Crisis occurrence and resolution in patients with severe and persistent mental illness: the contribution of suicidality

Assertive community treatment appears to have limited impact on the risk of suicide in persons with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). This exploratory prospective study attempts to understand this observation by studying the contribution of suicidality to the occurrence of crisis events in patients with SPMI. Specifically, an observer-rated measure of the need for hospitalization, the Crisis Triage Rating Scale, was completed at baseline, crisis occurrence, and resolution to determine how much the level of suicidality contributed to the deemed level of crisis. Second, observer-ratings of suicidal ideation, the Modified Scale for Suicide Ideation, and psychopathology and suicidality, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, were measured at baseline, crisis occurrence, and resolution. A self-report measure of distress, the Symptom Distress Scale, was completed at baseline, crisis occurrence, and resolution. Finally, the patients' crisis experiences were recorded qualitatively to compare with quantitative measures of suicidality. Almost 40% of the subjects experienced crisis events and more than a quarter of these events were judged to be severe enough to warrant the need for hospitalization. Our findings suggest that elevation of psychiatric symptoms is a major contributor to the crisis occurrences of individuals with SPMI; although the risk of suicide may have to be conceived as somewhat separate from crisis occurrence.     

原子弹轰炸日本秘闻

众所周知,人类历史上真正将核武器用于战争只有一次,那就是二战末期美国对日本进行的原子弹轰炸.1945年8月6日和9日,随着两朵蘑菇云在日本广岛、长崎腾起,威力巨大的原子弹加速了日本法西斯的最后灭亡,同时也宣告了人类核时代的到来.然而在原子弹投掷前后,却有许多鲜为人知的逸事秘闻.     

Look Who's Talking: The Impacts of the Intrahousehold Allocation of Mobile Phones on Agricultural Prices

Using data from the Philippines, we study the impact of mobile phones on the prices agricultural producers receive for their cash crop. We first look at the impact on price of mobile phone ownership at the household level. Because this masks a considerable amount of heterogeneity, we then look at the impact on price of the intrahousehold allocation of mobile phones. We find that whether the household owns a mobile phone has no impact on price, but whether a farmer or spouse owns a mobile phone is associated with a 5- to 8-per cent increase in price.     

New Zealand: the dynamics behind a reinvented government

Within the last ten years, the New Zealand government has reformed its management and accounting systems to such a degree that it has attracted the attention of government officials from around the world. The new business-like methods adopted include realignments in managerial authority, accrual budgeting and accounting, asset revaluations, capital charging, and budgeting for outcomes. This paper provides a look at the dynamics behind these revisions with specific emphasis on changes in budgeting processes. Additionally, an explanation is provided as to why it would be very difficult to adopt these methods in the U. S.     

当前国际油价剧烈波动的投机因素

近期国际油价剧烈波动,不仅油价屡创新高,而且波幅超过了20%,8月底每桶油价一度超过70美元,引起世界各国的高度关注.究竟是哪些因素推动着国际油价起伏变化,有关专家和学者也是众说纷纭,莫衷一是.但近一段时期,特别是当油价处于高位的时候,人们关注石油市场上变化的同时,市场上的投机行为也成为突出的话题.而导致当前国际石油市场投机活动猖獗的原因主要有三个基本因素,首先是世界各国对石油需求的不断增加;其次是石油生产国生产能力不足;再有就是产油国和地区局势动荡的地缘因素加剧了市场恐慌心理.     

Leaving area studies behind: the challenge of diasporic connections in the field of African studies

Abstract

In recent years, diaspora has become one of the key terms of social analysis in various fields. Emphasizing the multiple trajectories out of which present identities – inasmuch as political or economic realities – are forged, the concept forces us to reconsider the scope of classical area studies (and associated disciplinary boundaries) in radical terms. The article looks at the colonial foundations of African Studies as area studies and examines some ways by which to overcome enduring colonial epistemologies. The author suggests a theoretical framework in which Africa herself is considered as diasporic. Moreover, she calls for a critical perspective that will facilitate the comparative analysis of different diasporic discourses and practices.     

Socially responsible investment and the development agenda: peering behind the progressive veil of non-financial benchmarking

One of the most striking trends in global development finance has been the growing role of Western-based, institutional investors. Pension funds in particular have played a leading part in supplying capital to publicly traded corporations in emerging market economies. An important feature of this type of financing has been the trend to make investment conditional not only on sound economic fundamentals, but also on a series of non-financial (or social) risk indicators (eg meeting labour standards and human rights). Despite the significance of non-financial benchmarking, these strategies have not been subjected to critical analysis, especially with regard to their wider impact on the reproduction of the mainstream development paradigm. This article addresses this gap by focusing on the benchmarking strategies of one of the world's largest pension funds: the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers). Calpers's rating instrument, the Permissible Country Index (pci), employs both financial and non-financial risk indicators to screen its investments in 27 emerging markets. I argue that, despite its progressive sheen, the pci not only reproduces but also reinforces neoliberal forms of discipline and exploitation in the global South. It does this through coercive measures, such as divestment (ie removing a country from the pci), as well as through the construction of specific forms of knowledge that act to normalise the expansion and restructuring of spaces of capital in the global South.     

日本成立"总参谋部"意欲何为?

据日本媒体报道,日本陆、海、空自卫队将从3月27日正式废除"统合幕僚会议"(参谋长联席会议),设置统一的"统合幕僚监部"(总参谋部),以直接向自卫队传达防卫厅长官的命令.从此,日本自卫队将第一次编制军令部门,无疑将会对其自身建设和军事战略意图的贯彻产生重要影响.     

An education for peace model that centres on belief systems: the theory behind the model

The education for peace model (EFPM) presented in this paper was developed within a theoretical framework of complexity science and critical theory and was derived from a review of an empirical research project conducted in a conflict affected environment. The model positions belief systems at the centre and is socioecologically systemic in design to capture the holistic dynamic of education within community. There is increasing interest, in both academic and development communities, in closing the gaps that exist between theory and practice in educational development in conflict affected settings and providing practioners with practical models. This paper makes a contribution in this through the presentation of the EFPM and the theory that informed its development. There are five key components to the EFPM: belief systems, learning experiences, students, teachers and schools. Belief systems are core as knowledge is generated from culture. Learning experiences are viewed as opportunities for growth, and schools are viewed as environments that provide opportunities and engender cultures for learning and conflict resolution. Teachers, drawn from the local community, are co-creators of these cultures, environments and opportunities and agents of effective change.