Videogame Assisted Emotional Regulation Training: An ACT with RAGE-Control Case Illustration

This paper describes the treatment of an adolescent girl (age 16) who received the ACT with RAGE-Control intervention during her treatment in an urban inpatient psychiatry unit. ACT with RAGE-Control utilizes five traditional Cognitive Behavioral techniques combined with an active biofeedback videogame designed to strengthen a patient’s self-regulatory capacities while facing simulated stress in a virtual environment. The treatment is delivered as daily individual psychotherapy sessions over five consecutive days of an inpatient psychiatric admission. The following case illustrates the theory and techniques of the ACT with RAGE-Control intervention.     

Who volunteers?

Summary The 1990 NHS and Community Care Act outlined an extended rolefor volunteers and voluntary organizations in the provisionof services for disabled adults and older people. In broad terms,the Act assumed an untapped pool of volunteers, ready to contributeat little additional cost to the provision of care. More recentpolicy developments, including Millennium Volunteers (ScottishOffice 1997) have made similar assumptions. For organizationswhich involve volunteers, the expectations of their increaseduse in service provision present considerable challenges, notleast in attracting new recruits and retaining existing volunteers.The research presented in this paper builds on previous workto explore the current practice and organization of volunteeringand to examine critically how far the reality matches the politicalrhetoric about the role of volunteers in the mixed economy ofcare. The paper begins with a critical review of recent policyand practice in volunteering to set the context which providedour key questions. The research methodology is briefly describedand the findings from a survey of 117 active volunteers workingwith adults with learning difficulties, mental health problemsand physical disabilities, and with older people in the Northof Scotland are presented. The research examines the demographyand personality profiles of the volunteers. It examines theirperceptions of volunteering as these relate to motivation, recruitment,selection, training, support, rewards and reasons for leaving.Finally, it examines volunteers' perceptions of the organizationof volunteering. The results are reviewed in relation to thepolicy assumptions about volunteering in the mixed economy ofcare.     

A changed America? The effects of September 11th on depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, social commentators argued that America had profoundly "changed." In light of these arguments and the literature on disasters, we examine the immediate and longer-term mental health consequences of September 11th using a national sample of full-time American workers. We model the effects of temporal proximity to the attacks on depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption, while controlling for demographic characteristics. Our data revealed a significant increase in the number of depressive symptoms reported during the 4 weeks after the attacks. In the subsequent weeks, levels of depressive symptoms returned to pre-September 11th levels. Contrary to expectations, there was some indication of decreased alcohol consumption after September 11th, although these effects were modest. These analyses provide little support for popular assertions that September 11th resulted in lasting and measurable impacts on Americans' well-being.     

Vector correlation for elliptical distributions

A measure of multivariate correlation between two sets of vectors is considered when the underlying joint distribution is a member of the class of elliptical distributions. Its asymptotic distribution is derived under different situations and these results are used to test hypotheses on vector correlation when the underlying joint distribution is non-normal.     

Les obstacles et les limites du raisonnement mis à l‘œuvre en sciences sociales: un exemple*

There has been a trend in the past several years to question the legitimacy and validity of social science endeavours. Many view the endogenous historical development of disciplines like sociology as the actual ferment of a serious decline in the normativeness of social science-derived knowledge. The author of this article speaks out against a sociological epistemology trend that argues that explanatory pluralism undermines the credibility of this knowledge. Moreover, he takes a stand against another trend denouncing the instrumentalization of the social sciences, by showing that an enlightened awareness of the limits and obstacles of social science reasoning makes it possible to circumvent this instrumentalization and foster the fundamental nature of social knowledge. The author offers an epistemological reading of Francine Saillant's Cancer et culture to support his thesis. Depuis quelques années déjà, il est de mise de s'interroger sur la légitimité et la validité de l'entreprise des sciences sociales. Plusieurs voient dans le développement historique endogène de disciplines comme la sociologie le ferment même d'un sévère recul de la norma-tivité de la connaissance produite par les sciences sociales. L'auteur de cet article s'inscrit en faux contre une certaine tendance de l'épistémologie sociologique qui veut que le pluralisme explicatif nuise à la crédibilité de cette connaissance. Qui plus est, il prend le contre-pied d'une autre tendance qui s'insurge contre l'instru-mentalisation des sciences sociales en démontrant que la conscience éclairée des limites et des obstacles du raisonnement propre à ces sciences permet de contourner cette instrumentalisation et de nourrir l'aspect fondamental du savoir sur le social. L'auteur propose une lecture épistémologique de l'ouvrage Cancer et culture de Francine Saillant pour étayer sa thèse. Pour stupide que fût l'entendement d'un homme, il serait toujours supérieur à celui d'êtres irrationnels. Jorge Luis Borges, L'Immortel     

Does the “Marriage Benefit” Extend to Same-Sex Union?: Evidence From a Sample of Married Lesbian Couples in Massachusetts

This study investigated the relationship between wellbeing and marital quality in a married lesbian sample from Massachusetts. Two hundred twenty five (225) participants responded to this mailed survey study. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Instrument (WHOQOL-Bref). DAS scores were a strong predictor of reported wellbeing in all quality of life domains including physical, psychological, and financial wellbeing. Results support the finding in the heterosexual marriage literature that healthy marriage is associated with distinct wellbeing benefits for lesbian couples. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

论姚燮的山水词

姚燮山水词有多种面貌和寄寓.居所、园林环境的山水词,多词章婉丽、情致懿雅之作.游观、羁旅中的山水词,有的写景气象阐大,展示了壮阔的境界和襟怀;有的写景清雅,心境恬适;较多的词则以写山水景物慰客愁、证鸿爪,寄偃蹇、羁旅的人生况味,骚雅微婉.题写画意的山水词,再现了画境,并在非现实的词境中展示了人格和生活理想,具有清旷、萧然、闲适之美;词中有画,擅长意象取用和意象组合,讲究色彩效果和远近高低虚实等构图技巧,并重视整体浑融的效果.     

党的三代领导人与西部大开发

解放50多年来,以毛泽东、邓小平、江泽民为核心的党的三代领导人十分关注西部地区的发展。为了推动西部地区的经济发展和现代化建设,他们进行了艰辛的探索和伟大的实践,在不同的历史时期,采取了不同的政策措施,提出了不同的发展战略,时西部地区的经济发展产生了深远的影响。以江泽民为核心的第三代中央领导集体作出西部大开发的战略决策,将会进一步推动西部地区经济的腾飞。     

浅析台商投资与浙江经济发展

浙江作为长江三角洲的重要组成部分,在吸收利用台资方面具有独特的优势,为促进浙江经济和长江三角洲区域经济发展做出了应有的贡献。通过分析台商投资浙江的特点与发展趋势、台商投资对浙江经济发展的影响,就如何提高利用台资水平、加强浙台经济合作提出了建议。     

Sarcasm and Interactional Politics

In this article, I discuss some of the ways in which sarcasm may be used to accomplish interactional politics, and, in light of these observations, suggest a more appropriate conceptualization of both the overlaps between and the polarity of sarcasm and humor. First, I draw upon observations of routine interaction to illustrate some of the forms that sarcastic transactions may take: social control, declaration of allegiance, establishing social solidarity and social distance, venting frustration, and humorous aggression. I then suggest the analytical utility of regrouping these same observations according to their instrumental and expressive functions in interaction. Finally, I argue that sarcasm and humor, though structurally similar, have different implications for interactional politics. I propose a continuum model which better conceptualizes the relationship between these two communicative resources.