Offending behaviours of persons with schizophrenia: a case review of psychiatric halfway houses in Hong Kong

Persons with schizophrenia are believed to have a higher risk for criminal offending, especially for violent offences. Offending behaviour among schizophrenics is mediated by a variety of factors such as substance abuse and clinical symptoms. However, existing studies have failed to identify the association between those mediating factors and particular types of offence. This study examines the association between substance abuse, clinical symptoms and different types of offences among persons with schizophrenia. Three hundred and sixty eight case files of residents diagnosed with schizophrenia in four psychiatric halfway houses in Hong Kong were reviewed. Substance abuse, but not clinical symptoms, was associated with general conviction rate. Violent-related offences were found to be positively associated with paranoid delusion; persons with common thought disorders, negative symptoms and who abused substances were more likely to commit property crimes. The causes and mediating factors of various offences were different. It is concluded that attention should be given to the recent mental status, clinical symptoms and social condition in studying the offending behaviours of persons with schizophrenia.     

Sources,sinks, and fluxes of nutrients (N + P) in a small highly modified urban estuary in southern California

Our objective was to begin to investigate sources, sinks, and flux rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in Famosa Slough, a small (12 ha) highly modified urban estuary in San Diego, California, U.S.A. The hydrology of Famosa Slough has been modified by culverts that dampen tidal influence and seasonal runoff from two urban watersheds, each of which has been implicated as a nutrient source that generates nuisance algal blooms. In 1995 and 1996, the ranges of nutrients measured in the water column were extremely wide; upper values exceeded those in other estuaries identified as eutrophic. Average dissolved inorganic nitrogen ranged from 2 to 250 M, while dissolved inorganic phosphorus ranged from <1 to 15 M. Nutrient content of the water changed rapidly both spatially and temporally depending on the tides and rainfall. While tidal water dominated this system, especially in the dry season, our results indicate that Famosa Slough's small watershed, not the larger watershed of the San Diego River, was the major source of nutrients during rainfall. Sediment nutrients were also high (3 mg N g dry wt^–1 and 0.600 mg P g dry wt^–1). Short-term flux studies suggest that the large accumulations of opportunistic green macroalgae commonly found in this estuary, and possibly the sediments, may act as a large and rapid sink for nutrients during times of high nutrient supply. We suggest that small, shallow estuaries in urban settings may have more complex and rapid nutrient dynamics than those found in larger systems.     

The game chromatic index of some trees with maximum degree four and adjacent degree-four vertices

A (proper) total-k-coloring of a graph G is a mapping \(\phi : V (G) \cup E(G)\mapsto \{1, 2, \ldots , k\}\) such that any two adjacent or incident elements in \(V (G) \cup E(G)\) receive different colors. Let C(v) denote the set of the color of a vertex v and the colors of all incident edges of v. An adjacent vertex distinguishing total-k-coloring of G is a total-k-coloring of G such that for each edge \(uv\in E(G)\), \(C(u)\ne C(v)\). We denote the smallest value k in such a coloring of G by \(\chi ^{\prime \prime }_{a}(G)\). It is known that \(\chi _{a}^{\prime \prime }(G)\le \Delta (G)+3\) for any planar graph with \(\Delta (G)\ge 10\). In this paper, we consider the list version of this coloring and show that if G is a planar graph with \(\Delta (G)\ge 11\), then \({ ch}_{a}^{\prime \prime }(G)\le \Delta (G)+3\), where \({ ch}^{\prime \prime }_a(G)\) is the adjacent vertex distinguishing total choosability.     

Evidence-based practice in family group decision-making for Anglo, African American and Hispanic families

This study addresses the need and gap in the literature on evidence-based practice in family group decision-making services by reporting on the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services' Family Group Decision-Making study, conducted between December 2003 and July 2005 with Anglo, African American and Hispanic families throughout Texas. These services are compared to standard practice by assessing satisfaction, child well-being and exits from care. Findings indicate that both parents and relatives are more satisfied with family group decision-making conferences than standard practice on a number of dimensions, with relatives reporting feeling more empowered than parents. Children are reported to be less anxious if their families participate in a conference, and they may be more adjusted when they are placed with relatives following a conference. Finally, exits from care are faster if families participate in family group decision-making conferences, and exits to reunification are increased; this may be especially true of African American and Hispanic children.     

Dynamic Random Effects Models for Times Between Repeated Events

We consider recurrent event data when the duration or gap times between successive event occurrences are of intrinsic interest. Subject heterogeneity not attributed to observed covariates is usually handled by random effects which result in an exchangeable correlation structure for the gap times of a subject. Recently, efforts have been put into relaxing this restriction to allow non-exchangeable correlation. Here we consider dynamic models where random effects can vary stochastically over the gap times. We extend the traditional Gaussian variance components models and evaluate a previously proposed proportional hazards model through a simulation study and some examples. Besides, semiparametric estimation of the proportional hazards models is considered. Both models are easily used. The Gaussian models are easily interpreted in terms of the variance structure. On the other hand, the proportional hazards models would be more appropriate in the context of survival analysis, particularly in the interpretation of the regression parameters. They can be sensitive to the choice of model for random effects but not to the choice of the baseline hazard function.     

Framing inter-religious dispute: a comparative analysis of Chinese-, English-, and Malay-language newspapers in Peninsular Malaysia

Religious and ethnicity issues in multicultural societies have always been difficult to report. This study aims to conduct a framing analysis of the coverage of the biggest inter-religious dispute in Malaysia to date – the “Allah” dispute. Specifically, the study compares the coverage of Chinese-, English-, and Malay-language newspapers and assesses the factors that lead to differences in frame building. The findings showed that these newspapers reported the dispute with different degrees of intensity and prominence, and they employed different news sources. Although conflict appeared to be the salient frame used by the dailies, the aspects highlighted by them varied. Sin Chew (Chinese-language daily) was the most vocal in its coverage, which reflected a counter-hegemonic discourse. The Star (English-language daily) used a moderate approach, while Utusan (Malay-language daily) strongly supported the status quo. The frames built by The Star and Utusan could be attributed to the fact that these two newspapers were inclined to serve the politically vested interests of their owners.     

Mindfulness in Patients With Gambling Disorders

This study explored facets of mindfulness between patients diagnosed with a gambling disorder (n = 26) and a community sample of non-gambling-disordered individuals (n = 33). Multivariate statistics comparing group differences showed the gambling-disordered patients exhibited significantly lower levels of mindfulness, emotional regulation, stress coping, and impulse control compared to the non-gambling-disordered group. Overall, gambling severity was negatively associated with higher levels of mindfulness and positively linked to indices of emotional dysregulation, stress proneness, and impulsivity. Correlations between mindfulness and emotional dysregulation and impulsivity were much stronger than those between mindfulness and the severity of disordered gambling behaviors as measured by the National Opinion Research Center DSM Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS). These findings are discussed in the context of possible implications for future directions in exploring mindfulness-based interventions as a plausible intervention among those with gambling disorders.     

How might sovereign bond yields in Asia Pacific react to US monetary normalisation under turbulent market conditions?*

This paper examines the potential impact of US monetary normalisation on sovereign bond yields in Asia Pacific. We apply the quantile vector autoregressive model with principal component analysis to the assessment of tail risk of sovereign debt, which may not be detectable using traditional OLS-based analysis. Our empirical evidence suggests that US Treasury bond yields can have a significant impact on sovereign bond yields in the region, an important channel through which monetary normalisation by the Fed can affect Asia-Pacific economies. Increases in sovereign bond yields will not only compromise the ability of the sovereigns in the region to service their debt but also translate into higher costs of borrowing for the rest of economy. The results show how much the outsized impact could potentially be if US monetary normalisation somehow turns out to be much more disorderly than expected.     

Problem and Pathological Gambling in a Sample of Casino Patrons

Relatively few studies have examined gambling problems among individuals in a casino setting. The current study sought to examine the prevalence of gambling problems among a sample of casino patrons and examine alcohol and tobacco use, health status, and quality of life by gambling problem status. To these ends, 176 casino patrons were recruited by going to a Southern California casino and requesting that they complete an anonymous survey. Results indicated the following lifetime rates for at-risk, problem, and pathological gambling: 29.2, 10.7, and 29.8%. Differences were found with regards to gambling behavior, and results indicated higher rates of smoking among individuals with gambling problems, but not higher rates of alcohol use. Self-rated quality of life was lower among pathological gamblers relative to non-problem gamblers, but did not differ from at-risk or problem gamblers. Although subject to some limitations, our data support the notion of higher frequency of gambling problems among casino patrons and may suggest the need for increased interventions for gambling problems on-site at casinos.