Manipulating the Patterns of Mechanical Forces That Shape Multicellular Tissues

During embryonic development, spatial and temporal patterns of mechanical forces help to transform unstructured groups of cells into complex, functional tissue architectures. Here, we review emerging approaches to manipulate these patterns of forces to investigate the mechanical mechanisms that shape multicellular tissues, with a focus on recent experimental studies of epithelial tissue sheets in the embryo of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster.

‘There You Enjoy Life, Here You Work’: Brazilian and Dominican Immigrants’ Views on Work and Health in the U.S.

Structural inequalities in the U.S. work environment place most immigrants in low paying, high-risk jobs. Understanding how work experiences and influence the health of different immigrant populations is essential to address disparities. This article explores how Brazilian and Dominican immigrants feel about their experiences working in the U.S. and how the relationship between work and culture might impact their health. In partnership with the Dominican Development Center and the Brazilian Worker Center, we held five cultural conversations (CCs) with Brazilians (n = 48) and five with Dominicans (n = 40). CCs are participatory, unstructured groups facilitated by representatives from or embedded in the community. Brazilian immigrants focused on physical health and the American Dream while Dominicans immigrants emphasized concerns about the influence of work on mental health. Dominicans’ longer tenure in the U.S. and differences in how Brazilians and Dominicans are racialized in the region might account for the variation in perspectives between groups. Future studies should further investigate the relationship between health and how immigrants’ work lives are shaped by culture, race and immigrant status.

Seeing Beyond the Margins: Challenges to Informed Inclusion of Vulnerable Populations in Research

Although the importance of including vulnerable populations in medical research is widely accepted, identifying how to achieve such inclusion remains a challenge. Ensuring that the language of informed consent is comprehensible to this group is no less of a challenge. Although a variety of interventions show promise for increasing the comprehensibility of informed consent and increasing a climate of exchange, consensus is lacking on which interventions should be used in which situations and current regulations provide little guidance. We argue that the notion of individual autonomy — a foundational principle of informed consent — may be too narrow for some vulnerable populations by virtue of its failure to acknowledge their unique histories and current circumstances. It has a different meaning for members of structured groups like American Indians than for unstructured groups, such as African Americans, whose complicated histories foster group identity. Ensuring broad participation in research and selecting appropriate methods for obtaining informed consent — namely, methods aligned with the source of vulnerability and level of risk — require new ways of thinking that might produce guidelines for matching informed consent models and processes with subpopulations.

Structured and Unstructured Groups in Various Settings

Chapter 7 discusses structured and unstructured groups in various settings. A group treatment approach that uses intervention strategies ranging from highly structured to unstructured , for instance, manualized treatments found in short-term groups such as 12-step programs dealing with addictions, to less structured long-term process groups for personality disorders. Appropriate use of structure enhances group member involvement and often depends upon what is most appropriate for various settings (hospitals, schools, community mental health centers).

Behavioural interactions of children in classroom-based work groups

This paper discusses the results of a study which was conducted in 11 classes across three year levels (Years 2, 4, and 6) in four schools in suburban Brisbane. The study had two foci. It was designed firstly, to determine if there were differences between the cooperative behaviours, interactions, and types of language used by the children in the Structured and Unstructured groups; and secondly, to investigate whether there were differences across the year levels in the helping behaviours and interactions of the children in the two conditions. The study showed that when children work in Structured rather than Unstructured groups there are observable differences in the behaviours, interactions and language. The children in the Structured groups were consistently more cooperative and helpful to each other as they tried to involve each other in the learning task. They gave more explanations to assist each other's learning and they used more inclusive language (e.g. frequent use of “we” or “us”). Furthermore, these behaviours were exhibited by the children in the Structured groups across the three year levels. Group condition (Structured or Unstructured) was a significant predictor of group behaviours and interactions, and the type of language used.

Conflict in Unstructured Groups: An Explanation from Control-Theory

The early development of many small groups is marked by conflict and stress between two sub-groups. It is argued that each sub-group is governed by a different feedback system: one reduces deviations from plans (negative feedback system), whereas the other seeks novelty and spontaneity (positive feedback system). The two systems are incompatible and result in ‘storming’ or hostility among group members.