An Examination of the Use of Coercion by Assertive Outreach and Community Mental Health Teams in Northern Ireland

In mental health services over recent decades, the positivemove away from hospital-based care to community-based serviceshas entailed that people with higher levels of need are beingsupported by community mental health services. This paper beginsby reviewing the literature on coercion in the field of community-basedmental health care and treatment. It is argued that the lackof a critical understanding of the concept and how it is usedby practitioners and agencies can have serious repercussionsfor the rights of service users. Using a quasi-experimental,longitudinal design, the authors then seek to test some of theideas about coercion by comparing the activities of assertiveoutreach and community mental health teams in Northern Ireland,particularly the key ideas of perceived coercion, workers’strategies and engagement with services. Key findings were thatassertive outreach appeared to be more successful at reducingperceived coercion, minimizing the need for coercive strategies,engaging high-risk clients and reducing inpatient bed use. Thesefindings are compared with other studies in this area. The authorsalso argue that there is a need for greater transparency inthe way that practitioners use coercive measures and more explicitguidance is required in this crucial area of mental health practice.     

Form effect in the measurement of feeling states

This study investigates the relation between the responses given to survey items and the manner in which those items are given. Results are based on responses of a random sample of 1522 American adults to 202 items expressing social life feelings (SLFs). SLF items were selected from a domain of over 1000 such items appearing in over 100 scales used in American sociology during the last 50 years. Three different methods of administration were used: self-administration, interview, and card-sort. Each method was applied to each item about 500 times, and to each respondent approximately 67 times. The analysis consisted of comparing mean scores and missing response rates for items across methods, investigating the characteristics of items subject to form effects, investigating the possibility that form effects were spurious and might disappear after controlling on background of respondent, and investigating the presence of form effects in summary scale scores based on several or more items. Results indicate that for most items, patterns of responding and techniques of testing were statistically independent.     

Reparameterization of nonlinear statistical models: a case study

The importance of finding appropriate parameterizations for nonlinear statistical models is highlighted. The purpose of this paper is to explore the principles of reparameterization, using an example from real data. It is shown that stable parameterizations allow likelihood-based confidence intervals to be computed. Further, it is noted that the choice of error distribution may seriously affect the estimates and confidence intervals of quantities of interest. The influence of each observation on the estimation of each parameter is displayed for each error model. Multidimensional likelihood contours may be displayed pairwise using profile likelihood computations.     

Population Policy in a Prosperous City‐State: Dilemmas for Singapore

Singapore has achieved one of the highest levels of per capita income in the world, through sound economic planning and a stress on building its human capital. Yet its enviable living conditions are at risk of being enjoyed by fewer citizens, and indeed themselves placed in jeopardy, by the continued very low fertility levels. Ultra‐low fertility and growing reluctance by citizens to accept an increasing share of foreign‐born pose difficult dilemmas for population policy, given the planning scenario of reaching a resident population of 6.5 million. A range of pro‐marriage and pronatalist policies has failed to raise fertility substantially, while past success in modifying population trends and structure through migration has now encountered the twin problems of political constraints on the volume of immigration that is acceptable and a possible increase in emigration of Singapore citizens.     

Management science models for evaluating regional government policies

This paper discusses the use of econometric models in evaluating alternative courses of action for public investment and governmental programs. Included are an extensive statewide and regional input-output analysis of the Texas economy, a simulation model to be used by government officials for fiscal policy-making and a model which simulates the demand for and use of water resources. These models provide a means whereby government planners and policy makers can plan and understand the consequences of investing limited resources in various public programs.     

Southeast Asian urbanization and the growth of mega-urban regions

Southeast Asia has not been sufficiently urbanized long enough to have developed a real urban proletariat, yet it has been profoundly affected by urbanization. An important development has been the emergence of extended metropolitan regions, which now contain about 11 per cent of Southeast Asia’s population. In studying the dynamics of growth of these extended regions, it is important to designate zones around the official metropolitan areas. When this is done for the Southeast Asian mega-urban regions, they are the zones immediately outside the metropolitan area where urban expansion is marked, in-migration greatest, and occupational change most rapid. A corollary of this is that the conclusion frequently drawn that Asian big-city growth is slowing is misleading, because studies usually fail to include the rapidly-growing areas outside metropolitan boundaries. Trends over the 1990–2000 period for Jakarta and Bangkok illustrate the point. Realistic appraisal of the planning needs of Southeast Asia’s mega-urban regions requires integrated research on the broader metropolitan region surrounding the metropolis proper.     

Affective and self-efficacy responses to acute aerobic exercise in sedentary older and younger adults

This study examined the psychological responses to an acute bout of aerobic exercise in sedentary older and younger adults. Eighteen young (mean age 24 years) and 15 older adults (mean age 64 years) completed a 20-min bout of stationary cycling at 65% of VO2peak. Affective responses were assessed before, during, and immediately after exercise. Participants'exercise self-efficacy beliefs were assessed before and immediately after exercise. Both groups reported reduced pleasant feeling states and self-efficacy and increased physical exhaustion in response to acute exercise. Older adults also demonstrated a significant decrease in revitalization during and after cycling. Correlation analyses revealed that self-efficacy was related to feelings of fatigue during exercise and postexercise feelings of energy and fatigue. Both groups reported negative shifts in affect and self-efficacy during and 5 min after cycling.Acute affective and self-efficacy responses might influence one's motivation to adopt and maintain regular physical activity. The relationship between these acute responses and physical activity behavior across the life span warrants future inquiry.     

杨凌农民专业合作社研究

杨凌农民专业合作社发展较快,会员已占农户总数的11％,会员收入增长速度高于非会员3个百分点,但仍存在着规模不大,机制不健全和业务范围狭窄等问题。为促进合作社发展,提出改进一人一票制,实行“一会两制”、建立会员资金帐户及按股分红与利润返还相结合的利益分配机制,健全民主管理,强化专家指导等对策。     

Organisation Workshop. Beyond the Workplace: Large Groups,Activity and the Shared Object

Organisation Workshop stands for a body of practice derived from the pioneering work that Clodomir de Morais did with the Brasilian Peasant Leagues starting in the early 1960s and shown to be relevant today in situations of high unemployment. Two essential ingredients are a large group and a common resource pool. The Organisation Workshop method is illuminated by Leontiev’s “objectivised activity” concept, as well as important insights from 3 generations of activity theory (CHAT). Moraisean thought and practice are shown to open up new avenues to community development and to break new ground in the social psychology of the large group.