A Mixed-Methods Inquiry Into Trans* Environmental Microaggressions on College Campuses: Experiences and Outcomes

ABSTRACT

The experiences, including with environmental microaggressions, and well-being of trans* collegians remain an under-researched topic. In this mixed-methods study of a survey sample of 152 trans* collegians, multivariable regression findings suggest that the frequency of experiencing select trans* environmental microaggressions (e.g., not having access to comfortable bathrooms as a trans* person) are associated with increased risk for poorer academic outcomes (e.g., developmental challenges) but are not associated with mental health outcomes. Furthermore, interviews with 18 trans* collegians suggest that students face several systemic microaggressions, including difficulties advancing trans* inclusion. Various reactions, including paths of resistance, were identified. Implications are discussed.     

“重陆轻海”与“通洋裕国”之海洋观刍议

明清两朝正处于世界性海洋历史发展的"千古变局"时代,但统治者沿袭传统模式,在立国思想上"重农抑商"、"重陆轻海",在国防战略上以"禁海"代替海防,禁海迁界、"守土防御",反映其海洋观念的淡薄;而东南沿海地方官员,尤其郑成功"通洋裕国"思想的提出和实践,显露出"以商立国",向海洋空间发展的意涵;传统时代"重陆轻海"与"通洋裕国"所反映的海洋观念,对国家民族发展的影响在某种程度上可以忽略不计,但大航海时代,海洋作为人类的第二生存空间影响到世界历史走向和发展格局时,"重陆轻海"观念所带来的深层影响会因此而改变国家和民族的命运。     

Combat Social Work During the Surge in Iraq

The military has long recognized the short-term psychiatric effects of war upon soldiers, a significant factor for combat operational readiness and strength (NATO, 2008). Currently referred to as combat stress reaction or combat operational stress reaction (COSR), the condition has debilitating, immediate effects as well as long-term consequences for soldiers and military units. For the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanders expected psychiatric casualties rates equaling physical ones, stemming from the intensity and duration of these conflicts, nonlinear nature of the battlefields, unit morale, and soldier experiences and preparedness. For these recent wars, the concept of behavioral health, combat stress, and its military importance has dramatically changed, as have the protocols dictating the delivery of preventive and restorative combat behavioral health care. This article outlines the conceptual foundation of modern combat stress control, protocols, and the efforts of one social worker–led combat stress prevention team, forward deployed to a small base in a volatile area of Baghdad during the height of the surge in 2006–2007.     

Randomized controlled trial of the Resilience and Coping Intervention (RCI) with undergraduate university students

Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the Resilience and Coping Intervention (RCI) with college students. Participants: College students (aged 18–23) from a large Midwest US university who volunteered for a randomized controlled trial during the 2015 spring semester. Methods: College students were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 64) or a control (n = 65) group. Intervention participants received three 45-minute RCI sessions over subsequent weeks. All participants completed pre- and post-intervention assessments at the beginning of Week 1 and end of Week 3. Student resilience, coping, hope, stress, depression, and anxiety were assessed. Results. RCI participants reported significantly more hope and less stress and depression from Week 1 to Week 3 compared with control participants. Results for resilience also approached statistical significance. Effect sizes were small to moderate. Conclusions: This study found preliminary evidence that RCI is an effective resilience intervention for use with college students.     

Three Approaches to Understanding Self-Help Groups

With the increasing importance of self-help groups, professionals need to augment their understanding of how groups work in order to help clients make effective use of them. Three conceptual frameworks-social networks, social learning and cognitive theory-explain the basic psychosocial processes of self-help groups. Practice implications indicate how clients can benefit from self-help groups and suggest how professionals might enable their clients to realize the full benefits of participation in them.     

Psychologically and biochemically assessed stress in a follow-up study of long-term unemployed

Abstract

It has been suggested that psychological stress is one of the reasons for the high morbidity among unemployed people in Western countries. The same may apply to the well-documented high mortality. It would be expected that increased levels of biological stress would be found in these people. In the present study a sample of 310 long-term unemployed people from Norway was followed for 2 years. Psychologcal stress was assessed by medical examination and by the psychometric tests GHQ-28 and HSCL-30, the latter compared with a reference population of employed people. Serum levels of cortisol, prolactin and testosterone, together with immunoglobulins IgA, IgG and IgM, were compared with working controls. The unemployed had a high level of psychological distress at the first examination, the sanie for men and women. At the 2-year follow up distress was reduced by re-employment. This fits the ‘causation hypothesis' which explains the high distress level as caused by unemployment. The other direction of causation, ‘the selection hypothesis', assuming that distressed persons have an increased chance of continuous unemployment, was also confirmed in the present study. As for biological stress, significant differences were not found between the unemployment, the re-employed and the working controls.     

Measurement of the subjective work environment

Abstract

This paper considers the various issues that frame the development and use of measures of the subjective work environment. It begins by questioning the role of the work environment in determining occupational health, and explores the possible mechanisms by which that environment might exert its influence. It concludes that one of the important final common pathways is psycho-physiological in nature, and is rooted in individual perception and cognition and the experience of stress. Important for this model are the concepts of mediation and moderation. The measurement of the subjective work environment has often been idiosyncratic to the study in hand, and there are few well-established measures in common use. It is argued that researchers should be careful when deciding not to use established measures and effectively ‘invent’ their own. In developing new measures, decisions have to be made concerning the nature of the measure along with its ‘granularity’ and complexity. It is also argued that it is important that researchers should follow good psychometric practice in the development of those measures. Suggestions for ‘good practice’ are discussed. Attention is drawn to the issues of reliability and validity, and this paper discusses the role of triangulation in the planning and execution of data collection and analysis. The paper ends by reviewing the recommendations made towards the development and use of measures of the subjective work environment.     

Influence of Late Life Stressors on the Decisions of Older Women to Relocate into Congregate Senior Housing

Late-life stressors often require individuals to make substantial alterations in behavior and lifestyle and can affect their overall health and well-being. Relocation is a significant life stress, regardless of age. The primary aim of this study is to elucidate the push-pull factors associated with moving into congregate senior housing. The secondary aim is to investigate the decision-making processes and stresses associated with moving into a congregate living environment. Interviews were conducted with 26 women who were new residents in congregate senior housing. Relocation, as expected, was considered to be stressful, although individual differences were found among perceptions of relocation stresses. Women who had made the decision to relocate on their own showed evidence of better psychosocial well-being at the time of the move. One-quarter of the sample chose to move to provide care to another person. As the options for senior housing continue to evolve and the number of adults reaching advanced age continues to increase, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to successful adaptation. This knowledge will enable facility administrators to implement programs and procedures to assist incoming residents with acclimating to their new homes.     

中国粮食增产的主要因素贡献分解与实证估算

已有测算中国粮食增产要素贡献率的方法存在虚增或低估某要素贡献率的缺陷,文章通过改进粮食增产贡献率测算方法实证估计了2003—2016年期间单产、播种面积和结构调整对中国粮食增产的贡献。结果表明,中国粮食实现“十二连增”的巨大成就主要是单产增长贡献,年均贡献率50%以上,播种面积和作物内部结构调整也是不可忽视的重要力量,年均贡献率分别为30%与10%以上。然而,未来中国粮食增产依靠播种面积扩大和结构调整的空间变窄,需要探索新的增产路径。     

中国粮食生产潜能分析：一个基于“俱乐部 收敛”的视点

我国的粮食单产存在显著的地区差异,不同地区粮食单产的收敛分析有助于预测粮食生产潜能。对1980年至2012年全国30个省区市稻谷、玉米、小麦三种主粮单产数据的收敛分析发现,传统收敛β收敛与σ收敛的分析结果相互冲突,并且与现实不符。而俱乐部收敛分析发现,稻谷单产全国范围内趋于收敛;玉米单产同样在全国范围内收敛;但小麦单产则不存在总体收敛趋势,而是收敛于三个不同的俱乐部。进一步以“俱乐部”内最高单产为参照测算三种主粮历年的生产潜能,预测结果显示,实际产量与潜在产量的差距在不断缩小;三种主粮在2012年的潜在总产量为6.6万亿吨,仍比实际产量高26%;初步估计,未来10—20年之内,三种主粮的增产潜能会保持在10%以上。