Occupational Background Research Articles

All Change in the House? The Profile of Candidates and MPs in the 2015 British General Election

Drawing on data from the Parliamentary Candidates UK project, we profile the socio-demographic characteristics of parliamentary candidates standing in 2015 and compare elected MPs to previous cohorts since 1979. We argue that the 2015 cohort of candidates largely resembles the archetypal candidate identified by Durose et al. (2013, Parliamentary Affairs, 66, 246–267). Despite smaller parties’ campaign rhetoric of a ‘new kind of politics’, parties across the spectrum offer up very similar candidate profiles. We find a narrowing of occupational backgrounds, with fewer candidates and MPs from manual occupations, and an increasing percentage of candidates and MPs with a university education. Competition across the parties, particularly in terms of the selection of women and black and minority ethnic (BME) candidates, has positive consequences for the representativeness of Parliament. However, despite a record number of women and BME MPs elected, Parliament remains disproportionately white and male.

Blood Lead Levels, Paraoxonase-1 and Malondialdehyde in urban population from Southern Brazil

Introduction: Lead is an environmental toxicant known to generate several toxicity mechanisms in humans, including oxidative stress (OS). Few studies aimed to identify the blood lead levels (BLL) and to evaluate its association with OS biomarkers in the general population. This study aimed to assess the BLL and its relationship with paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in adults living in a medium size city in southern Brazil. Methods: A total of 959 adults, aged 40 years or more, were randomly selected and information on socioeconomic, lifestyle and occupational background were obtained by interviews. PON-1 activity was determined by spectrophotometry and MDA was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography in serum samples. BLL were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Means were compared by using t-test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Pearson and Spearman correlation were applied to evaluate linear associations. Results:The overall geometric mean BLL was 1.97 μg/dL (95% CI, 1.9-2.04). Men (44.4%), participants aged 50 to 59 years old (31.3%), current smokers (19.1%), drinkers (38.2%), and current or former employed in lead (Pb) industries (12%) had higher BLL. Among those 959 participants, 494 performed tests for PON-1 activity and 579 for MDA concentrations. The mean of PON1 activity was 181.4±61.0 U/mL and was significantly lower in older participants and in those current or former employed in Pb industries. Mean MDA concentration was 0.64±0.28 μM and was higher in men and in subjects with elevated LDL (≥160 mg/dL; p=0.03). PON-1 activity and MDA concentration was not correlated with BLL (r=0.04, p=0.35) and (r=0.02, p=0.58), respetively. Conclusion:The study provided a descriptive analysis of the relationship of BLL and OS biomarkers in Brazilian adults.

Cadmium exposure and associated factors among an adult population from Southern Brazil

Introduction:Cadmium is a toxic metal widely distributed in the environment by geologic and anthropogenic sources. Even at low levels of exposure, cadmium is nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. The main sources of cadmium exposure in the general population are cigarette smoke, diet and ambient air near industrial areas. The aim of this population-based study was to evaluate the socioeconomic, environmental, and lifestyle determinants of blood cadmium in Brazilian adults. Methods:A total of 959 adults, aged 40 years or more, living in a medium size city in Southern Brazil, were randomly selected. Socioeconomic, dietary, lifestyle and occupation background was obtained by household interviews. Blood cadmium was measured by ICP-MS. We performed both crude and adjusted multivariable analysis on log-transformed blood cadmium to test for associated factors. Model 1 was adjusted for sex, age, race, education and income. Model 2 was further adjusted for smoking, alcohol intake, vegetables consumption, blood lead and occupation. Results:The geometric mean (GM) of blood cadmium was 0.39μg/L (95%CI,0.38-0.41). In the American adult population, cadmium levels of 0.36 and 0.42μg/L were reported (Navas-Acien et al. 2005; Tellez Plaza et al. 2008), respectively. In our crude analysis, blood cadmium was positively associated with male gender, non-white participants, smoking and drinking habits and more frequent vegetables consumption. In Model 1, only male gender was associated with blood cadmium, and in Model 2, the ratio for GM blood cadmium was significantly higher in former smokers (1.17;95%CI,1.04-1.30) and in current smokers (2.43;95%CI,2.14-2.76) compared with non-smokers, and was close to significance in participants with higher blood lead levels (1.09;95%CI,1.00-1.19). Conclusions:Low blood cadmium levels were found in adults living in an urban area. Biomonitoring studies should be encouraged to systematic evaluation and to examine trends of cadmium levels in urban areas.

Do the Characteristics of Independent Directors and Supervisory Board Members Matter in China?

This paper investigates and compares the characteristics of independent directors and supervisory board members in Chinese listed firms. The occupational backgrounds of independent directors and supervisory board members in listed firms are very different. Besides, different firms have different preferences in employing independent directors and supervisory board members according to their demands. Moreover, the empirical results show that characteristics of independent directors and supervisory board members have no clear relationship with firm performance. No matter their professional backgrounds or age, the independent directors and supervisory board members do not have the authority to affect the decision making process of management. Thus they cannot really contribute to firm performance.

Commentaries on health services research

Commentaries on health services research

The effect of political candidates’ occupational background on voters’ perceptions of and support for candidates

Our study investigates how political candidates’ occupational background and gender influence voters’ perceptions of candidates’ competence to handle a variety of policy issues and voters’ support for candidates. Using experimental data collected among American and New Zealand students (N = 794), our multivariate analyses indicate that students perceive candidates with political experience as most competent in handling security-related issues, candidates with a business background as most competent in handling economic issues, and candidates with a background in education as most competent in handling human services issues. This pattern is similar for male and female candidates and holds in both countries. The effect of candidates’ occupational background on the likelihood to vote for the candidate, however, differs between both countries. Whereas occupational background does not seem to matter for American students, New Zealand students are substantially less likely to vote for a candidate with a business background than for a candidate with political experience.

Phenotypic association of alcohol consumption with eye color: a breathanalyzer assessment

Research on archival samples and population-based studies have shown that light-eyed individuals, and especially blue-eyed individuals, consumed more alcohol than dark-eyed individuals. In this field study carried out in a French barroom, we hypothesized that the average blood alcohol concentration of participants with blue eyes would be higher than people with other eye color. We measured blood alcohol concentration with a breathanalyzer among 61 customers from various occupational backgrounds, and calculated the association between eye color and BAC. Results showed that among males and females, irrespective of age, participants with blue eyes had a higher BAC than the others. The mean BAC was also higher among men than women. This ecological result suggests that iris pigmentation represents a biological marker for underlying factors involved in higher alcohol consumption. Various hypothetical mechanisms are considered.

The professional backgrounds of translation scholars. Report on a survey

A survey of 305 translation scholars shows that some 96 percent of them have translated or interpreted “on a regular basis,” with translation/interpreting being or having been a main or secondary activity for 43 percent of the scholars. Translation scholars would also seem to be particularly mobile (71 percent have spent more than one year in a country other than their own) and come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds (33 percent were not engaged in translation and interpreting in their mid-twenties). These figures indicate that translation scholars not only have considerable practical experience of translation but also come from a wide range of occupational and cultural backgrounds. Asked about desirable relations between scholarly work and professional practice, respondents indicated benefits for both sides (although a slight majority stressed a unidirectional relationship where scholarly work benefits from professional practice), and teaching is often indicated as the link between the two. However, about a quarter of the scholars indicated that there need not be a relationship between scholarship and professional practice.

Practices of Return-to-Work Coordinators Working in Large Organizations.

Purpose Although the role of return-to-work coordinators (RTW coordinators) is associated with reducing long-term disabilities, little has been written about their practices. The objective of this study was to clearly identify their tasks and activities and the stakeholders with whom they collaborate. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a web-based self-administered questionnaire. Participant inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) working for a large organization with 500 or more employees; (2) being responsible for managing disabilities and coordinating the return-to-work process; and (3) having been involved in coordinating the return to work of at least one person in the past year. Results 195 RTW coordinators completed the questionnaire. The three tasks or activities rated as most important were applying laws, policies, and regulations related to work absences and return to work; contacting the absent worker; and planning the return to work. A nursing or occupational health and safety training background significantly influenced the RTW coordinators' practices. In addition, RTW coordinators collaborated mainly with workers and their supervisors. Conclusion Despite a wide variety of contexts and diverging definitions of competencies, a set of common RTW coordination practices appears to exist across industrialized countries. RTW coordinators with a training background in the health field seem better able to assimilate the various dimensions of work disability. Moreover, concerted action was found to be minimal and a far cry from recommendations. The practices defined could serve as a benchmark for describing RTW coordinators' responsibilities in greater detail and allow for cross-organization and cross-country comparisons.

German version of the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ): translation and validation

BackgroundMusculoskeletal disorders are a public health problem with significant effects on work ability. In the context of the promotion and prevention of work-related health, there is a need for valid, simple, time-saving and universally applicable methods for the assessment of musculoskeletal pain and complaints. The aim of this study was the translation of the English Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) into German and the validation of the German version.MethodsThe linguistic and cultural adaption of the CMDQ into German (D-CMDQ) followed international guidelines. The adapted pre-version was initially tested in terms of comprehensibility on 44 persons with different educational and occupational backgrounds. The questionnaire was validated further on 68 employees with the reference of an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale (Cohen’s Kappa and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients). Finally, reliability (Cohen’s Kappa) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) were verified.ResultsThe D-CMDQ meets the requirements for comprehensibility and demonstrated good validity: The values of Cohen’s Kappa and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient obtained substantial to excellent agreement, with one exception. The Kappa values for the test-retest reliability were mainly in the moderate to substantial range whilst taking the prevalence effect into account. The internal consistency was proven satisfactory.ConclusionsThe D-CMDQ meets the psychometric requirements for questionnaires. A clear one-sided presentation of body areas enables the time-saving assessment of musculoskeletal complaints and their effects on work ability. As a result, a broad application in the German-speaking world for different occupational groups seems possible, whether performing physical, manually repetitive or sedentary work.

A Correlational Study of Experienced Sexual Harassment, Anxiety and Depression among Working Unmarried Women

A present study investigated the correlation between experienced sexual harassment and anxiety, depression among working unmarried women. A purposive sample of 100 working unmarried women (25 to 35 years) was selected. Sample was collected from Mumbai. Sample involves unmarried women working in private sectors with same occupational background. The Sexual harassment experiences questionnaire, Beck depression inventory II, IPAT anxiety scale along with the personal data sheet were administered on the sample. The obtained score does not follow the normal distribution curve hence for correlation Spearman rho correlation method was used. Spearman non parametric test used to find out correlation between all variables. Result shows that there is positive correlation between experienced sexual harassment and depression. Also result shows that there is no correlation between experienced sexual harassment and anxiety.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of language variation, English language teaching and language use: the case of Hong Kong

ABSTRACTThis study examines Hong Kong major stakeholders’ (secondary students, university students, teachers and professionals) perceptions of language variation, English language teaching (ELT) and language use in their everyday communication via a large-scale questionnaire survey (N = 1893). Based on principal components analysis of the questionnaire statements, 10 factors were identified that corresponded with the stakeholders’ knowledge and recognition of inner-circle vis-à-vis outer-/expanding-circle English varieties, real-life English use (e.g. exposure to language variation in contexts, interlocutor identity and difficulties in English communication), preferences of English varieties, perceptions of English teaching/learning and local cultural identity. Although the findings indicate an overall Anglophone-centric attitude among the participants, particularly in terms of the choice of teaching model, they also reveal differences in the participants’ views and experience of language use depending on their education level, age and occupational background. One important discovery is the potential effect of one's academic ability on his or her perceptions of English varieties and learning. By comparing the responses of the various participant groups based on the sociolinguistic setting in Hong Kong, the paper discusses the implications of these findings for contemporary ELT and directions for future attitudinal research.

Does it Take More Than Ideals? How Counter-Ideal Value Congruence Shapes Employees’ Trust in the Organization

Research on value congruence rests on the assumption that values denote desirable behaviors and ideals that employees and organizations strive to approach. In the present study, we develop and test the argument that a more complete understanding of value congruence can be achieved by considering a second type of congruence based on employees’ and organizations’ counter-ideal values (i.e., what both seek to avoid). We examined this proposition in a time-lagged study of 672 employees from various occupational and organizational backgrounds. We used difference scores as well as polynomial regression and response surface analyses to test our hypotheses. Consistent with our hypotheses, results reveal that counter-ideal value congruence has unique relations to employees’ trust in the organization that go beyond the effects of ideal value congruence. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this expanded perspective on value congruence.

The use of New Information and Communication Technologies as an education tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Fundong, Norhtwest Region, Cameroon

Fundong, a rural town found in the Northwest Region of Cameroon is located on latitude 10° 14’W and 11°15’ E, between longitudes 6° 27’ and 8° 26’N. The town enjoys the privilege of being, not just the headquarter of Boyo Division, but also of Fundong Central Sub-Division. The incidence of HIV/AIDS is critical in the area as there are several practices like the scarification of the body to apply concoctions common in the area which, may help predispose the population to HIV/AIDS infection. The affluence that characterise this small rural town favours high-risk behaviours, which expose individuals concerned to HIV/AIDS. In order to address the main objective of the study, which is the use of information and communication technologies in the fight against HIV/AIDS, data were collected at the group and household levels. At the community level, the researchers administered questionnaires and conducted focus group discussions with people of different occupational backgrounds. In the case of this study, 56% of the respondents are aware of the existence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic although constant electricity failure and the absence of radio signals in some of the localities hinder people from receiving general information, including that relating to HIV/AIDS from new information and communication channel including a rural radio station based in Fundong town. Cursory observations during fieldwork reveal that sensitisation on the HIV/AIDS pandemic have been going on in Fundong although the population still face numerous problems in an attempt to get informed and educated on this global disease- HIV/AIDS. These problems concern those related to sensitisation, the information sources, and the messages emanating from these sources as well as the problem of access to the new information and communication technologies themselves.

Patient willingness to allow hands-on training for post-graduate learning of new surgical techniques

Background: This study assessed patient willingness to allow hands-on training from the surgeon of record to supplement the current ‘observership’ model when learning new techniques. Methods: A survey was administered to patients in two separate outpatient settings, comprising three components: Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine- Short Form (REALM-SF), State Trait Anxiety Inventory form X2 (STAI-X2), and a specifically designed Observer Questionnaire (OQ) with free space for comments. The OQ included two questions of interest. Exclusion criteria were: sub-sixth grade reading level, non-English speakers, and pregnancy. Demographic data collected were: age, gender, and ethnicity. Results: Ninety-nine patients (Location I) and 100 patients (Location II) met inclusion criteria with 91.9% of patients at Location I and 82% at Location II consenting to hands-on training. For current methods of training, responses were: 61% cadaver lab (A), 63% training video/reading material (B), 62% observation without direct contact (C), and 73% observation with direct trainee contact (D). Neither age (p=0.41), ethnicity (p=0.95), or gender (p=0.42) significantly affected responses, nor did an occupational background in health care (p=0.55, surveyed in Location II only). REALM-SF and STAI-X2 scores did not significantly affect responses at either location. The majority of explanations cited for declining hands-on contact were unease due to history of past surgical complications. Conclusions: Supplementing the current ‘observership’ model utilizing on the job training can be acceptable to the majority of patients given strict boundaries including informed patient consent, the surgeon of record remaining fully in charge, and the trainee surgeon having tested credentials.

Intellectual Manhood: University, Self, and Society in the Antebellum South by Timothy J. Williams (review)

INTELLECTUAL MANHOOD: University, Self, and Society in Antebellum South. By Timothy J. Williams. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2015.For much of past generation historical discussions of southern identity were dominated by late Eugene D. Genovese, a Marxian scholar who argued that sectional differences were rooted in aristocratic, seigneurial, and pre-bourgeois outlook of region's large planters. Involving as it did a stark repudiation of Charles Sellers's thesis that southerners shared basic American values and felt guilt over slavery, and Stanley M. Elkins's argument that American slavery reflected dynamics of unopposed capi- talism, Genovese's position went largely unchallenged until 1982 when James Oakes's book The Ruling Race refocused attention on internal diversity of southern slave owners, few of whom met criteria to be called planters and some of whom became educated professionals. Unlike Genovese, Oakes argued that small slaveholders imbibed larger acquisitive and democratic ethos that fueled westward expansion throughout America. Oakes's book was a tacit invitation to reopen discussions about yeoman farmers and urban and industrial sectors of southern society, subjects that had lain largely dormant since work of Frank L. Owsley in 1950s and Richard C. Wade, Robert S. Starobin, and others in 1960s.In his highly original study of antebellum male at university of North Carolina, Timothy Williams adds fresh depth and new dimensions to ongoing debate over sectional identity. The book advances three major propositions. First, that principal concern of University of North Carolina (UNC) students was transition to manhood rather than regional identity. A second closely related theme is that the individual formed main focus of student consciousness. Finally, and most important, Williams finds that focus on self was consistent with middle class or bourgeois culture (2) that increasingly typified antebellum America.Evidence for these assertions comes mainly from a study of University's informal curriculum as revealed in student letters and diaries together with a detailed analysis of some eight-hundred speeches delivered by members of UNC's Dialectic and Philanthropic literary societies. In an unprecedented research effort, Williams compiled a data base of some four-thousand questions debated by two groups, material that fills some twenty-seven bound volumes. These sources reveal a sustained antebellum concern with maturation (manhood defined against boyhood rather than with reference to feminine qualities), self-improvement, and a romantic view of individual self's heroic potential (11). Student orators sought to emulate Demosthenes, seen as classical archetype of manly, muscular speaker (87).Through a careful analysis of geographic, occupational, and economic backgrounds of UNC students, Williams challenges assumption that University was an elite institution catering primarily to sons of wealthy planters. …

The importance of mastering foreign languages in developing hospitality and tourism industries

This study aims at offering some thoughts that cultural differences influence a great deal in hospitality and tourism industries. In Indonesia English is a second language whereby occupational background in the past still dominates our language structure. Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch for 3 and half decades then by the Japanese for 3 and half years. Lacking of vocabulary items, Indonesian Language still use foreign languages such those borrowed from Dutch, English, Italian, Portuguese and Arabic.Cultural differences also influences Indonesian way of using the English expressions at hospitality industries. Mastering foreign languages is very important in developing hospitality industries in Indonesia. The main findings of my research are : those motivated students learn foreign languages better, those having good learning strategies master foreign languages better, and those mastering foreign languages work successfully at hospitality and tourism industries.

Entrepreneurship Developmentprograms Formarginalized Groups - An Empirical Study on the Responses

Emergence of entrepreneurs transpires on the opportunities emanate from social, economic, political and cultural environment. In India, entrepreneurship was confined to a handful of trading communities such as Jains, Marwaries, Parsis and Shetties. David McClelland (1966), in his experimental project, Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) found that suitable goal oriented training can explore and inculcate entrepreneurial traits among target groups irrespective of their caste and religion. In response to the entrepreneurship development programs that have created an environment conducive for new ventures, a new generation of small entrepreneurs from non-trading communities, tribes, and scheduled castes has emerged in India. This research paper is based on both primary and secondary data, investigates the socio-economic profile of small marginalized group entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial issues. A sample of 114 small entrepreneurs belonging to marginalized groups from Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state, trained by the Maharashtra Center for Entrepreneurship Development (MCED), was selected on the basis of simple random sampling. The analytical tools used in the study are simple percentage and Chi-square test.The major focus of the study is to determine relationship among educational courses, occupational background, entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurial skills development. The study refers to educational courses completed by the respondents, their occupational background and entrepreneurial skills development. The study found a significant relationship between entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurship skills development. The study suggests that special entrepreneurship training programmes are essential for the prospective entrepreneurs from non-business communities and marginalized groups.

SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS BUILD UP THROUGH FAMILY OCCUPATION -AN INVESTIGATION

The successful entrepreneur builds up through family occupation. Family is the most important institution enabling one's awareness about entrepreneurship. The study attempts to probe how family background influences the entrepreneurial orientation among the potential entrepreneurs. A sample of 200 final year postgraduate management students were selected randomly and served with a schedule of four statements to be marked on Likert scale. The responses are tested with ANOVA and post-hoc test for observing variance between the three groups. The family occupational background emerges to be a critical determinant of entrepreneuril foresight in particular and entrepreneurial orientation in general.

SCIENTISTS, THE PUBLIC, THE STATE, AND THE DEBATE OVER THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR TESTING IN BRITAIN, 1950–1958

ABSTRACTThis article uses the debate over environmental and human health effects of nuclear testing to shed light on the ambivalent relationship between scientists, the public, and the state in Britain during the crucial, but often overlooked, period leading up to the first cycle of anti-nuclear weapons mass protests. In this, it examines how members of Britain's main organization of nuclear scientists – the Atomic Scientists’ Association (ASA) – used their expertise in their engagement with both the public and the state to assess these effects of fallout from nuclear testing. What made the ASA stand out from other groups of the atomic scientists’ movement was its ambivalent relationship with the government. This was, by and large, the result of several ASA members’ occupational backgrounds in government employment and the association's self-imposed adherence to an ambiguous principle of scientific ‘objectivity’ in political matters. The ASA's role in the debate over fallout thus exemplifies a basic dilemma that many scientists in Britain and other Western liberal democracies faced between their roles as ‘objective’ and ‘unpolitical’ scientific experts, on the one hand, and socially responsible scientists, on the other, illustrating the ambivalent position of experts and uses of their knowledge.