Suchergebnisse

There is need for the adventurous development of theoretical constructs to challenge, clarify, and build on the assumptions made in social work practice today

Communicative competence in multicultural environment includes the proper use of verbal and non-verbal expressive linguistic messages - appellative (strive for impact on the others), informative, evaluative, and self-revealing ones. The implicit appeals in the process of communication are expressed in an indirect way by means of establishment of such emotional climate that makes the other people execute the untold wish – for example, if someone looks sad, we strive to make him/her glad. The paradoxical appeals in the process of communication aim to provoke the opposite reactions to these that they announce as aiming to provoke. For example, if a child in the kindergarten does not want to eat, this child is told that the food is not for him/her and s/he must not eat it.

Modern-day work is a central reason for unsustainability, and its transformation is therefore key for sustainability. A recurring manifestation of this issue is the 'jobs-environment-dilemma', a trade-off arising due to severe ecological impacts caused by work on the one hand, and the structural constitution of modern industrial society as work-centred and work-dependent on the other. We draw on interdisciplinary literature from environmental sociology and related fields to analyse both aspects: distinct factors of ecological problems associated with modern work, and various dimensions of structural dependence on work in modern society. We find that this conflict, and the fundamental role that work plays for unsustainability, are not sufficiently addressed and remain unresolved issues in sustainability research. To change this, we propose the conceptual approach of 'postwork' or critiques of work to open up a new perspective on the work-environment problem. We introduce postwork theory and discuss different ways in which ecological postwork perspectives and arguments can contri-bute to understanding and resolving entrenched sustainability issues. Finally, we briefly illustrate existing postwork politics and practices. While clearly contested, there is renewed momentum for social change towards a sustainable society which would benefit from addres-sing work and critiques of work.

Research data on human performance in weightless and lunar-gravity environment are considered on a single continuum of reduced traction. Apparent contradictions in the effects of reduced gravity on tasks requiring the use of the upper torso and those requiring locomotion are resolved. It is concluded that reduced traction systematically reduces the efficiency of work in all reduced-gravity conditions.