Guidelines and laws prohibit smoking in public places, and evidence supports the safety and effectiveness of workplace wellness programs in promoting healthy environments. A long-term care (LTC) facility selected as the focus for this project does not offer wellness programs and does not restrict on-site smoking by employees. The purpose of this project was to construct an evidence-based smoking cessation education program for delivery to employees at the LTC facility. The practice-focused question addressed whether a workplace wellness smoking cessation education program would increase employees' knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking and promote engagement in smoking cessation strategies. A pretest and posttest to assess knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking was designed to be administered to employees prior to and after the education program. A panel of 6 experts consisting of 4 clinical nurse specialists, a nurse educator, and a nurse researcher was selected to assess the potential effectiveness of the education program. A 10-question survey was used to obtain the panel experts' evaluation of the program. Descriptive statistics were then used to analyze the results. Nearly all of the experts surveyed reported that they would recommend the education program to a friend or colleague, with 66% selecting "very likely" This is indicative of the potential for the program to be effective. Findings might support social change at the selected facility by increasing staff knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking and staff commitment to participating in a smoking cessation program.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Tobacco smoking is the second major cause of preventable deaths in South Africa. The Western Cape has the second highest smoking rates in South Africa and the highest smoking rate among young women. Previous studies indicate that female smokers are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of smoking than males. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding health risks of tobacco use among female undergraduate students at the University of the Western Cape. A sample of 210 female psychology 1 students were recruited and served as research participants. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire adapted from instruments measuring knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding the health risks of tobacco smoking. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The Health Belief Model was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The results showed a 20% prevalence of smoking among the students. Differences were found among smoking and non-smoking participants regarding their knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about the health risks of tobacco smoking. The results of the study may inform smoking prevention and intervention strategies aimed at female students on campus.

Darbe nagrinėjama alkoholio vartojimo problemų turinčių asmenų gyvenimo kokybės kitimas atsižvelgiant į tai, kokius gydimo metodus jie pasirenka šiai problemai spręsti. Didžiausias dėmesys skiriamas AA grupių įtakai gyvenimo kokybei ir jos kitimui. Ši problematika Lietuvoje mažai tyrinėta, tačiau dėl alkoholio vartojimo masto Lietuvoje ir pasaulyje yra pakankamai aktuali. Darbe buvo iškeltas tikslas ištirti AA grupių įtaką alkoholio vartojimo problemų turinčių asmenų gyvenimo kokybės kitimui. Darbo tikslui pasiekti analizuota alkoholio vartojimo problemų turinčių asmenų lankiusių ir nelankiusių anoniminių alkoholikų grupes gyvenimo kokybė, jos kitimas ir vertybių bei gydymo metodo įtaka jai. Manoma, kad alkoholio vartojimo problemų turinčių asmenų, lankiusių anoniminių alkoholikų grupes, gyvenimo kokybė pagerėjo labiau, palyginus su tais kurie tų grupių nelankė arba buvo viena-du kartus ir daugiau nelankė. Darbo tikslui pasiekti naudota PSO gyvenimo kokybės klausimynas (WHOQOL-BREF; angl. The World Health Organization Quality of Life – Bref, 1996), gyvenimo vertybių įvertinimas pagal Goštautą A, Javtoką Z, Žagminą K. (2001) ir gydymo metodo įvertinimas sudarytas pačios darbo autorės. Tyrime dalyvavo aliejų lyčių, nuo 18 iki 69 m. amžiaus, įvairios šeiminės, užimtumo, profesinės padėties ir išsilavinimo, šiuo metu besigydantys lankydami AA grupę, Minesotos programą ir medikamentiniu gydymusi, asmenys. Tyrimas parodė, kad asmenų, nepriklausomai nuo lyties, kurie turi problemų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This Paper deals with changing quality of life of the people with alcohol problems, depending on what treatment methods they choose to tackle this problem. The main focus is made on the impact of AA groups to quality of life and the changes thereof. This problem has been little researched in Lithuania; however, due to the consumed alcohol level in Lithuania and world widely this issue is sufficiently relevant. The objective of the Paper is to examine the impact of AA groups to the change of the quality of life of people who have alcohol-consuming problems. For the purpose of the Objective the quality of life and of the people with alcohol-consuming problems who attended AA groups and who not attended AA groups and the change of their quality of life were analysed, as well as the values and the impact of treatment methods on it were explored. It is estimated that the quality of life of the people with alcohol-consuming problems, who attended alcoholics anonymous groups, improved more in comparison with those who did not attend these groups or those visited them once or twice and did not attend them constantly. In order to reveal the Objective of the Paper, the WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF; in Eng. The World Health Organization Quality of Life – Bref, 1996), the evaluation of the life values according to Goštautas A, Javtokas Z, Žagminas K. (2001) and the evaluation of treatment method, composed by the author herself, were used. The research included persons... [to full text]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI) are discriminated and subjected to violence in societies across the world, and ensuring their rights is on the international agenda. On a European level, nationalism, state-led persecution and rhetoric of hate have slowed down the process of ensuring human rights for LGBTI people particularly in Eastern Europe, where they are subject to violence, discrimination and hostility. One type of hostility targeting LGBTI people is hate speech. As literature has shown, hate speech can have harmful effects on its targets. Additionally, with the increased accessibility and use of the Internet and social media networks, hate speech has become more widespread and new challenges have appeared. Our research objective has addressed the gap identified by Brown (2018); to contribute to the research on hate speech and its harmful effects in general, comparing the effects of online and offline hate speech in particular. Additionally, by comparing the findings from Moldova and Ukraine, we have investigated if the context in which the hate speech is produced has any effect on the harmful effects experienced by targets. The research was conducted using a mixed method with a parallel convergent design, giving equal priority to qualitative and quantitative data. Data collection took place in Moldova (Chisinau) and in Ukraine (Kyiv) during Pride in the respective countries. Due to the nature of this research, results are not representative, and conclusions drawn can neither be applied to the entire LGBTI community in Moldova nor in Ukraine. Conclusions can, however, provide interesting insights for further research. Constitutive and consequential harms from online and offline hate speech are experienced by the LGBTI activists and community in both countries. In terms of constitutive harms, LGBTI community have suffered from harms like negative impact on self-esteem, silencing, psychological distress and restrictions on freedom of movement and association. Experienced consequential harms were negative stereotyping, physical violence and normalization of discrimination. Further, this research indicated that there is a difference in terms of harms caused by online and offline hate speech when it comes to the constitutive harms, as the harms from offline hate speech seemed to be experienced to a larger extent. Comparing results from Moldova and Ukraine, it can be concluded that the content of hate speech and harmful effects of hate speech are experienced differently depending on the context in which hate speech was produced. In general, hate speech in Ukraine seemed to be more violent and aggressive while in Moldova it was more related to the structural violence.

This paper interweaves narrativized readings and experiential narratives as personal and cultural resources for counterhegemonic cultural critique within our historical context of globalization and ecological crisis. Framed by perspectives on epistemology, everyday life, and place, these reflections seek to engage and revitalize our notions of community, creativity, and the individual, towards visioning the human art of community as a counternarrative to globalization. Such a task involves confronting the meanings we have come to ascribe to work and economy which so deeply determine our social fabric. Encountering the thought of key 19th and 20th century social theorists ranging from William Morris, Gregory Bateson, and Raymond Williams, to Murray Bookchin, Martin Buber, and Wendell Berry, these reflections mark the indivisible web of culture in the face of our insistent divisions, and further, iterate our innate creativity as the source for a vital, sustainable culture that might reflect, in Bateson’s terms, the pattern that connects.