined. beta was correlated with the cation exchange capacity (CEC), an indicator of shear strength. The results indicate that increased acoustic nonlinearity correlates with increased CEC. From this work, laboratory measurements indicate that this correlation may be used evaluate geotechnical properties of cohesive sediments and may provide a means to predict sediment weakness in subaqueous environments.

Topographic Signatures of Meandering Rivers with Differences in Outer Bank Cohesion

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, S. A.; Belmont, P.

2014-12-01

Within a given valley setting, interactions between river hydraulics, sediment, topography, and vegetation determine attributes of channel morphology, including planform, width and depth, slope, and bed and bank properties. These feedbacks also govern river behavior, including migration and avulsion. Bank cohesion, from the addition of fine sediment and/or vegetation has been recognized in flume experiments as a necessary component to create and maintain a meandering channel planform. Greater bank cohesion slows bank erosion, limiting the rate at which a river can adjust laterally and preventing so-called "runaway widening" to a braided state. Feedbacks of bank cohesion on channel hydraulics and sediment transport may thus produce distinct topographic signatures, or patterns in channel width, depth, and point bar transverse slope. We expect that in bends of greater outer bank cohesion the channel will be narrower, deeper, and bars will have greater transverse slopes. Only recently have we recognized that biotic processes may imprint distinct topographic signatures on the landscape. This study explores topographic signatures of three US rivers: the lower Minnesota River, near Mankato, MN, the Le Sueur River, south central MN, and the Fall River, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. Each of these rivers has variability in outer bank cohesion, quantified based on geotechnical and vegetation properties, and in-channel topography, which was derived from rtkGPS and acoustic bathymetry surveys. We present methods for incorporating biophysical feedbacks into geomorphic transport laws so that models can better simulate the spatial patterns and variability of topographic signatures.

Automated Behavior and Cohesion Assessment Tools, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — An important consideration of long duration space flight operations is interpersonal dynamics that effect crew cohesion and performance. Flight surgeons have stated...

The MCM-binding protein ETG1 aids sister chromatid cohesion required for postreplicative homologous recombination repair.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naoki Takahashi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The DNA replication process represents a source of DNA stress that causes potentially spontaneous genome damage. This effect might be strengthened by mutations in crucial replication factors, requiring the activation of DNA damage checkpoints to enable DNA repair before anaphase onset. Here, we demonstrate that depletion of the evolutionarily conserved minichromosome maintenance helicase-binding protein ETG1 of Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in a stringent late G2 cell cycle arrest. This arrest correlated with a partial loss of sister chromatid cohesion. The lack-of-cohesion phenotype was intensified in plants without functional CTF18, a replication fork factor needed for cohesion establishment. The synergistic effect of the etg1 and ctf18 mutants on sister chromatid cohesion strengthened the impact on plant growth of the replication stress caused by ETG1 deficiency because of inefficient DNA repair. We conclude that the ETG1 replication factor is required for efficient cohesion and that cohesion establishment is essential for proper development of plants suffering from endogenous DNA stress. Cohesion defects observed upon knockdown of its human counterpart suggest an equally important developmental role for the orthologous mammalian ETG1 protein.

Family cohesion and posttraumatic intrusion and avoidance among war veterans: a 20-year longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zerach, Gadi; Solomon, Zahava; Horesh, Danny; Ein-Dor, Tsachi

2013-02-01

The bi-directional relationships between combat-induced posttraumatic symptoms and family relations are yet to be understood. The present study assesses the longitudinal interrelationship of posttraumatic intrusion and avoidance and family cohesion among 208 Israeli combat veterans from the 1982 Lebanon War. Two groups of veterans were assessed with self-report questionnaires 1, 3 and 20 years after the war: a combat stress reaction (CSR) group and a matched non-CSR control group. Latent Trajectories Modeling showed that veterans of the CSR group reported higher intrusion and avoidance than non-CSR veterans at all three points of time. With time, there was a decline in these symptoms in both groups, but the decline was more salient among the CSR group. The latter also reported lower levels of family cohesion. Furthermore, an incline in family cohesion levels was found in both groups over the years. Most importantly, Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Modeling among CSR and non-CSR veterans revealed that CSR veterans' posttraumatic symptoms in 1983 predicted lower family cohesion in 1985, and lower family cohesion, in turn, predicted posttraumatic symptoms in 2002. The findings suggest that psychological breakdown on the battlefield is a marker for future family cohesion difficulties. Our results lend further support for the bi-directional mutual effects of posttraumatic symptoms and family cohesion over time.

Leadership, cohesion and groupthink

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iurchevici Iulia

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The Groupthink Phenomenon refers to the tendency of the members of a group to reach solidarity and cohesion, the trend that makes to bypass any questions which would lead to disputes. In such cases, if the members expect counter-arguments regarding a certain issue, they avoid to raise the matter. If it is believed that a question cannot be answered – it isn’t asked. Originally, Janis the author of the term, explains this process through the environment that has been established within groups that are in the leading position, but later, puts a strong emphasis towards the tendency to maintain the unanimity of the decision of the group. As preceding conditions of this decision-making process are listed the following: the high cohesion of the group, its isolation from other external sources of information, the lack of an impartial leadership, lack of appropriate legal framework and procedures in the decision - making process, and also “homogeneity of members, background and their ideology”. The Groupthink is manifested by: Illusion of Invulnerability, Collective Rationalization, Illusion of morality, Out – Group Stereotypes, Strong pressures towards conformism, Self – Censorship, Illusions of unanimity, and the presence of “Mind Guards”. In order to understand the decisions of a group, it is important that some analysis of Groupthink to be done, because in this way, can be controlled or eliminated the communicational distortion that occurs at a time among members forming these groups.

Noncontact Cohesive Swimming of Bacteria in Two-Dimensional Liquid Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ye; Zhai, He; Sanchez, Sandra; Kearns, Daniel B; Wu, Yilin

2017-07-07

Bacterial swimming in confined two-dimensional environments is ubiquitous in nature and in clinical settings. Characterizing individual interactions between swimming bacteria in 2D confinement will help to understand diverse microbial processes, such as bacterial swarming and biofilm formation. Here we report a novel motion pattern displayed by flagellated bacteria in 2D confinement: When two nearby cells align their moving directions, they tend to engage in cohesive swimming without direct cell body contact, as a result of hydrodynamic interaction but not flagellar intertwining. We further found that cells in cohesive swimming move with higher directional persistence, which can increase the effective diffusivity of cells by ∼3 times as predicted by computational modeling. As a conserved behavior for peritrichously flagellated bacteria, cohesive swimming in 2D confinement may be key to collective motion and self-organization in bacterial swarms; it may also promote bacterial dispersal in unsaturated soils and in interstitial space during infections.

Simulation of debonding in Al/epoxy T-peel joints using a potential-based cohesive zone model

KAUST Repository

Alfano, Marco

2011-06-10

In this work, a cohesive zone model of fracture is employed to study debonding in plastically deforming Al/epoxy T-peel joints. In order to model the adhesion between the bonded metal strips, the Park-Paulino-Roesler (PPR) potential based cohesive model (J Mech Phys Solids, 2009;57:891-908) is employed, and interface elements are implemented in a finite element com-mercial code. A study on the influence of the cohesive properties (i.e. cohesive strength, fracture energy, shape parameter and slope indicator) on the predicted peel-force versus displacement plots reveals that the numerical results are mostly sensitive to cohesive strength and fracture energy. In turn, these parameters are tuned until a match between experimental and simulated load displacement curves is achieved.

Simulation of debonding in Al/epoxy T-peel joints using a potential-based cohesive zone model

KAUST Repository

Alfano, Marco; Furgiuele, Franco; Lubineau, Gilles; Paulino, Glaucio H.

2011-01-01

In this work, a cohesive zone model of fracture is employed to study debonding in plastically deforming Al/epoxy T-peel joints. In order to model the adhesion between the bonded metal strips, the Park-Paulino-Roesler (PPR) potential based cohesive model (J Mech Phys Solids, 2009;57:891-908) is employed, and interface elements are implemented in a finite element com-mercial code. A study on the influence of the cohesive properties (i.e. cohesive strength, fracture energy, shape parameter and slope indicator) on the predicted peel-force versus displacement plots reveals that the numerical results are mostly sensitive to cohesive strength and fracture energy. In turn, these parameters are tuned until a match between experimental and simulated load displacement curves is achieved.

The effect of coarse gravel on cohesive sediment entrapment in an annular flume

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Glasbergen

2015-03-01

Full Text Available While cohesive sediment generally represents a small fraction (16 Pa, cohesive materials trapped within the gravel bed will be entrained and transported into the Glenmore Reservoir, where sediment-associated nutrients may pose treatment challenges to the drinking water supply.

Numerical model of glulam beam delamination in dependence on cohesive strength

Science.gov (United States)

Kawecki, Bartosz; Podgórski, Jerzy

2018-01-01

This paper presents an attempt of using a finite element method for predicting delamination of a glue laminated timber beam through a cohesive layer. There were used cohesive finite elements, quadratic stress damage initiation criterion and mixed mode energy release rate failure model. Finite element damage was equal to its complete stiffness degradation. Timber material was considered to be an orthotropic with plastic behaviour after reaching bending limit.

A cohesive zone framework for environmentally assisted fatigue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

del Busto, Susana; Betegón, Covadonga; Martínez Pañeda, Emilio

2017-01-01

We present a compelling finite element framework to model hydrogen assisted fatigue by means of a hydrogen- and cycle-dependent cohesive zone formulation. The model builds upon: (i) appropriate environmental boundary conditions, (ii) a coupled mechanical and hydrogen diffusion response, driven...... by chemical potential gradients, (iii) a mechanical behavior characterized by finite deformation J2 plasticity, (iv) a phenomenological trapping model, (v) an irreversible cohesive zone formulation for fatigue, grounded on continuum damage mechanics, and (vi) a traction-separation law dependent on hydrogen...... coverage calculated from first principles. The computations show that the present scheme appropriately captures the main experimental trends; namely, the sensitivity of fatigue crack growth rates to the loading frequency and the environment. The role of yield strength, work hardening, and constraint...

Relation of burnout with lack of time for being with significant others, role conflict, cohesion, and self-confidence among Norwegian Olympic athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kjørmo, Odd; Halvari, Hallgeir

2002-06-01

We studied the relationship of burnout with environmental and personal characteristics such as lack of time for being with significant others outside sport, cohesion in training groups, role conflict, and self-confidence among 136 elite athletes. Analysis indicated that the mean Burnout scores were in the low range. Cohesion in training groups and Self-confidence were negatively associated with Burnout, whereas Lack of time to be with significant others and Role conflict were positively ssociated with Burnout scores. Results are in accordance with Coakley's 1992 conception of burnout explained as a social problem, Kahn's 1978 hypothesis that role conflict is positively correlated with stress and burnout, and Smith's 1986 hypothesis that personality factors such as self-confidence should be associated with cognitive appraisal of situational demands related to burnout.

The role of social capital in the relationship between physical constraint and mental distress in older adults: a latent interaction model.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Sok; Jang, Yuri

2018-02-01

Building upon the widely known link between physical and mental health, the present study explored the buffering effects of social capital (indicated by social cohesion, social ties, and safety) in the relationship between physical constraint (indicated by chronic conditions and functional disability) and mental distress (indicated by symptoms of depression and anxiety). Using data from 2,264 community-dwelling older adults in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Wave 2 (M age = 74.51, SD = 6.67), a latent interaction model was tested. The model of mental distress, including both the main effect of physical constraint and social capital and their latent interaction, presented an excellent fit. The latent constructs of physical constraint (β = .54, p social capital (β = -.11, p interaction was also significant (β = -.26, p social capital had a heightened vulnerability to mental distress when faced with physical constraint, whereas the group with a high level of social capital demonstrated resilience. Findings call attention to ways to enhance older individuals' social capital in efforts to promote their health and well-being.

Spilling over: Partner parenting stress as a predictor of family cohesion in parents of adolescents with developmental disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Darcy B; Szczerepa, Alexandra; Hauser-Cram, Penny

2016-01-01

Family cohesion relates to positive outcomes for both parents and children. Maintaining cohesion may be especially challenging for families of adolescents with developmental disabilities, yet this has been studied infrequently in this group. We investigated cohesion in these families, particularly with respect to partner stress, using the notion of the 'spillover effect' as a model. Adolescents with disabilities and their parents participated. Parents reported on teen adaptive and problem behaviours and on marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and family cohesion. The stress of one partner was tested as a predictor of the quality of family cohesion reported by the other. Adolescent behaviour problems were negative predictors of family cohesion in mothers, and marital satisfaction positively predicted cohesion for both parents. Above other factors, greater partner stress predicted poorer family cohesion for both fathers and mothers. Marital satisfaction acted as a suppressor of this relation. To improve the overall climate of families, care providers should take into consideration individual relationships, including the marital relationship. In addition, the possibility of spillover from one individual to another should be recognized as a factor in family functioning. Family-centred practices are likely to lead to greater feelings of cohesion and overall better individual and family well-being. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Outdoor activities and depressive symptoms in displaced older adults following natural disaster: community cohesion as mediator and moderator.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Shiau-Fang

2016-09-01

This investigation examined whether community cohesion mediates or moderates the relationship between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms in older adults displaced by Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. This cross-sectional study included 292 adults aged 65 years or older who were relocated to permanent houses after Typhoon Morakot damaged their homes on 8th August 2009. Multiple regression analysis was applied to test the role of community cohesion on the association between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. The sample of displaced older adults displayed higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than the average for community dwelling older people in Taiwan. Community cohesion fully mediated the relationship between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. Community cohesion also moderated the relationship between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. Community cohesion occupies a key role on the link between outdoor activities and depressive symptoms. Participation in outdoor activities was associated positively with community cohesion, while high community cohesion was related negatively to depressive symptoms. Additionally, the benefit of outdoor activities to fewer depressive symptoms only manifested in older adults with high community cohesion. Programs and services should be designed to enhance community cohesion in order to maximize the benefit of outdoor activities to the mental health of displaced older adults after natural disasters.

Associations Between Neighborhood Characteristics, Social Cohesion, and Perceived Sex Partner Risk and Non-Monogamy Among HIV-Seropositive and HIV-Seronegative Women in the Southern U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Haley, Danielle F; Wingood, Gina M; Kramer, Michael R; Haardörfer, Regine; Adimora, Adaora A; Rubtsova, Anna; Edmonds, Andrew; Goswami, Neela D; Ludema, Christina; Hickson, DeMarc A; Ramirez, Catalina; Ross, Zev; Bolivar, Hector; Cooper, Hannah L F

2018-07-01

Neighborhood social and physical factors shape sexual network characteristics in HIV-seronegative adults in the U.S. This multilevel analysis evaluated whether these relationships also exist in a predominantly HIV-seropositive cohort of women. This cross-sectional multilevel analysis included data from 734 women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study's sites in the U.S. South. Census tract-level contextual data captured socioeconomic disadvantage (e.g., tract poverty), number of alcohol outlets, and number of non-profits in the census tracts where women lived; participant-level data, including perceived neighborhood cohesion, were gathered via survey. We used hierarchical generalized linear models to evaluate relationships between tract characteristics and two outcomes: perceived main sex partner risk level (e.g., partner substance use) and perceived main sex partner non-monogamy. We tested whether these relationships varied by women's HIV status. Greater tract-level socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with greater sex partner risk (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.58) among HIV-seropositive women and less partner non-monogamy among HIV-seronegative women (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.51-0.92). Perceived neighborhood trust and cohesion was associated with lower partner risk (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.69-1.00) for HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women. The tract-level number of alcohol outlets and non-profits were not associated with partner risk characteristics. Neighborhood characteristics are associated with perceived sex partner risk and non-monogamy among women in the South; these relationships vary by HIV status. Future studies should examine causal relationships and explore the pathways through which neighborhoods influence partner selection and risk characteristics.

The effect of coarse gravel on cohesive sediment entrapment in an annular flume

Science.gov (United States)

Glasbergen, K.; Stone, M.; Krishnappan, B.; Dixon, J.; Silins, U.

2015-03-01

While cohesive sediment generally represents a small fraction (armour layer of the gravel bed (>16 Pa), cohesive materials trapped within the gravel bed will be entrained and transported into the Glenmore Reservoir, where sediment-associated nutrients may pose treatment challenges to the drinking water supply.

How to deal with legal uncertainty: Managing and Audit Authorities in Cohesion Policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meuleman, Lysette; Brenninkmeijer, A.F.M.

2017-01-01

Cohesion policy (ERDF, ESF and CF) is implemented in a system of shared management. Signals received from some EU countries indicate that legal uncertainty is created for beneficiaries of cohesion policy funds due to differences in interpretation of, mostly national, regulation. This is a problem

Extracurricular Sport Activities and their Importance in Children Socialization and Integration Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pomohaci Marcel

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The importance of sports activities nowadays is showing their effects on the future development of children, extracurricular activities come in the help of the physical education teacher with benefits on children's development. Our study focuses on revealing the importance of extracurricular sports activities in the process of children's socialization and integration. The research sample was formed from two different groups, the experimental group was formed by 25 students (age 10 ± 2.1 years, 13 boys, and 12 girls, that practiced 2 hours a week physical education and other 2 hours a week extracurricular activities like basketball and volleyball; and the sample group formed by 24 students (age 10 ± 1.8 years, 12 boys and 12 girls, that practiced 2 hours a week classic physical education. The results showed us that extracurricular activities have a good impact on children's socialization and integration, the experimental group improved their coefficient of group cohesion from 0.04 at the initial testing to 0.06 at the final test, and the index of cohesion from 0.02 at the initial test to 0.05 at the final testing. Significant differences were found within the experimental group both in the initial and in the final tests (p < 0.05, also significant differences were discovered between the experimental and the sample group in the final measurement (p < 0.05. Conclusions of this research presented that the experimental group had good improvements of cohesion and social integration of children, showing that extracurricular sport activities have a positive impact on improving socialization, developing cohesion and integrate the marginalized children in the social group.

Group Cohesion in Experiential Growth Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Steen, Sam; Vasserman-Stokes, Elaina; Vannatta, Rachel

2014-01-01

This article explores the effect of web-based journaling on changes in group cohesion within experiential growth groups. Master's students were divided into 2 groups. Both used a web-based platform to journal after each session; however, only 1 of the groups was able to read each other's journals. Quantitative data collected before and…

[Team cohesiveness: opinions of a group of primary health care professionals from Salamanca].

Science.gov (United States)

González, F J; de Cabo, A; Morán, M J; Manzano, J M

1993-04-01

To assess the view of a group of Primary care professionals on their level of perception of group cohesiveness in their teams' work dynamic. A descriptive and sectional study. Four urban health centres in Salamanca with a recognised teaching activity. Both health professionals and those outside the Health Service, working in Primary Care, who had been members of their teams for more than a year (N = 90). Descriptive statistics and "Chi squared" tests were employed. 72%. A high level of agreement on the need for team work (95.23%). They perceived their group cohesiveness as being very low (84.21% affirmed that they encounter problems of cohesiveness). The main statements concerning this lack of cohesiveness were: "lack of common objectives" (25.5%), "intolerance between workers" (20.13%), "work not shared" (19.46%) and "the taking of decisions individually" (19.44%). The main causes given were: lack of support from Management (23.74%) and too little training for team work (21.58%). There is a high degree of conviction that the team work model is the most efficacious way of developing Primary Care. However in three of the four teams questioned, there were serious problems preventing the teams' reaching an adequate level of group cohesiveness.

Beyond safety outcomes: An investigation of the impact of safety climate on job satisfaction, employee engagement and turnover using social exchange theory as the theoretical framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Lee, Jin; McFadden, Anna C; Murphy, Lauren A; Robertson, Michelle M; Cheung, Janelle H; Zohar, Dov

2016-07-01

Safety climate, a measure of the degree to which safety is perceived by employees to be a priority in their company, is often implicated as a key factor in the promotion of injury-reducing behavior and safe work environments. Using social exchange theory as a theoretical basis, this study hypothesized that safety climate would be related to employees' job satisfaction, engagement, and turnover rate, highlighting the beneficial effects of safety climate beyond typical safety outcomes. Survey data were collected from 6207 truck drivers from two U.S. trucking companies. The objective turnover rate was collected one year after the survey data collection. Results showed that employees' safety climate perceptions were linked to employees' level of job satisfaction, engagement, and objective turnover rate, thus supporting the application of social exchange theory. Job satisfaction was also a significant mediator between safety climate and the two human resource outcomes (i.e., employee engagement and turnover rate). This study is among the first to assess the impact of safety climate beyond safety outcomes among lone workers (using truck drivers as an exemplar). Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Roles of the sister chromatid cohesion apparatus in gene expression, development, and human syndromes

Science.gov (United States)

Dorsett, Dale

2006-01-01

The sister chromatid cohesion apparatus mediates physical pairing of duplicated chromosomes. This pairing is essential for appropriate distribution of chromosomes into the daughter cells upon cell division. Recent evidence shows that the cohesion apparatus, which is a significant structural component of chromosomes during interphase, also affects gene expression and development. The Cornelia de Lange (CdLS) and Roberts/SC phocomelia (RBS/SC) genetic syndromes in humans are caused by mutations affecting components of the cohesion apparatus. Studies in Drosophila suggest that effects on gene expression are most likely responsible for developmental alterations in CdLS. Effects on chromatid cohesion are apparent in RBS/SC syndrome, but data from yeast and Drosophila point to the likelihood that changes in expression of genes located in heterochromatin could contribute to the developmental deficits. PMID:16819604

The Process Architecture of EU Territorial Cohesion Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Faludi

2010-08-01

Full Text Available When preparing the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP, Member States were supported by the European Commission but denied the EU a competence in the matter. Currently, the Treaty of Lisbon identifies territorial cohesion as a competence shared between the Union and the Member States. This paper is about the process architecture of territorial cohesion policy. In the past, this architecture resembled the Open Method of Coordination (OMC which the White Paper on European Governance praised, but only in areas where there was no EU competence. This reflected zero-sum thinking which may continue even under the Lisbon Treaty. After all, for as long as territorial cohesion was not a competence, voluntary cooperation as practiced in the ESDP process was pursued in this way. However, the practice of EU policies, even in areas where there is an EU competence, often exhibits features of the OMC. Surprisingly effective innovations hold the promise of rendering institutions of decision making comprehensible and democratically accountable. In the EU as a functioning polity decision making is thus at least part deliberative so that actors’ preferences are transformed by the force of the better argument. This brings into focus the socialisation of the deliberators into epistemic communities. Largely an informal process, this is reminiscent of European spatial planning having been characterised as a learning process.

The Role of Lexical Cohesion in Writing Quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hmoud Alotaibi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The idea of whether repetition has any relation with the writing quality of the text has remained an issue that intrigues a number of scholars in linguistics and in writing studies. Michael Hoey (1991, Halliday and Hasan (1976 are two prominent works in presenting detailed and thoughtful analysis of repetition occurrences in the text. This study uses a model of lexical cohesion proposed by Witte and Faigley (1981 which itself is based on the taxonomies of cohesive ties presented by Halliday and Hasan (1976.  The model deals with lexical cohesion and its subclasses, namely, repetition (same type, synonym, near-synonym, super-ordinate item, and general item and collocation. The corpus includes five argumentative essays written by students in the field of English language literature. Five teaching assistants were asked to rank the papers on a five-point scale based on their perception of the papers’ writing quality. The results showed that the paper that received the lowest rating in terms of the writing quality was the one that included the largest number of repetition occurrences of the same type. The study concludes by arguing that repetition may not be considered as monolithic, and suggests that every type of repetition needs to be examined individually in order to determine what enhances and what deteriorates the writing quality.

Slow stress relaxation behavior of cohesive powders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Imole, Olukayode Isaiah; Paulick, Maria; Magnanimo, Vanessa; Morgenmeyer, Martin; Ramaioli, Marco; Chavez Montes, Bruno E.; Kwade, Arno; Luding, Stefan

2016-01-01