Lifestyle Options and Economic Strategies: Subsistence Activities in the Mississippi Delta1

Abstract "Subsistence" and "informal economy" are contrasted in their utility as sociological concepts and their ability to explain a variety of activities in two rural Mississippi Delta communities. Literature on subsistence stresses that the desired outcome of participation is not an increase in income but the social rewards of participation itself. Two underlying dimensions of participation in these activities are documented through the literature and through a confirmatory factor analysis of empirical data: life-style choice and economic strategy. These were constructed into indexes and examined individually and in combination as dependent variables using regressors at the community, household, and individual levels. Community ties were weakly associated with participation in such activities. Whites and those with higher incomes participated more in lifestyle choice oriented activities. Participation in general was statistically related to households needing less weekly income and being of larger size. Potential connections with persistent rural poverty are discussed.     

Health care 2015: flight of the butterfly

Projecting out to the year 2015 sounds presumptuous. Who can predict that far ahead? Perhaps no one can. Social and organizational arrangements come slowly. It takes five years or so to implement simple concepts, sometimes decades for more radical changes. Once you have the ideas in tangible form, it can take another five years to get it working right. Early adopters bring others into the movement and, over 15-25 years, new directions dominate. It takes at least a generation of new practitioners to take on the new values and methods so what is likely to dominate in 2015 is beginning to be taken somewhat seriously as the successor movement to our current fad with externally imposed managed care. Put another way, entire generations of people will resist new ideas, making implementation unlikely until their control fades and a new generation takes the helm. The exciting challenge for the observer is to address the issue of where health is and should be going. Both are difficult challenges. Agreeing on what is important and what is not represents a competitive challenge. How do we perceive the world? Surely our value sets will color what we see. Who is not predisposed to select a future where they fit and their pet theories are likely to become reality. For these and other reasons, it is probably easier to agree on what we would like to see happen in the future than on what is happening. Unfortunately, unless we see the world as it is, we are less likely to be able to shift it in a direction we would like to see.     

An innovative approach to selecting an executive director

As a guide for how to select a new executive director, a family agency adopted the search committee process from higher education. The approach included clarifying agency goals and the director's qualifications, a board-staff screening, and interviews held jointly with public representatives before final board selection.     

Using the Inverse Maximum Ratio-Λ as a Technique to Quantify Surface Uniformity

Techniques used in variability assessment are subsequently used to draw conclusions regarding the “spread”/uniformity of data curves. Due to the limitations of these techniques, they are not adequate for circumstances where data manifest with multiple peaks. Examples of these manifestations (in three-dimensional space) include under-foot pressure distributions recorded for different types of footwear (Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo et al., 2014 Biau, D.J. (2011). In brief: Standard deviation and standard error. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 469(9):2661–2664.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Cibulka et al., 1994 Cibulka, M.T., Sinacore, D.R., Mueller, M.J. (1994). Shin splints and forefoot contact running: A case report. Journal of Orthopaedic &; Sports Physical Therapy 20(2):98–102.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Davies et al., 2003 Davies, M.B., Betts, R.P., Scott, I.R. (2003). Optical plantar pressure analysis following internal fixation for displaced intra-articular os calcis fractures. Foot &; Ankle International 24(11):851–856.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), surface textures and interfaces designed to impact friction, and and and molecular surface structures such as viral epitopes (Torras and Garcia-Valls, 2004 Torras, C., Garcia-Valls, R. (2004). Quantification of membrane morphology by interpretation of scanning electron microscopy images. Journal of Membrane Science 233(1–2):119–127.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Pacejka, 1997; Fustaffson, 1997). This article proposes a technique for generating a single variable – Λ that will quantify the uniformity of such surfaces. We define and validate this technique using several mathematical and graphical models.     

Effects of a single-lesson tobacco prevention curriculum on knowledge, skill identification and smoking intention

One in five students report experimenting with tobacco before the age of 13 and most prevention efforts take place in the school setting. This study measures the effect of a single-lesson tobacco prevention curriculum, conducted by a health education center, focusing on knowledge of tobacco, ability to identify refusal techniques, and intent not to smoke. Data were collected, via electronic keypads, from students visiting a non-school, health education center in Michigan (n = 704 intervention and 85 comparison). Contingency table Chi-squared tests and t-tests demonstrated that a single lesson can improve general knowledge and ability to identify appropriate refusal techniques. Improvement in intent not to smoke was not significant because both groups had very high intent prior to implementation. Similar to results from other programs, multivariate logistic regression of gender, general knowledge, and skill identification revealed that only the skill variable was associated with intent not to smoke at pretest. Recommendations are given for further research and for designing more effective curricula or programs.     

Mindfulness: an intervention for anxiety in schizophrenia

Despite evidence that individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders experience significant and persistent symptoms of anxiety, there are few reports of the use of empirically supported treatments for anxiety in this population. This article describes how we have tried to adapt mindfulness interventions to help individuals with schizophrenia who experience significant anxiety symptoms. Although mindfulness has been widely used to help individuals without psychosis, to our knowledge, this is the first study adapting it to help those with schizophrenia manage worry and stress. We provide an overview of the intervention and use an individual example to describe how our treatment development group responded. We also explore directions for future research of mindfulness interventions for schizophrenia.