Psy-expertise,therapeutic culture and the politics of the personal in development

Expertise stemming from the psy disciplines is increasingly and explicitly shaping international development policy and practice. Whilst some policy makers see the use of psy expertise as a new way to reduce poverty, increase economic efficiency, and promote wellbeing, others raise concerns that psychocentric development promotes individual over structural change, pathologises poverty, and depoliticises development. This paper specifically analyses four aspects of psy knowledge used in contemporary development policy: child development/developmental psychology, behavioural economics, positive psychology, and global mental health. This analysis illuminates the co-constitutive intellectual and colonial histories of development and psy-expertise: a connection that complicates claims that development has been psychologized; the uses and coloniality of both within a neoliberal project; and the potential for psychopolitics to inform development.     

Youth Mental Health First-Aid: Juvenile Justice Staff Training to Assist Youth with Mental Health Concerns

Many youth in juvenile justice settings meet criteria for a mental health condition. Front line staff need to be able to recognize and respond to their needs, but training is often lacking. Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is an 8-hour training for adults without mental health education to recognize and assist distressed youth. This study surveyed 1,279 [State blinded] DJS front-line staff trained in YMHFA. Of 338 returned surveys (26% response), 44% reported using YMHFA skills at work, 56% in preventing a crisis, 25% during crises. Respondents rated YMHFA as significantly improving their responsiveness to distressed young people.     

Job Satisfaction Among Swedish Mental Health Nursing Staff: A Cross-Sectional Survey

There is limited amount of empirical studies concerning job satisfaction in inpatient psychiatric care. However, job satisfaction has several implications on public administration and management. The objective of this study is to identify factors having positive impact on job satisfaction among Swedish psychiatric nursing staff in an inpatient psychiatric clinic. The cross-sectional study is based on Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. The survey was distributed among nursing staff at a psychiatric university hospital clinic in Western Sweden. Overall, job satisfaction was rated relatively high, and salary was rated the lowest of all factors investigated. Unlike the premises in Herzberg’s theory, salary showed a positive correlation with job satisfaction and not only in preventing dissatisfaction. Hospital managers must be attentive to salary levels and staff turnover. Psychiatric nursing personnel in Sweden lack competitive salaries, and hospital administrators should encourage nursing staff to improve relationships between staff and managers and establish good relationships among colleagues.     

Chapter 2. From Risk to At-Risk

Abstract

The American economist, Frank Knight (1921), introduced risk as far back as the early 1920s with his analysis of profit legitimisation. In the profession of law, by the latter part of the 19th century risk had entered into mainstream social law in Europe (Ewald, 1991). Risk discourse seems to have regained popularity since the 1970s. Despite the voluminous work published since then with over three thousand books and articles by the end of the 1990s (Renn, 1998) there is no consensus regarding the risk construct itself, as it is approached from so many differing perspectives and disciplines. Many researchers tended, when writing about risk and children and youth, to focus on single variables such as intense interparental conflict that exacerbates maladjustment in children. This has now changed since the introduction of population health child and youth care perspectives. We are now far more interested in co-occurring adversities and the total, or whole, environment of a child. This chapter explores how and why a child or youth might be considered at risk exploring educational environments, the world of insurance, the natural world, medical discourse, and the world of the individual.     

Atherosclerotic and Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease are Associated with Death at Sublethal Carboxyhemoglobin Levels: A Postmortem Study

Residential fires are a significant cause for morbidity and mortality in the United States. Death is often the result of soot and smoke inhalation causing carbon monoxide (CO) toxicity. The approximate lethal level of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) in healthy adults has been well described. However, a significant number of medical examiner cases involve infirmed decedents, often elderly, with complex cardiovascular disease burdens. It is well known that death in these cases will occur at sublethal levels of COHb; however, increased lethality has been largely documented via anecdotal experience and lacks quantification. Fifty-five cases were identified where death resulted from smoke and soot inhalation suffered in a residential fire. The control group, with no cardiovascular disease, had an age-adjusted mean COHb level of 61.6% at the time of death. Presence of hypertensive cardiovascular disease showed a 30% reduction in COHb (age-adjusted mean 43.2%), atherosclerotic disease showed a 33% reduction (age-adjusted mean 41.5%), and combined disease presentation accounted for 41% reduction (age-adjusted mean 36.3%). When controlling for age, atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular diseases were each associated with statistically significant decreases in COHb (p < 0.01). Increasing age was associated with decreased COHb levels at 2.8% per 10 years of life (p < 0.01), even when modeled with hypertensive and atherosclerotic disease. These findings carry important public health significance, as well as practical significance for the medical examiner when interpreting COHb levels in cases of suspected deaths due to smoke and soot inhalation.     

A Preliminary Report of Psychiatric Diagnoses in a Scottish County Sample of Persons of National Security Concern

Increasing anecdotal, empirical, and research evidence indicates mental disorder history is one of the several factors associated with increased risk of involvement in lone-actor terrorist activities. Currently, few studies have been conducted on the mental disorder histories of individuals assessed as at risk of involvement in terrorist activities (Meloy, J Threat Assess Manag 2019;6:93). This pilot study describes demographic, psychiatric, and criminal characteristics of a sample of Scottish individuals identified by the Prevent element of the U.K. national counterterrorism strategy, and outcome data after follow-up at 2 years. Twenty-three individuals were referred to Prevent as posing a national security risk from a county in Scotland. Their records were studied for psychiatric and criminal histories. Nine (39%) had previous psychiatric contact, all were “lone actors”, and none were embedded with organized terrorist groups. The most common diagnoses were substance use disorder, personality disorder, depression, and psychotic disorder. The sample displayed factors associated with increased risk of violence including previous offending, early behavioral difficulties, school problems, substance misuse, cluster B personality disordered traits. After 2 years, 44% of the mentally disordered group had re-offended. The offense types were generally similar to those prior to the individual being involved with the Prevent counter terrorism program. Only one of the mentally disordered group committed a further national security offense. In this sample, mental disorder history is overrepresented in individuals who come to the attention of the U.K. Prevent counter terrorism strategy. Further empirical studies with additional power are required to develop the empirical evidence base in this under-researched area.     

Responsive Aggression Regulation Therapy (Re-ART) Improves Executive Functioning in Adolescents and Young Adults with Severe Aggression Problems: A Pilot Study

This pilot study (N = 25) compared the effects of a short, four-month version of Responsive Aggression Regulation Therapy Outpatient (Re-ART Compact) and the entire, ten-month intervention (Re-ART Complete) on specific executive functioning (EF) and the risk of violent recidivism in adolescents and young adults (13–23 years). Re-ART is a cognitive behavioral-based intervention for adolescents and young adults with severe aggression problems. The Re-ART Compact and Re-ART Complete groups were comparable on the EF measures inhibition, flexibility, emotion regulation, self-evaluation, and self-control, but the Re-ART Complete group showed more improved risk of violent recidivism. We conclude that Re-ART Compact can be used as a compact, short intervention for EF, which is a valuable addition to the field of forensic mental health care where many problem behaviors relate to poor EF.     

警察自我和谐初探

警察是社会中一个特殊群体,警察的自我和谐显得尤为重要,包括思想观念和谐、素质结构和谐及身心的和谐。影响警察自我和谐的因素是多方面的,警察必须从加强思想道德修养入手,在不断提升自身素质的基础上,促进身心健康,才能更好地实现自我和谐。     

Pandemic Disease: A Past and Future Challenge to Governance in the United States

Throughout history, pandemics have posed significant challenges to governments. Examination of the ways that governments have responded to pandemics can contribute to the U.S. government's ability to react in the future. We utilize past cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and multiple forms of influenza to identify specific challenges governments have faced. Based on that knowledge, we discuss the major issues that the United States will have to address in the event of a future pandemic.     

农杆菌介导O型口蹄疫病毒P12A~*3C基因转化玉米的研究

通过农杆菌介导转化法,将O型口蹄疫病毒P12A*3C基因转化到玉米自交系18-599的Ⅱ型胚性愈伤组织中,经潮霉素抗性筛选获得25株抗性再生植株。对转基因植株的PCR检测,PCR-Southern及RT-PCR检测表明,目的基因P12A*3C已经整合到玉米基因组中并得到表达。T1代植株的PCR检测表明,P12A*3C基因能稳定遗传,本研究为转基因玉米口蹄疫可饲疫苗的生产奠定了试验基础。