Urbanization in Thailand, 1947–1967

Utilizing both census and population register data for the period 1947–1967, this analysis assesses changing levels and rates of urbanization in Thailand, compares regional variations in urbanization patterns, and relates such differences to selected indicators of economic and demographic development. Although the overall level of urbanization remains low, the rate of urbanization is high and the increase in the number of moderate sized urban places significant. Greater Bangkok, accounting for over half of Thailand’s urban population and almost two–thirds of all urban growth, has increased its primacy in Thailand’s urban structure. But urban development has also begun to permeate all regions of the country and to be an important factor in the complex process of national social and economic development.     

Decreased psychopathology & family burden. Associated with clozapine treatment of patients with refractory schizophrenia

1. Intensive multimodal treatment produces measurable gains in community functioning of people with schizophrenia and reduces family burden. 2. Families that were more involved with patients were more satisfied. 3. Money directed at intensive management and rehabilitation decreases hospitalization and increases community functioning of people with schizophrenia.     

Longer Life and Population Growth

Enthusiasm about the prospect of large increases in human life expectancy is often dampened by fears that lower mortality will increase population size, hence population pressure. A simple mathematical model of life-cycle stretching demonstrates that if increased longevity is accompanied by later childbearing, a trend that is already underway, future declines in mortality will not increase population size.     

Alternative food in the global south: Reflections on a direct marketing initiative in Kenya

Amidst booming scholarship on alternative food networks (AFNs) in the global North, research on AFN in the global South remains scarce. Partly this is because explicitly alternative initiatives are themselves scarce, except for those focused on export markets. Yet in countries such as Kenya, urban consumers and rural smallholders have good reason to want alternatives to agrichemical dependency, insecure marketing channels, and food of dubious safety. This article describes one attempt to provide an alternative. A pilot box scheme launched by the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) in 2007 aimed to connect organic smallholders to consumers in Nairobi, the capital city. It did not last long, and we reflect on the reasons why. In particular, we argue that efforts to build AFN in “developing” countries must take account of the problematic history of development itself, both as an ideology and as a set of institutions, policies and activities. In the case of the Kenyan box scheme, the pervasive yet often ineffectual presence of aid-dispensing non-governmental organizations, in particular, influenced different actors’ perceptions and participation in ways we did not fully anticipate. More broadly, this article emphasizes the need to appreciate the macro-historical and socioeconomic contexts that inform on-the-ground practices and understandings of alternative food.     

Knowledge of American sign language and the ability of hearing individuals to decode facial expressions of emotion

The relation between knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) and the ability to decode facial expressions of emotion was explored in this study. Subjects were 60 college students, half of whom were intermediate level students of ASL and half of whom had no exposure to a signed language. Subjects viewed and judged silent video segments of stimulus persons experiencing spontaneous emotional reactions representing either happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, or fear/surprise. Results indicated that hearing subjects knowledgeable in ASL were generally better than hearing non-signers at identifying facial expressions of emotion, although there were variations in decoding accuracy regarding the specific emotion being judged. In addition, females were more successful decoders than males. Results have implications for better understanding the nature of nonverbal communication in deaf and hearing individuals.We are grateful to Karl Scheibe for comments on an earlier version of this paper and to Erik Coats for statistical analysis. This study was conducted as part of a Senior Honors thesis at Wesleyan University.     

Robustness measures for Bayes linear analyses

We consider the role of global robustness measures in Bayes linear analysis. We suggest two such measures, one for expectation comparisons and one for variance comparisons. Geometric interpretations of the measures are presented. The approach is illustrated by considering the robustness of certain multiplicative models to assumptions of independence, with particular application to a problem arising in an asset management model for water resources.     

Measuring educational standards

Every summer, when English public examination results appear, there is a debate within the media about whether "educational standards" are changing. Harvey Goldstein argues that much of what passes for informed debate in the English media is both irrelevant and ill informed, and that there is no purely objective, statistical, means for measuring changes in "standards".     

Self-disclosure in treatment: What therapists do and don't talk about

In contrast to the traditional view that sees therapist self-disclosure as a form of countertransference acting-out that either makes the therapeutic process more difficult or subverts it completely, this paper will present a self psychological rationale for the selected use of therapist self-disclosure in treatment. It will discuss the nature of therapist self-disclosure, issues in its use, countertransference issues, and its evaluation.