A good work environment means better health

London, May 4 (IANS) Bad workplace systems can cause a range of ailments, from cardiovascular disease to mental health, and a good work environment can translate into better health for workers, research says.

A new study shows that the best way of working allows employees a greater level of participation as well as providing greater possibilities for adapting working conditions to their needs, greater recognition of their work and fair treatment.

'We have studied the relationship between exposure to psychosocial risks and the kind of labour management practices used to hire, use, develop, hold onto or dismiss workers,' Clara Llorens Serrano, study leader, told Spain's Scientific Information and News Service (SINC).

Serrano is a researcher at the Trade Union Institute of Labour, Environment and Health (ISTAS-CCOO).
The study shows that a good working environment enables employees to learn new skills, work under permanent contracts, get paid salaries according to the number of hours worked and tasks carried out, as well as a working week of between 31 to 40 hours.

A survey was carried out October 2004-July 2005 on 7,612 people employed by others in Spain, an ISTAS-CCOO release said.

It showed that 'the better the labour management practices used in organising work, the better the psychosocial environment of the workplace will be, with fewer cases of health-related problems'.

The most significant results show how a democratically functioning workplace and the use of methods to enable direct participation by workers in carrying out their daily tasks leads to a better working atmosphere. The findings were published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.

It won't be sudden death for Kasab

Mohammed Ajmal Kasab may not have any sympathiser in the country but the legal system will ensure that he gets a fair chance.

Hardly anybody had any doubt about his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, yet Kasab managed to preserve his deemed-to-be-innocent status until he was held guilty on Monday.
And this is not the end of the road for him.

The country's criminal justice system envisages that a convict be given a hearing before the quantum of sentence is decided. Kasab - whose punishment could either be life imprisonment or death sentence - will be given an opportunity to cite mitigating circumstances in his favour to escape the noose.

Despite the gravity of the offence, he would be entitled to cite circumstances such as his young age, etc, to escape the death sentence. The judge, on the other hand, will be under a duty to give reasons for awarding capital punishment and not life imprisonment.
Besides, even if he is sentenced to death, he cannot be hanged until the sentence is confirmed by the high court.
The state, thus, will have to approach the high court for confirmation of the sentence.
This, however, will not bar Kasab from approaching the high court to challenge the conviction itself.
The judgment by the trial court will be subjected to scrutiny by the high court in appeal and Kasab can take advantage of the flaws in the prosecution story. The prosecution, on the other hand, will not be allowed to cite any fresh evidence against him.

If the high court also holds him guilty, he can approach the Supreme Court to challenge his conviction and sentence.

The apex court is the final court of appeal and here a convict, in deserving cases, gets ample opportunity to put forth his case. If his appeal is dismissed, Kasab can still seek a review of the judgment by citing lapses in it.

Apart from this, in extraordinary cases of miscarriage of justice, the Supreme Court entertains a curative petition after the review petition is dismissed.

Kasab's legal right does not end here. His nationality would not come in the way of his right to file a petition before the President for clemency. It could, therefore, be years before the law would finally catch up with him. After all, he was deemed innocent for over 550 days despite being overpowered and caught in the action.

Exercise early for stronger bones in old age

London, May 4 (IANS) Exercises early on increase bone density and size, which may spell a reduced risk of osteoporosis later, says a study.

Around 3,200 men had their bones examined and their exercise habits mapped. Of these, just over 2,300 18-year-olds were selected at random to have their heel bone studied by the researchers.
The heel bone is particularly useful to study as it is directly impacted by exercise, being loaded with the full weight of the body.

'In this group, we found that those who actively did sports, and also those who used to do sports, had greater bone density than those who had never done sports,' said Martin Nilsson, physiotherapist and a student at the Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Sweden.

The researchers also looked at bone density and structure in the lower leg in around 360 19-year-old men who had previously done sports but had now stopped training.

They found that men who had stopped training more than six years ago still had larger and thicker bones in the lower leg than those who had never done sports.

'This result is particularly important, because we know that a bone with a large circumference is more durable and resistant to fractures than a narrower bone,' says Nilsson.

The researchers also studied bone density throughout the body in around 500 randomly selected 75-year-old men, says a Sahlgrenska Academy release.

Those who had done competitive sports three or more times a week at some point between the ages of 10 and 30 had higher bone density in several parts of the body than those who had not.

The researchers have therefore established that there is a positive link between exercise while young and bone density and size. The connection is even stronger if account is taken of the type of sports done.

Australian PM 'following' porn on Twitter

Mon, May 3 10:03 AM

 

Melbourne, May 3 (IANS)  

Now Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd faces the hazards of online social networking as he becomes the follower of pornographic communities through his official Twitter account.

A bare-breasted woman in handcuffs, an online adult super store and a pornographic blog were among dozens of dodgy accounts followed by the prime minister among his list of supporters, community groups and wife Therese Rein.

An embarrassed spokesman for Rudd admitted an automated program selected Twitter accounts for him to follow.

'While the Kevin PM Team try to monitor the follow backs, with more than 900,000 followers this is a very large task,' the spokesman said.

To 'follow' someone on Twitter usually requires a user to view and approve a profile.
Other profiles followed by the PM include a gay resort in Phuket, blogs offering sex shows via webcams and an online store selling adult goods, reported heraldsun.co.au.

Rudd is known as an eager Tweeter, using the medium to announce policies and recently the engagement of his son.

About 900,000 accounts follow the PM on Twitter, while he follows about 200,000.

Young Media Australia vice-president Elizabeth Handsley said Rudd's questionable online companions highlighted the dangers of social media.

'There seems to be an attitude with new media like Twitter that anyone can just get on and have a go without a problem,' she said.

'We need to understand the platform and know how it works before using it safely - this is an example of that.'

BlackBerry unveils new Bold and Pearl smartphones

Toronto, April 27 (IANS) BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) Monday launched another smartphone - called BlackBerry Bold 9650 - to add another device to its premier Bold brand.

The company also unveiled the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G, its smallest smartphone yet.
'The new BlackBerry Bold 9650 is an extraordinary smartphone that we think customers will love,'' said RIM president and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. 'Whether at work or at play, the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 offers a truly impressive communications, multimedia and connectivity experience,'' he said at the launch of the latest smartphones.
About the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G, he said, 'The BlackBerry Pearl 3G is unlike any other smartphone in the world and we expect a broad range of new and existing customers will be drawn to its powerful features and compact design.''
Beside a keyboard, optical trackpad and built-in Wi-Fi, the new smartphone also allows users to talk on the phone while browsing the web or sending and receiving email.
Loaded with 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB microSDHC cards, the BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone supports 3G networks.
Built in stylish design with glossy black finish and chrome highlights, the new device features large high-resolution display which allows pictures, videos and web pages with great contrast and detail, the RIM statement said.
Apart from a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording, the new BlackBerry Bold also features advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for Bluetooth.
The new BlackBerry Pearl 3G measures less than two inches wide and weighs only 93g. It also features an optical trackpad for smooth navigation, a 3.2 MP camera with flash for quality pictures, and support for up to 32 GB of personal content.
Both the new devices will support mobile applications built by third parties for RIM and carry built-in GPS with support for geo-tagging, BlackBerry Maps and other mapping applications.
'The BlackBerry Bold 9650 fuses form and function in a striking design and, in addition to providing premium phone and multimedia features, it of course delivers the industry's leading mobile solution for email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and social networking,'' the company said in its statement.