How American Adults Obtain Work Skills: Results of a New National Survey

Employer-provided training is an important determinant of economic outcomes, yet our understanding of its extent and distribution is well out of date—with the most recent national survey being from 2008. This article updates our understanding of employer-provided training through a 2020 nationally representative survey of 3,648 working civilian adults between the ages of 24 and 64. Results show that while employer-provided training is reasonably extensive, considerable disparities occur along the lines of race, ethnicity, and educational attainment. Additionally, the author contributes to the literature by making clear distinctions among types of employment—standard, contract (those employed by a contract company but working onsite at another firm), and freelancer (those with no employer per se). Contract workers receive considerably less employer training than do employees who work under standard arrangements. Findings are robust to a range of job skill measures as well as skill specificity. The author also examines the relationship between employer-provided training and whether people seek out training on their own and shows that the inequalities in access to employer-provided training are accentuated with self-directed training.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish children between 1990 and 2019

Objective:The present study aimed to examine the temporal prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish children through different methodologies and evaluate the change in rates between 1990 and 2019.Design:Anthropometric data from three Irish national food consumption surveys were used to examine the change in the prevalence of BMI and waist circumference-derived overweight and obesity levels.Setting:Three cross-sectional food consumption surveys from the Republic of Ireland: the Irish National Nutrition Survey (1990), the National Children’s Food Survey (2005) and The Second National Children’s Food Survey (2019).Participants:A demographically representative sample of Irish children aged 5–12 years: 1990 (n 148), 2005 (n 594) and 2019 (n 596).Results:Twelve percentage of children had overweight/obesity in 1990, which was significantly higher in 2005 at 25 % and significantly lower in 2019 at 16 % (P = 0·003). In 2019, more girls had overweight/obesity in comparison with boys (19 v. 14 %), whilst children from the lowest social class group had the highest levels of overweight/obesity (P = 0·019). Overall, the proportion of children with abdominal overweight/obesity was significantly lower in 2019 in comparison with 2005 (P ≤ 0·001).Conclusions:Evidence from the most recent national survey suggests that overweight and obesity levels are plateauing and in some cases reducing in children in Ireland. Despite this, rates remain high, with the highest prevalence in 2019 observed in girls and in those from the lowest social class group. Thus, overweight/obesity prevention and intervention policies are necessary and should be continued.

Ongame molwashoka otse

A recent national survey by the Ministry for Health and Social Services revealed that Namibia’s suicide rate was vastly higher than previously thought. Mirroring global conceptions of mental health and depression, these numbers tend to be ‘explained away’ using pre-determined ‘risk factors’ – alcohol consumption, violence, and unemployment. Yet, current theories of suicide do not account for all of its intricacies; indeed, most are rooted in notions of individualism countered by many ethnographies situated in African contexts. This Think Piece problematises the study of suicide in southern African contexts, showing that notions of ‘unhappiness’, ‘depression’, and most importantly ‘self’ are locally specific and, in southern Africa, relational rather than individualistic.

RELIGIOSITY AND POLITICAL TOLERANCE: REASSESING THE RELATIONSHIP

Political tolerance ­­­–– the willingness to afford basic civil rights to individuals or groups that one finds disagreeable –– is fundamental to liberal democracy. For several decades, political scientists believed that widespread religious adherence in the United States threatened political tolerance. Recent research casts doubt on the direct relationship between religiosity and political tolerance. However, this research is based on decades-old data or a sample collected from a single county. My study tests the relationship between religiosity and political tolerance using more recent national survey data. It confirms that, although religiosity is related to dogmatism, no direct relationship exists between religiosity and political tolerance.

Practice meta-environment of the cardiovascular perfusionist

Though historically the development of cardiovascular perfusion grew out of the need for cardiopulmonary bypass, the application of technologies of extracorporeal support has more recently expanded beyond the traditional domain of the cardiac surgical operative and peri-operative environment. As a result, perfusionists are sometimes required to work in novel clinical settings. As part of our recent national survey to evaluate the effects of changes in entry-to-practice criteria introduced in Canada in 2006, we asked perfusionists if their current position as a perfusionist involves work outside the OR. We found that, in addition to regularly working in the Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac Catheterization Lab, 55.3% of respondents reported working “occasionally” in the Emergency Room and 74.7% reported working “occasionally” or “often” in other clinical areas. However, while 96% of respondents believed their training adequately prepared them for their job as a perfusionist, only 68% felt their training adequately prepared them for their duties outside the operating room. We also noted a trend that admission under experience-based entry-to-practice criteria was associated with a higher likelihood of perceived adequacy of training in preparation for duties outside the OR than education-based admission criteria (72% vs 59.4%, p=0.065). These findings raise important questions pertaining to the sufficiency of perfusion education in Canada and the influence of soft skills in preparing perfusionists for their duties, and indicate that a systematic study of the practice environment of cardiovascular perfusionists is timely.

Using social media to quantify spatial and temporal dynamics of nature-based recreational activities

Big data offer a great opportunity for nature-based recreation (NbR) mapping and evaluation. However, it is important to determine when and how it is appropriate to use this resource. We used Scotland as a case study to validate the use of data from Flickr as an indicator of NbR on a national scale and at several regional spatial and temporal resolutions. We compared Flickr photographs to visitor statistics in the Cairngorms National Park (CNP) and determined whether temporal variability in photo counts could be explained by known annual estimates of CNP visitor numbers. We then used a unique recent national survey of nature recreation in Scotland to determine whether the spatial distribution of Flickr photos could be explained by known spatial variability in nature use. Following this validation work, we used Flickr data to identify hotspots of wildlife watching in Scotland and investigated how they changed between 2005 and 2015.We found that spatial and temporal patterns in Flickr count are explained by measures of visitation obtained through surveys and that this relationship is reliable down to a 10 Km scale resolution. Our findings have implications for planning and management of NbR as they suggest that photographs uploaded on Flickr reflect patterns of NbR at spatial and temporal scales that are relevant for ecosystem management.