Search results

Outlines the economic consequences of changes that are made during the design process and manufacture. Computer and paper based systems are considered, and the advantages of a computer based system are discussed. Experience in the use of a computer based system in a company is reviewed with respect to the sources of design changes, the control of design changes and the benefits gained. The use of bespoke and proprietary software is briefly discussed. Notes that engineering design change management plays an essential role in successful manufacturing organisations. Also notes that the bespoke system described has led to a considerable improvement in the company’s change control process.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic condition with variable physical, cognitive, and quality of life impacts. Little research has investigated how MS outcomes vary by social identity (race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, and nationality) and social location (place within systems of power and privilege). However, emerging evidence points to racial and ethnic group disparities in MS outcomes. This chapter integrates core concepts from the life course perspective and an intersectional feminist disability framework to interrogate the role of diagnosis pathways in determining differential MS outcomes. MS diagnosis pathways (the time from symptom onset to the point of diagnosis) are a logical place to begin this work given the varying nature of symptom onset and the importance of a quick diagnosis for optimal MS outcomes. Whereas the life course perspective provides a framework for understanding disability transitions and pathways across the life span, an intersectional feminist disability framework centers disability within an axis of overlapping social identities and locations. The combination of both frameworks provides an approach capable of examining how MS disparities and inequities emerge in different contexts over time. The chapter begins with an overview of MS and current knowledge on disparities (mainly racial) in MS prevalence, diagnosis, and outcomes. The chapter proceeds to describe the utility of key concepts of both the life course perspective and intersectional frameworks when researching health disparities. Finally, the chapter ends with a theoretical application of an intersectional feminist disability life course perspective to investigate disparities in MS diagnosis pathways.

The primary aim of this chapter is to explore stigmatization, stress, and coping among adolescent mothers and to identify positive coping mechanisms that not only resist stigmatization but also generate positive affect.

Fifty-two pregnant and parenting adolescents in an urban county in the Midwestern United States were recruited to participate. A journaling tool was developed and used to allow participants to express their thoughts and concerns in a real-time, reflexive manner. Data were coded at different “nodes” or themes. Concepts, such as stigma, stress, strength, and empowerment were operationalized into key words and “themes” based on previous published literature. Key phrases were used to code the journaling data.

Adolescent mothers used positive reappraisal of life circumstances to create a positive self-image and resist the stress of stigma and parenting. Overcoming stereotypes and success in parenting were reappraised as “strength,” which allowed the young women to feel empowered in their caregiving role.

The chapter also contributes to the sociological literature on positive coping responses to stigma and stress. Indeed, very few studies have employed the sociological imagination of pregnant and parenting adolescents by describing not only their lives but also seeking their understanding and explaining their lives sociologically. This chapter also has direct implications for several health care providers, including nurses and social workers. For example, nurses and social workers are a vital part of the healthcare team for pregnant and parenting adolescents, and they often serve as the link between the adolescent, her family and significant others, and healthcare and social service agencies.

This chapter described the mechanisms that adolescent mothers use to cope with stress with a focus on how caregiving generates positive affect through the voices of these young mothers themselves. This chapter contributed to the sociological literature on stress and coping. In particular, our findings were also in line with the work of sociologist Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence concept. SOC is a global measure that indicates the availability of, and willingness to use, adaptive coping resources as a key variable in maintaining health.

Before leaving the subject of the relations of the Public Analyst to the Medical Officer of Health it is desirable to refer to a matter which sometimes gives rise to difficulties and to disagreements between the two officers. Apparently by a legal oversight the duty of looking after the water supply of a district is allotted to the Medical Officer—but there is nothing to show in what way and to what extent he is to be personally occupied in carrying out this task. It also happens that water is specifically excluded from the scope of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, and, in view of these circumstances, some Medical Officers have adopted the idea that their duties are not to be limited to administrative work in this connection, but that it is also incumbent on them to make the necessary analyses; while in other, and perhaps more frequent instances the local autherities, particularly in country districts, deliberately place that burden on the shoulders of the Medical Officer when arranging the conditions of his appointment.

Amid widespread social and cultural shifts and advocacy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights remain a hidden population of homeless adolescents who are cast out from families and communities because of their sexual and gender orientation. The result is an over-representation of LGBT adolescents among the homeless in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of literature and research which explores the status and needs of LGBT homeless adolescents in the United States.

To understand the experiences of LGBT adolescents leading up to and during homelessness, I provide a thematic and critical review of four decades of research to connect our understanding of the LGBT homeless experience with institutional and collective efforts that work to promote their well-being.

Bringing together this body of literature, I explore four interrelated questions. First, has the rate of homelessness increased for LGBT adolescents in recent decades? Second, what is the experience of LGBT adolescents who become homeless? Third, what role does advocacy and support play in ameliorating the difficulties these young people face? Finally, what role can future research and policy play in shaping the well-being of LGBT adolescents who become homeless?

Understanding the experience of homeless LGBT adolescents and the collective advocacy efforts designed to promote their well-being offers insight into the intersection of symbolic, inter-personal, and institutional forces which shape their trajectories.