Reply to Silverman.

Responds to commentary by I. Silverman (see record 2007-08963-001) entitled "Review of Pure types are rare": Comment on book review. I do not think that either one of us will change his position, and therefore it is up to the interested (yet disinterested) reader to adjudicate our dispute by checking Professor Silverman's book and his references. In the process, the reader will be forced to consider the thought-provoking implications for our mental health system of some of the incidents which the author describes so vividly, and that will not be a bad thing. There is one point, however, which is worth pursuing further here, for Professor Silverman persists in an elementary statistical fallacy. Let us take the situation which he cites, where the base rate for diagnosing schizophrenia is 50%. Suppose with the same base rate the degree of agreement is in fact 53%; this is far above chance level. It must be emphasized, however, that the 53% agreement under discussion came not from a study where the base rate for diagnosing schizophrenia was 50%, but from one where the conditions were far more stringent since the base rate for diagnosing schizophrenia was around 20%. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using a multicultural lens to understand illnesses among Haitians living in America.

Currently, ethnic and racial minority individuals represent a large proportion of the U.S. population, and researchers expect that they will represent the majority of the population by 2050. This shift in U.S. demographics calls for a greater awareness and integration of cultural issues into the assessment and treatment of ethnically and linguistically diverse clients. This article examines the unique beliefs and manifestations of illnesses among Haitians in connection with the American Psychological Association's (APA, 2002) Multicultural Guidelines. The authors use a common culture-bound syndrome, Séizisman, to illustrate the cultural beliefs, assessment, and treatment of illnesses among Haitians. In so doing, they demonstrate how to incorporate the APA Multicultural Guidelines into treatment with clients of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Harmonization of legislation and regulations to achieve food safety: US and Canada perspective

Trade in food and food ingredients among the nations of the world is rapidly expanding and, with this expansion, new supply chain partners, from globally disparate geographic regions, are being enrolled. Food and food ingredients are progressively sourced more from lesser developed nations. Food safety incidents in the USA and Canada show a high unfavorable correlation between illness outbreaks and imported foods. In the USA, for example, foodborne disease outbreaks caused by imported food appeared to rise in 2009 and 2010, and nearly half of the outbreaks, associated with imported food, implicated foods imported from areas which previously had not been associated with outbreaks. Projecting supply chains into new geographical regions raises serious questions about the capacity of the new supply chain partners to provide the requisite regulatory framework and sufficiently robust public health measures for ensuring the safety of the foods and foodstuffs offered for international trade. The laws, regulation and legislation among the many nations participating in the global food trade are, at best, inconsistent. These inconsistencies frequently give rise to trade disputes and cause large quantities of food to be at risk of destruction on the often dubious pretext that they are not safe. Food safety is often viewed through a political or normative lens. Often as not, this lens has been wrought absent scientific precision. Harmonization of food safety legislation around sound scientific principles, as advocated by the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), would ultimately promote trade and likely provide for incremental improvement in public health. Among the priority roles of most national governments are the advancement of commerce and trade, preservation of public health and ensuring domestic tranquility. Achieving these priorities is fundamental to creating and preserving the wealth of nations. Countries such as the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Japan and the USA, for example, have very stable governments, are leaders in trade and commerce and enjoy high standards of public health. It is not by accident or coincidence that these nations are also among the world's wealthiest. Attainment of national priorities, especially those related to promoting trade in foodstuffs and also in preserving public health (food safety), would benefit greatly from international efforts in harmonizing food safety regulations and legislation. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fantasies of women confronting death.

These 2 studies explore the unconscious significance of death. 5 psychoanalytically oriented theories are discussed and used as the basis for scoring fantasy material. In the first study, 25 cancer patients and matched controls hospitalized for minor illnesses were given the TAT. Major findings for the dying patients point to (a) no increase in the use of denial, (b) an increase in themes of punishment, and (c) a rise in fantasies of illicit sexuality. The possibility is raised that death itself is sexualized and that this sexualization may at times increase, at other times decrease, death anxiety. In the second study, 25 women with a variety of serious illnesses and their controls were given selected TAT cards and new pictures. Results generally supported the prior findings. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

高校图书馆阅读疗法探索

从大学生心理障碍的现状与阅读疗法的发展与原理出发,探讨了大学图书馆阅读疗法的意义和功效,提出建立治疗阅览室、提高阅读疗法人员素质、引导学生阅读自疗等值得关注和采取的措施。     

Social media use,community participation and psychological well-being among individuals with serious mental illnesses

BackgroundLittle research exists on social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) use among individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI). One particular question of interest is the extent to which online social media use is associated with these individuals' community participation, civic engagement and psychosocial outcomes.MethodsTwo-hundred and thirty-two individuals with SMI receiving services at 18 mental health organizations throughout the continental U.S. completed questionnaires on their community participation, civic engagement, quality of life, loneliness, and psychiatric symptoms. They were also asked which social media sites they used; the duration, frequency and importance of, and reasons for, social media use; and the number of contacts they had on social media.ResultsApproximately a third of the sample reported having at least one social media account. Greater frequency, intensity and longevity of social media were associated with higher levels of community participation, and greater intensity of social media use was positively associated with civic engagement. For instance, those who used social media at least 30 min a day had 16.4 more days of participation and voting rates that were higher by 17.4%. Social media use was not found to be significantly associated with loneliness, psychiatric symptoms or quality of life.Discussion and implicationsGreater social media use appears to be associated with greater community engagement without negative repercussions on loneliness, symptoms, or quality of life. Interventions that support social media use among individuals with SMI could have important community integration benefits.     

数据仓库技术在医院病情诊疗分析中的应用研究

分析了病案统计分析系统的现状及存在的不足。为了使病案得到充分的有效的利用,提出了将数据仓库技术应用其中的方法。以病情诊疗分析为主题,介绍了此方法的原理及主要功能,给出方法实现的具体步骤,对方法的关键部分进行了详细的解释说明。其核心思想是通过数据仓库来清洗纷繁芜杂的数据,然后利用联机分析系统独特的多维方式对数据进行分析,使用户从不同的维了解历史及现状,最后利用数据挖掘工具自动地挖掘潜在的模式,找到正确的决策。     

Work Stress in America.

Historical and contemporary discourses on American culture were applied to work stress for the purpose of identifying the cultural assumptions, values, and beliefs that may predispose Americans to certain types of distress and, by association, stress-related illnesses within the context of work. Six primary American (albeit democratic) values and beliefs were identified and applied to work stress. The findings suggest that for work stress to be addressed effectively, professionals who study and seek to ameliorate it should understand the cultural underpinnings and assumptions that drive American business specifically, and all democratic societies generally; influence worker behaviors; shape employee-employer cognitions; and bias work stress research. Suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Psychiatrist's Contribution.

The commentator states that he agrees with J. D. Warner and C. Scott Moss (Amer. Psychologist, 1958, 13, 120-122) that hatchet burying is a worthy occupation. However, the commentator states that it is inappropriate to refer to Thomas Kirkbride (Hospitals for the Insane, 1880) as putting "principal emphasis on the physical nature and treatment of the insane." Kirkbride considered that mental illnesses frequently arose from disease of the brain, the organ of the mind, he was a leading and eloquent exponent of the moral treatment. He saw no inconsistency in supposing that a disease affecting the brain required proper psychological understanding and a suitable social setting to prevent desocialization and disculturation. The purpose of his hospital was to return, patients to society as quickly as possible. He repeatedly emphasized that a sufficient number of sympathetic, skilled, and properly trained staff are needed to to this and that, if the staff failed, patients would accumulate in the hospital to everyone's detriment. Furthermore, the commentator states that Kirkbride worked with Samuel Sloane, an architect, to devise some of the most finest hospitals ever built. The commentator states that psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists do play an essential role in bettering the care of the mentally ill; however, until they are prepared to recognize that psychiatrists have a considerable competence in the care and treatment of the mentally ill, cooperation is unlikely. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)