Flood Risk Management: US Army Corps of Engineers and Layperson Perceptions

Recent severe storm experiences in the U.S. Gulf Coast illustrate the importance of an integrated approach to flood preparedness planning that harmonizes stakeholder and agency efforts. Risk management decisions that are informed by and address decision maker and stakeholder risk perceptions and behavior are essential for effective risk management policy. A literature review and two expert models/mental models studies were undertaken to identify areas of importance in the flood risk management process for layperson, non‐USACE‐expert, and two USACE‐expert groups. In characterizing and mapping stakeholder beliefs about risks in the literature onto current risk management practice, recommendations for accommodating and changing stakeholder perceptions of flood risks and their management are identified. Needs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood preparedness and response program are discussed in the context of flood risk mental models.     

Recovery From Mental Health Problems: Scratching The Surface Without Ethnography

This article examines a central plank of mental health policy (‘recovery’) in societies which have attempted to reverse the long-term warehousing of those with a diagnosis of mental disorder (de-institutionalisation). The emergence of the concept is traced in relation to the shift from an institutional to a more dispersed and community-based form of service organisation. Different usages of the term ‘recovery’, each with distinct implications for practice are considered on the part of three main interest groups (traditional bio-medical psychiatrists; social psychiatrists emphasising social skills training; and dissenting service users). These different usages suggest that ‘recovery’ is a polyvalent concept that creates an uneasy consensus point to define the management philosophies of local services enacting mental health policy. Also mental health work is about more than the group of patients mainly considered in relation to recovery (those with ‘severe and enduring mental health problems’). Practice-near research strategies are now required to investigate the varied practical scenarios these contradictions generate and ethnographic research is therefore indicated. Without multiple ethnographies, we will be left with competing rhetoric about recovery and its meaning or meanings may be rendered worthless.     

Enhancing the Career Planning Self-Determination of Young Adults with Mental Health Challenges

The impact of an intervention on the self-determination and career planning engagement of young adults with mental health challenges was studied. Sixty-seven young adults, 20 to 30 years of age, with mental health diagnoses (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder) were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Statistically significant greater increases were made by the intervention group versus the control group for self-determination and career planning engagement, and self-determination at least partially mediated increases in career planning engagement. With career planning self-determination interventions, young adults with mental health challenges might be able to achieve better career and life outcomes than is typical for this population.     

Corporate statement serving as information subsidies in the product-harm crisis

This study explores the attributes of a crisis statement which influence its utility as an information subsidy in the process of product-harm crises in China. Through investigating and analyzing 92 statements released in times of product-harm crises, the results show that the form in which the statement is released, and the length of the statement have significant effects on whether the statement will be quoted fully or partially by the news media.     

Videoconferencing in Telepsychiatry

SUMMARY

Interactive videoconferencing is an easy, fast, and relatively inexpensive method of providing psychiatric services over long distances. The experiences of telepsychiatry practitioners have been promising in Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, and Australia.

The first practical telepsychiatry experiments in Finland were carried out at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Oulu, where videoconferencing has been used for family therapy, psychiatric supervision, consultation, patient negotiations, and teaching. During 1998, out of a total of 400 hours, 35% of the online time was used for teaching, 24% for occupational counseling, 21% for consultations and patient negotiations, and 20% for methodological development and other activities (mainly testing the connections). The costs of inpatient negotiations via teleconferencing is half those of conventional negotiations. In general, cost analyses have also shown that telepsychiatric services are economically cost-effective in most European countries and in Australia, where a relatively small number of connections exists, while in the USA and Canada, high telecommunications costs make telemedicine more prohibitive compared to conventional care.     

欧洲债务危机的主要成因分析

肇始于希腊的欧洲债务危机到目前为止都没有停息的迹象,甚至还呈蔓延之势。欧洲债务危机爆发的直接原因是在金融危机的背景下,政府支出规模持续扩大,导致财政赤字居高不下,最终使得国债规模超过政府的偿还能力,出现明显的违约可能性。同时,国际竞争力不足,导致出口受阻,使得资金问题更加严重。从更深层次看,产业结构不合理,经济发展速度缓慢,过低的投资率和储蓄率及过高的储蓄投资转化率,都是导致欧债危机的重要原因。     

20世纪60年代美国社会危机的治理对策及启示

20世纪60年代,美国爆发了大规模的社会运动,美国社会受到强烈的震动,但却并未因此走向完全的无序。通过法治手段、社会改革以及公民社会的发展,美国社会逐渐实现了由乱到治的转变。这表明,有效的社会制度安排,顺应民意和时代发展要求的社会改革,社会民主参与性的强化,对于化解社会危机,维护社会稳定具有积极的意义。     

Supportive Housing for Addicted,Incarcerated Homeless Adults

ABSTRACT

Homeless populations often suffer from mental illness, substance abuse, and criminality. Interventions, such as supportive housing, can have positive impacts, although benefits can be limited. This study examined outcomes for clients (N = 102) of a new supportive housing intervention. Use of formal treatment, jail contact, and community stability were compared pre- and post-housing. Jail bookings and residential substance abuse treatment significantly declined post-housing, while clients improved in income level, access to food, and housing stability. Results from official justice and treatment system data suggest that supportive housing can lead to significant changes. Future research is necessary to understand the relationship between client characteristics and outcomes.     

Client Personality,Working Alliance and Outcome

Abstract

The relationship of the five-factor model of personality to working alliance, symptoms and well-being was examined in a diverse community mental health sample (N = 103). Agreeableness, openness, extraversion and conscientiousness were associated with alliance. Neuroticism was strongly associated with symptoms, and negatively associated with well-being. Extraversion was moderately associated with well-being. Personality is deserving of further study as a potentially important influence on therapy process and outcome. Part of the much-replicated association of alliance with outcome may be accounted for by personality. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed.     

Providing Mental Health Services to Older People Living in Rural Communities

Summary

Rural dwelling elders who experience mental health problems often have difficulty finding help since rural communities often lack adequate mental health service providers. This paper reports on the initial phase of a 5-year, interdisciplinary clinical research study that is testing the effectiveness of providing a home delivered, therapeutic psychosocial intervention, aimed at improving the emotional well-being and the quality of life of medically frail elders who live in rural communities. In the early phases of this study, the clinical research team encountered a number of interesting and often unanticipated challenges as it attempted to recruit study participants and provide services to them. In this article, we examine these challenges and share what we have learned so far about providing mental health services to elderly persons living in rural environments.