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In this paper we build upon previous research that examines how workers in devalued occupations transform structural conditions that threaten their dignity into resources with which to protect themselves. Through in-depth interviews and fieldwork with early childhood educators (ECE), we examine the work experiences of teachers in four distinct work contexts: daycare centers and within elementary schools, each in either the public or private sector. We find that these different school organizational contexts shape what kinds of identity challenges early childhood teachers experience. Different organizational contexts not only subject teachers to different threats to their work-related identity but also have different potential identity resources embedded within them that teachers can use on their own behalf. Thus, while all the early childhood educators in our sample struggle with being employed within a devalued occupation, the identity strategies they have developed to protect their self-worth vary across employment contexts. We show that the strategies these interactive service workers use to solve identity-related problems of dignity at work involve the creative conversion of constraints they face at work into resources that help them achieve valued work identities.

Based on a performance of a conversation between my white mother and myself – her mixed race black daughter – the purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the complexity of the intersection of migration, racism, sexism, disability, and class within the space and place of the dynamics of our relationship. “Migration” and “borders” metaphors explore the “in between space that is neither here nor there” addressing key issues such as “migratory subjectivity” or, in other words, the translation of the process of inclusion and exclusion across the borders of oppressive social constructions to the lived emotional experience of being a mother and a daughter.

I explore my lived experience as black woman raised by a white Mum. My decision to use intersectionality as a tool with which to explore my personal experiences was based on me finding it enabled me to fully engage with the freedom of exploration, without feeling the need to “fit” with what was expected, in other words to be free to be able to express the “[…] lived experience of a presumed ‘Other’ and to experience it viscerally” (Orbe and Boylorn, 2014, p. 15).

A truthful account to aid the understanding of the complexities faced in the lived experience of a white mother and her black daughter.

This piece has no limitations, and contains far reaching implications for social work practice and research methods.

This piece is embedded in social education and can be used as a research tool for best practice in anti-racist, black feminist practice.

Social implications include a potential impact on diverse communities, with relevance to community engagement, social work practice placements, and critical reflection, and also education of the young to help them understand their own journeys.

This is an original report of an evidence-based lived experience, integrating theory to practice.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that make Beirut a fashion hub by studying the characteristics of creativity and the role of the different stakeholders in setting an environment that encourages creativity in Beirut.

The methodology of this research is based on a literature review and information collected through semi-structured interviews with the different stakeholders of the sector.

The research reveals three results. First, this dynamic fashion design in Beirut is explained by the international success of some Lebanese fashion designers. Second, as there is an absence of any form of governmental intervention, the development of the sector is totally based on private business initiatives. Third, the research demonstrates the importance of the local culture, knowledge exchanges and lifestyle in shaping creativity and designers’ careers in Beirut.

These findings contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the current state of fashion design in Beirut, which would have several policy implications.

Based on the theory of conservation of resources (Hobfoll, 1989), the purpose of this paper is to propose job satisfaction as a mediator between the use of generativity and affective occupational commitment. The authors tested the mediating role of affective occupational commitment on the relationship between job satisfaction and retirement preparation.

A sequential mediation model was tested by the method of indirect effects based on a bootstrap analysis (Preacher and Hayes, 2004) based on 3,000 replications with a 95% confidence interval. The statistical treatments were carried out with the AMOS software V.22. Data were collected for a sample of 340 older workers (bridge and retirees) in Québec, Canada.

Results indicate that generativity was related positively to affective occupational commitment via job satisfaction. Moreover, job satisfaction was also related positively to retirement preparation through affective occupational commitment.

The results can be helpful to guide organizational efforts at retaining older workers, and also recruiting and selecting those who want to return to work after retiring. They provide an insight on the effect of one of the main human resources practices or strategies, that is, programs aiming to attract and retain older workers to stay in the workplace and to encourage retirees to return to work in the form of bridge employment for example.

The study adds to the existing literature by examining a sequential mediation model to understand the relationship between organizational resources, job attitudes and retirement planning. It thus answers the call for more research and a theoretical framework on these critical variables for the retirement decision-making process. The findings can also contribute to the field of knowledge retention and fulfill some gaps in the literature on this topic. Indeed, examining the use of generativity in the study can help researchers and practitioners to better understand the reasons that encourage older workers to continue working and retirees to return to work.

Young people drinking to extreme drunkenness is a source of concern for policy makers and health promoters. There are a variety of community groups who appear to respond to the alcohol-related problems. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the working practices and relationships among local community groups as part of the pre-intervention context-assessment process.

Drawing on the narratives of nine community workers and ten venue managers the authors examine the community level approach to inform the choice of interventions to reduce risky drinking practices and community wide alcohol-related harm.

There was considerable agreement across the community workers and venue managers about the nature of risk for young people in the night time economy (NTE). Two central themes of “perceived risk” and “management of risk” emerged from the data. Further, the community workers and venue managers identified different high-risk locations and strategies to improve their ability meet the needs of young people experiencing risk in the NTE. The local authorities, community organisations and night time operators adopted a broad proactive and connected approach to develop a coherent strategy to achieve new measures of safety in the NTE.

Applying the social ecological model to provide a framework for the understanding of the social, environmental and political factors that influence alcohol use in young people.

Discussions surrounding a lower voting age and its outcomes have been emerging in Canadian public discourse for over a decade. While discussions surrounding a lower voting age have centred around adults' concerns of young people's maturity, competency and interest in politics the voices of children have frequently been excluded from these conversations. This chapter aims to reinforce a visible sense of child-centred practice in political discourse and spaces. It is important to note that how we come to think about participation can be judged from many different perspectives; however, in this instance, I have had a chance to explore the question through the lens of the young people involved in the Vote 16 Steering Group who identified meaningful participation as a fundamental aspect of the value they saw in the opportunity. This chapter invites us to think about child-centred practice in relation to notions of meaningful participation (meaningfulness) through: (1) the value of the opportunity, (2) understanding change and political efficacy, (3) voice and the vote and (4) political identity.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of a diet added with taro (Colocasia esculenta) flour on the body composition of rats.

Weanling male rats were divided into Control (n = 11) and experimental groups (Taro, n = 12); experimental rats were fed on taro for 90 days. Food intake, body mass and length were evaluated on a weekly basis. Body composition was assessed through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and intra abdominal fat mass was measured at the end of 90 days.

Taro group recorded protein intake (55.5 ± 14.1 vs 43.8 ± 12.8 kcal, P < 0.009), body mass (between 40 and 90 days, P < 0.05), fat mass (147.3 ± 7.7 vs 99 ± 6.1 g, P < 0.001), lean mass (282.8 ± 4 vs 253.5 ± 7 g, P < 0.001), trunk fat mass (97.1 ± 7.7 vs 71.5 ± 4.1 g, P < 0.010), as well as intra-abdominal (31.3 ± 1.9 vs 21.1 ± 1.7 g, P < 0.001), epididymal (9.2 ± 0.8 vs 4.7 ± 0.5 g, P < 0.001) and retroperitoneal (14.2 ± 0.9 vs 8.8 ± 1.2 g, P < 0.002) fat mass higher than that of the Control group.

Taro flour would show anabolic effects on body compartments of rats. The extrapolation of these findings herein recorded for rats to humans requires caution; however, it is necessary conducting further studies to investigate potentials anabolic effects of taro (Colocacia esculenta) flour on the body composition of physical training models.

Purpose – This chapter maps the conceptual territory that research on school shootings shares with cultivation analysis.

Methodology/approach – It outlines the history of cultivation analysis, which used the statistical methods of content analysis and survey research to argue that television violence was rampant and sexist, and that this had the effect of making audiences fearful. The point of this history is to show that the model was conceptually grounded in critical approaches to media, and established questions about the ideology of media violence that set the grounds for school shooting studies.

Findings – In particular, the chapter focuses on similarities between cultivation analysis and ritual theory, and the cultivation thesis that violence represents gender hierarchies, as the two most obvious points of intersections with studies on school shootings. It suggests that these intersections help explain why a “school shooting” frame was deployed to other sorts of media violence, and debates about the effects of media violence, using Jared Loughner's attack on Gabrielle Giffords as a case study.

Practical implications – Emerging concerns about the effects of aggressive news punditry and political commentary can be addressed by reflecting on what studies of school shootings say about the more general politics of media violence, and cultivation theory is an invaluable resource in this endeavor.

Originality/value of paper – Academically, an engagement with cultivation theory underlines how school shooting studies contribute to critical media research in general, by demonstrating the validity of “second generation” models of media influence in the digital age.

Edible insects are considered as a novel food in western countries, with their introduction to cuisine having to overcome major barriers, such as disgust. The studies related to acceptance of entomophagy have exponentially grown since 2015. However, such studies generally focus on people older than 18 years old. The purpose of this study is to assess the perceptions of youngsters towards edible insects.

A survey associated with an optional tasting session was conducted to record opinion of 151 youngsters in Belgium (9–17-year-olds).

Many respondents are acquainted with entomophagy and had already eaten insect-based food. Most youngsters associated insects as snacks and salty foods, and they agreed to consume processed insects (falafel) during the tasting session. Tasters had to evaluate the falafel, and higher ratings were recorded in male respondents, as highlighted in studies including adults. More negative evaluations would be expected among older respondents if unprocessed insects were served, as they were more willing to consume processed insects than entire insects. Finally, attitudes towards entomophagy evolved positively after the tasting session. Such events are consequently recommended to promote entomophagy across western youngsters.

Few studies explored the attitude of western youngsters towards entomophagy. This paper aims to fill this gap by focusing on this young component of the Belgian population.