July 26, 1999
SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE TIPS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM OFFICE OF MEDIA RELATIONS
1. Protecting Yourself at Work -- Many workers are surprised to discover that Occupational Health and Safety Administration guidelines don't protect them from some things that can hurt them on the job, said Judith L. King, M.A., associate professor in UAB's Center for Labor Education And Research(CLEAR)."Government regulations just aren't as applicable to service jobs as they are to manufacturing. There are no OSHA regulations regarding vicious dogs, sewage under a house, snakes on a job site, poison ivy around a gas line, or violence perpetrated by angry customers." Seasoned workers learn to look for the pitfalls, and CLEAR teaches classes designed to help workers protect themselves against job-related risks. Call King at 934-8752.
2. Don't Raise a Bully -- Nearly every school has one, a child or teen who intimidates, threatens or physically harms other younger or smaller students. Are you raising a bully? UAB family counseling expert Bill Crunk, Ph.D., who directs the SAFE Parenting Program at UAB, offers these tips: Watch your own behavior. Parents should model methods of solving problems other than violence. Encourage a spiritual life. Strong spiritual values help set limits, teach the difference between right and wrong and encourage compassion for others. Monitor your children. At an early age, ages 2-4, children need to be monitored for signs of aggressive behavior. Set limits. Aggressive children often are given too much freedom and power. Call Gail Short, Media Relation, 205-934-8931.
3. Engineering Ethics -- You're an engineer on a building project and your client offers you a kickback in exchange for questionable cost cuts in design. What are the legal and ethical ramifications if something goes fatally wrong? Students from UAB and around the country will confront such ethical dilemmas in a seminar being taught this summer by Norbert Delatte, Ph.D., UAB Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and UAB Philosophy Professor Harold A. Kincaid, Ph.D. The ethics seminar is part of the National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Conducted through Aug. 18, the program gives eight undergraduate civil engineering students the chance to work one-on-one with researchers, a chance many wouldn't otherwise get until graduate school. Call Delatte at 934-8436.
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