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Introduction: Based on the latest estimates of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is now a public health challenge in Iran, and in 2018, 61,000 people were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), of which 45,000 (75%) were men. This study aimed to evaluate effect of educational intervention based on theory of planned behavior (TPB) on HIV/AIDS preventive behaviors among male barbers. Material and methods: The current quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2019 among 120 male barbers, who were selected using stratified sampling method. Data were collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire based on TPB at baseline and post-intervention. Intervention was designed and performed according to TPB. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 using descriptive and inferential methods. Results: Mean age of barbers was 30.41 ± 8.43 years. At baseline, mean scores of TPB constructs were not significantly different between intervention and control groups (p > 0.05). However, in post-intervention phase, there was a significant difference between two investigated groups in mean scores of TPB constructs (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Findings of the current study showed that educational intervention based on TPB can enhance knowledge level, perceived behavioral control, and attitude and creation of appropriate subjective norms for formation of behavioral intention and promoting AIDS preventive behavior among barbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: COVID-19 transmission was significant amongst Qatar's working population during the March–July 2020 outbreak. The study aimed to estimate the risk of exposure for COVID-19 across various workplace settings and demographics in the State of Qatar. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing surveillance data of all workplaces with 10 or more laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. These workplaces were categorized using a mapping table adapted from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, 2017 version. The data was then analyzed to estimate and compare the positivity rate as an indicator of the risk of developing COVID-19 infection across various workplace settings in the State of Qatar. Results: The highest positivity rate was reported amongst the Construction & Related (40.0%) and the Retail & Wholesale Trade sectors (40.0%), whereas, the lowest positivity rate was attributed to the healthcare workplace setting (11.0%). The highest incidence of COVID-19 infections occurred in South Asian nationalities and in the male gender. The private funded sector employees have seen higher positivity rate than employees of the governmental funded sector. Conclusion: The elevated risk of infection in Construction and Retail & Wholesale Trade is probably due to environmental and educational vulnerabilities. The predominant labor force of those workplace categories is South Asian craft and male manual workers. Alternatively, the better containment of the healthcare workplace setting can be attributed to the enforcement of infection control and occupational safety measures. These findings imply the importance of using preventive and surveillance strategies for high-risk workplace settings appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses issues related to subjective powerlessness in the U.S. The paper focuses on changes since 1952 in citizen efficacy or feelings of control over government for various sub-groups in the U.S. population such as blacks, blue collar workers, Southerners, Jews, young and old people. As with most issues in the study of social change, there is widespread disagreement on trends in citizen efficacy for industrial societies such as the U.S. Most theory predicts trends in objective powerlessness, rather than subjective powerlessness, although it is possible that trends in objective powerlessness do not match trends in subjective powerlessness. Within the U.S. at each point of observation, powerlessness does not vary much by stratum, except when education and race are used as indicators. And within the white population, some of the differences are heavily explained by educational differentials. It therefore seems fair to conclude that white subordinate interest groups are not oriented toward government as a result of what would seem to be objective powerlessness but more on the basis of their educational achievement.

This study developed and tested a moderated-mediation model of work stress and alcohol use, based on the biphasic (stimulant and sedative) effects of alcohol and the self-medication and stress-vulnerability models of alcohol use. The model proposes that exposure to work stressors can increase both negative affect and work fatigue, and that these 2 sources of strain can subsequently motivate the use of alcohol. However, the relations of negative affect and work fatigue to alcohol use are conditional on the joint moderating effects of alcohol outcome expectancies and gender. Data were collected from a national probability sample of 2808 U.S. workers. Supporting the model, the results indicated that work stressor exposure was conditionally related via negative affect to heavy alcohol use among both men and women holding strong tension-reduction alcohol expectancies and to after work alcohol use among men holding strong tension-reduction alcohol expectancies. Also, work stressor exposure was conditionally related via work fatigue to both heavy alcohol use and workday alcohol use among men holding strong fatigue-reduction alcohol expectancies. The results have application in the identification of individuals at higher risk of problematic alcohol use and are relevant to workplace safety and to the design of appropriate interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tensions between the demands of the knowledge-based economy and remaining, blue-collar jobs underlie renewed debates about whether schools should emphasize career and technical training or college-preparatory curricula. We add a gendered lens to this issue, given the male-dominated nature of blue-collar jobs and women’s greater returns to college. Using the ELS:2002, this study exploits spatial variation in school curricula and jobs to investigate local dynamics that shape gender stratification. Results suggest a link between high school training and jobs in blue-collar communities that structures patterns of gender inequality into early adulthood. Although high school training in blue-collar communities reduced both men’s and women’s odds of four-year college enrollment, it had gender-divergent labor market consequences. Men in blue-collar communities took more blue-collar courses, had higher rates of blue-collar employment, and earned similar wages relative to otherwise comparable men from non-blue-collar communities. Women were less likely to work and to be employed in professional occupations, and they suffered severe wage penalties relative to their male peers and women from non-blue-collar communities. These relationships were due partly to high schools in blue-collar communities offering more blue-collar and fewer advanced college-preparatory courses. This curricular tradeoff may benefit men, but it appears to disadvantage women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a synthesis of correlation studies of job satisfaction in the U.S. Although there is a positive relationship between income and job satisfaction, there apparently is a stronger association between satisfaction with income and job satisfaction. Employees who report satisfaction with their housing situation are more likely to report job satisfaction. Meanwhile, there is little variation among the reports of job satisfaction at different levels of education. Satisfaction appear to be higher for employees in professional, farm and skilled blue-collar occupational categories than for workers in the unskilled category.

Unequal access to education is a major problem in Indonesia, and even in big cities like Jakarta, many do not posses formal education. Without good education, employment opportunities will be limited and most will end up as blue collar workers. A1 Ishlah PKBM is one of the community learning centres in Jakarta. For more than a decade, it has provided educational services for people who want to be more empowered through education. It is an alternative educational centre catering for all ages. The PKBM relies on good communication, both internal and external, and therefore, it needs a communication audit to comprehensively evaluate the quality of its internal communication, namely its ability to send, receive and share information with various audiences within the organisation. The aim of this research is to study how internal communication audit influences an organisation's performance. The results show there is a gap between the vision and mission of organisation. The managers of PKBM A1 Ishlah still use the traditional way to manage its internal communication. It was found that the organisation lacks professionalism because it emphasises on the values of empathy. Thus, the centre needs to instil the importance of discipline which needs improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the combined demand-control-support (DCS) and effort-reward-overcommitment (ERI-OC) stress models in association with sickness absence due to low back symptoms (SA-LBS). METHODS: A total of 2,737 blue-collar workers recruited from 13 companies in the most populous province (Henan) of China were included in the study. Personal and physical job characteristics, psychosocial scales of the stress models, and SA-LBS data in the preceding year were collected by a self-reported questionnaire and analyzed by a multivariable logistic regression model. Tertile exposure levels (low, medium and high) were constructed to discriminate a risk level. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used as the association with SA-LBS. RESULTS: A large percentage (84.5%) of the Chinese workers did not take sick leave after reporting low back symptoms during the preceding year. High job demand or medium-high reward was associated with SA-LBS. The association of the combined stress models and SA-LBS was not evident. CONCLUSIONS: The ERI-OC model appeared to be more predictive of SA-LBS than the DCS model in the study population. The advantage of using combined stress models for predicting SA-LBS is not evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various aspects of promoting healthy eating habits among blue-collar workers in Denmark. The authors state that education seems to play a key role in health and length of life, thus necessitating increased health awareness for those with less education. The authors designed and implemented a "Food at Work" study with the General Workers Union labor union and the Danish National Health Agency that aimed at modifying the food habits of the union workers in areas both with and without a cafeteria.

The article presents a discussion on globalization and engineering education. Expectations of graduates for the future workforce, including in engineering, include topics related to globalization. The latest reincarnation of globalization, fueled by advances in communication and transportation, increased commerce and brought new approaches to business across the world. Because of its unique role in the current globalization, technology is viewed as an equalizer. Some people view the new opportunities as preparing future engineers to work in a global world. Others find opportunities in distinguishing their graduates by preparing them to be innovators, setting them apart from "blue collar" engineers.