Predictors of treatment outcome in a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic: A naturalistic exploration

We present data on predictors of treatment outcome for 3200 consecutive referrals to a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic. Using Reliable Change Index (RCI) methodology, we divided children into those who, between intake and discharge, improved, stayed the same, or got worse according to clinician-rated impairment. Most predictors of improvement were related to parent variables (marital status, maternal anxiety, and ethnicity), while those associated with deterioration were tied to child status (extent of psychiatric comorbidity, history of placement in a self-contained classroom, and a prior trial of psychotropic medications). The implications of these findings for data-driven program development, clinic management, treatment planning, and systems of care are discussed.     

Bourdieu and psychoanalysis: an empirical and textual study of a pas de deux

This paper aims to elucidate some of the similarities between the Bourdieusian and a psychoanalytical approach to understand the individual and the social, and to describe Bourdieu's relation to psychoanalysis. The paper begins by reflecting upon the way a research on anorexia was received and perceived by some psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. Such a case study puts into light several analogies between Bourdieu's theoretical position, his epistemological style and psychoanalysis. Then, some texts by Bourdieu, especially a discussion with the psychoanalyst and sociologist Jacques Maître, are analysed in order to further explore Bourdieu's position vis‐à‐vis psychoanalysis and to assess the influence of psychoanalysis on his conception of the individual habitus. Finally, the paper discusses the possible contradictions arising between these borrowings and the principles of Bourdieusian epistemology. The paper thus suggests that the Bourdieusian approach is better analysed as a ‘sociologization'of psychoanalysis rather than as an approach complementing or integrating psychoanalysis.     

Errors of Logic and Scholarship Concerning Dissociative Identity Disorder

The author reviewed a two-part critique of dissociative identity disorder published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. The two papers contain errors of logic and scholarship. Contrary to the conclusions in the critique, dissociative identity disorder has established diagnostic reliability and concurrent validity, the trauma histories of affected individuals can be corroborated, and the existing prospective treatment outcome literature demonstrates improvement in individuals receiving psychotherapy for the disorder. The available evidence supports the inclusion of dissociative identity disorder in future editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.     

Bridging the contradictions of social constructionism and psychoanalysis in a study of workplace emotions in India

This paper makes a contribution to the study of emotions in organizations by offering a systematic juxtaposition and cross-fertilization of psychoanalytic and social constructionist approaches. These two traditions have found it hard to communicate in the past when addressing organizational emotions. Points of similarity and tension between them are discussed in connection with two critical case studies of female Indian managers discussing their emotions at the workplace. These were obtained during field work in which emotions were studied through narratives generated by a free-association interview approach. Both the emotions described in the narratives themselves and the emotions of the interview encounter were analysed, as resources for a rapprochement of contrasting perspectives on emotion. This rapprochement acknowledges the psychoanalytic emphasis on unconscious dynamics shaping the emotional lives of individuals and groups, while also honouring the social constructionist emphasis on how emotions are influenced by social, cultural and discursive practices.     

The millstone of popular culture: Competing with the commercial mass production of cultural imagery

Visual sociologists and anthropologists attempting to create representations of social communities and cultural groups inevitably do so within a context of competing cultural images manufactured by the popular mass media. Thus, in order for sociologists and anthropologists to use visual media effectively and make an instructive contribution to our knowledge of culture and society they must operate with the fullest possible awareness of popular culture and media practice. It has become the task of visual social scientists to acquire an intimate knowledge, not only of the subject matter they hope to illuminate, but of the media through which they intend to represent it, for more than ever, the visual media is not just a tool for the study of culture but an integral part of the culture we study.     

Producing Postman Pat: The popular cultural construction of idyllic rurality

This paper concerns the popular cultural representation of English rurality. It focuses upon Postman Pat, a popular cultural phenomenon which has come to be routinely cited as exemplary and iconic of contemporary imaginings of the English countryside as idyllic. The idea that Anglocentric popular culture (re)produces this sort of ‘rural idyll’ – and that these idylls are particularly laden with cultural and ideological baggage – has been well rehearsed. However, this paper considers a question which has too often been overlooked or taken for granted: how, exactly – and I mean literally, actually, in detail, in practice – does this sort of idyllic rurality come to be constructed? Through conversations with two key figures in the creation of Postman Pat, the paper begins to develop an understanding of some of the everyday, banal, nitty gritty practices, decisions and encounters which must be understood as fundamentally part of the production of (this) ‘rural idyll’.     

上海市民文化需求状况调查

调查显示,越来越多的新兴信息渠道和文化载体的出现,为市民文化生活提供了更多样的选择,上海市民文化需求呈现个性化、多样化特征。由于文化信息获取渠道不畅、文化消费时间不足、文化产品价格较高、优质文化产品缺乏等因素的制约,当前市民实现文化需求存在一定的障碍。上海应积极创新文化建设的思路与体制,切实保障市民基本的文化权利,以进一步提高市民精神文化生活质量。     

The historical universal: the role of cultural value in the historical sociology of Pierre Bourdieu

Best known for his pioneering study Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, in which the aesthetic attitude of disinterestedness is accounted for as the expression of a class ethos, Bourdieu has become something of an icon of relativism. In thus effecting a Bakhtinian 'discrowning' of official hierarchies of the arts, he is often celebrated for his concern to place all tastes, popular and high, on a similar footing, equally rooted in specific class practices. Only a careless inattention could support such a conclusion. From his early interventions in French cultural policy debates up to and including The Rules of Art and Pascalian Meditations (1996), Bourdieu has consistently repudiated the view that a sociological approach to questions of aesthetic judgment must result in a levelling form of relativism. In exploring why this should be so, this paper considers the issues at stake in the forms of 'historical universalism' that are associated with Bourdieu's account of the autonomy of the aesthetic sphere. It does so with a view to identifying some of the difficulties underlying his understanding of sociology as a historical practice.     

On the conditions of authority in academic publics

The discourse of some of the most powerful public figures in today’s world is often incoherent and nonsensical. Incoherent yet authoritative discourse shows that authority does not rest in language but results from non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions. The non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions are exemplified in an Australian case‐study of a media debate between the Immigration Minister and a refugee, drawing on research by Smith‐Khan (2019a, 2019b). Two such conditions are then examined with reference to academic publics. First, I ask which languages do or do not carry authority, before moving on to speaker identity as a condition of authority. The close association between English and academic excellence has resulted in diminishing the authority of academic publications in languages other than English. The same is true of publications by women and people of colour. I close by reflecting on referencing practices as forms of extending authoritativeness to voices in excluded languages and from excluded scholars in academic publics.     

Cultural issues in the intellectual assessment of children from diverse cultural backgrounds

Cultural factors impact on the intellectual assessment of children from diverse backgrounds. Given this fact, psychologists and educators should become culturally competent. In this article, a modified format for culturally competent intellectual assessment is discussed. The interaction between culture and language, and their impact on the development of specific cognitive competencies is explored. Practical suggestions for testing children of color are provided.     

Work as a cure for mental illnesses? Opportunism and seeking ways in psychology and psychiatry in the first decades of state socialism in Hungary

ABSTRACT

In Hungary, until the end of the 1940s, there were two main established methods of occupying the mentally ill who were fit for work. From the end of the nineteenth century, a lesser number of patients underwent work therapy in mental asylums, whereas the others were treated with so-called family therapy (otherwise known as the heterofamilial system), exploiting the capacities of families in the countryside. As an important part of this, the mentally ill helped in housekeeping and agricultural work. However, following the political and ideological turn of 1948, the latter form of treatment became debated, and then it was gradually superseded. Parallel to this process, work therapy came to be the most popular type of treatment for mental illnesses, as work formed the basis of the ideology of the communist state, and thus, healing through work harmonized with the general tendencies of the era. This article examines texts related to work therapy published in neurological–psychiatric and psychological journals and monographs between 1954 and 1964. However, although work therapy appeared to be the “handmaiden of ideology,” and even though it was supposed to fulfil a particular role, in reality, the role and perception of work therapy were a lot more complicated.     

Crisis and public intellectuals: From the transnational intellectual field to the digital global public circuit

We examine the modes of intervention of global public intellectuals at times of crisis. In critical situations, public intellectuals take positions on matters that affect the societies they inhabit and, eventually, all humanity. To this end, they take advantage of the opportunities afforded by new communications technologies, establishing an important distinction between the “analog” intellectual (who relies on the slow time of books, opinion columns, and bookstores) and the “digital” intellectual who uses modern information and communications technologies. To study the activities of global public intellectuals and their political influence, we propose to leave aside the notion of “transnational intellectual field” in favor of an understanding of a transnational intellectual stage peopled by a certain type of intellectual agent whose symbolic and cultural production is disseminated through a digital global public circuit. To illustrate the functioning of a circuit of this type, we take the example of the Project Syndicate platform.     

Museum acrobatics: artistic intervention and the work of cultural studies

This paper responds to questions posed to the panel regarding intellectual work and the division of labour in the academic and non-academic work of cultural studies. Using examples of ‘failed attempts’ at producing change at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the paper re-frames notions of transmission in the project of cultural studies in relation to questions of participation to provide a framework for thinking about how cultural studies practitioners engage with the public sphere.     

Arabs, the west and public relations: A critical/cultural study of Arab cultural values

Using a critical/cultural perspective to examine Arab culture, this study tests the cultural-economic model of international public relations to identify cultural value orientations that influence Arab culture. These orientations include commitment to religion, devotion to the group, resistance to change/attachment to history and recognition of hierarchal order. Based on an initial review of these orientations, the study identifies guiding principles exhorting practitioners to carefully consider the nature, function and purpose of public relations practice in the Arab world and the relationship among cultural value orientations. The study concludes with useful implications and guidelines sensitive to Arab culture for public relations professionals and scholars.     

The role of acculturative stress and cultural backgrounds in migrants with pathological gambling

The objective of the present study was to differentiate specific migration-related factors that can account for an increased vulnerability to pathological gambling (PG) among migrants in Germany. One hundred and six gamblers (61 migrants, 45 Germans) with varying degrees of gambling problems participated in the study. We analysed (1) differences between migrants and Germans regarding gambling patterns, severity of gambling problems, motivation and craving; influence of (2) acculturative stress; (3) acceptance and popularity of gambling in the culture of origin on gambling problems; (4) differences between migrants and Germans regarding family gambling and peer gambling; and (5) differences in religiosity and its influence on gambling problems. Results suggest no differences between migrants and Germans regarding gambling patterns and the severity of gambling problems. However, findings indicate that migrants have higher motivation and craving to gamble. Findings further suggest that acculturative stress is associated with more severe gambling problems. In contrast, acceptance and popularity of gambling in the country of origin was not a significant predictor of gambling problems. At the same time, family gambling and peer gambling was significantly more prevalent among migrants, constituting an additional risk factor in the present sample. On the other hand, migrants in the sample benefit more often from a protective influence of religiosity.     

高校辅导员队伍职业化建设的几点思考

高等学校辅导员队伍的定位不清,造成辅导员队伍的专业化水平较低,流动性较大。要加强辅导员队伍建设,就必须走职业化之路,在实践中要改革高校管理体制,实行专业化管理;确立高校辅导员系列职业体系,打通其职业化发展通道;增强培训的专业性与实效性。     

The identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability: challenging dominant cultural worldviews,values and mythologies

Intellectual disability is commonly conceptualised as stigmatised identity with which one has to live. However, within the literature the notion of a damaged identity is contested. The aim of this research was to explore the social construction of intellectual disability, with an emphasis on the identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability. Informed by a contextualist perspective, this research was conducted within a participatory framework. The co-researchers involved in this research were 18 members of an advocacy agency. Photovoice and conversational interviewing were used to collect data and causal layered analysis was used to deconstruct the data. Analysis of the interactions that emerged across the causal layers revealed a complex dynamic of worldviews which served to construct people with an intellectual disability as incompetent, inherently different and not quite human. For genuine, transformative change to occur, developing an awareness and understanding of social processes, such as dehumanisation, is crucial.     

Out of the Labs and into the Streets: Scientists Get Political

Scientists are participating in more visible and vocal forms of political action. In this essay, I sketch key moments in this shift, with the hope of generating new research questions and lines of sociological inquiry. Specifically, I ponder whether this is a new wave of science activism, and if so, how is it different from past forms of science activism? I also ask whether and in what form we, as sociologists, should “stand up for science”?     

Public sphere as assemblage: the cultural politics of roadside memorialization

This paper investigates contemporary academic accounts of the public sphere. In particular, it takes stock of post‐Habermasian public sphere scholarship, and acknowledges a lively and variegated debate concerning the multiple ways in which individuals engage in contemporary political affairs. A critical eye is cast over a range of key insights which have come to establish the parameters of what ‘counts’ as a/the public sphere, who can be involved, and where and how communicative networks are established. This opens up the conceptual space for re‐imagining a/the public sphere as an assemblage. Making use of recent developments in Deleuzian‐inspired assemblage theory – most especially drawn from DeLanda's (2006) ‘new philosophy of society’ – the paper sets out an alternative perspective on the notion of the public sphere, and regards it as a space of connectivity brought into being through a contingent and heterogeneous assemblage of discursive, visual and performative practices. This is mapped out with reference to the cultural politics of roadside memorialization. However, a/the public sphere as an assemblage is not simply a ‘social construction’ brought into being through a logic of connectivity, but is an emergent and ephemeral space which reflexively nurtures and assembles the cultural politics (and political cultures) of which it is an integral part. The discussion concludes, then, with a consideration of the contribution of assemblage theory to public sphere studies. (Also see Campbell 2009a)     

Public procurement of innovation and local authority procurement: procurement modes and framework conditions in three European cities

Local authorities present complex implementation settings for public procurement of innovation (PPI) practices and include a range of barriers, yet their proximity to citizens and local economic actors suggests that they are likely to encounter unmet needs in advance of national governments, creating potential to act as lead users. This paper develops a conceptualisation of the local authority procurement environment, using it as a framework for analysing the potential for PPI in three city authorities across Europe, representing three distinct modes of public procurement: functional procurement, tactical procurement and strategic procurement. The paper proposes that local authorities are broadly characterised by cyclical, geographically bounded procurement activity, which contains potential for stimulating incremental innovation through normal procurement activity if the external institutional setting is permissive. The paper suggests conditions for increasing the possibilities for more disruptive innovation through local authority procurement and areas for further research.