26,663 research outputs found
Psychotherapy and social support - Integrating research on psychological helping
Psychotherapy interactions and social support conversations have many similarities, as well as some important differences. Researchers studying these two manifestations of psychological helping - often known as formal and informal helping - usually apply a separate set of concepts and methods to each and tend to locate their work in separate bodies of literature. This paper argues that such a division of the field is unnecessary and unproductive. It outlines several ways in which the two bodies of literature might inform each other and argues for conceptual integration of the two fields. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
An Alternative Parameterization of R-matrix Theory
An alternative parameterization of R-matrix theory is presented which is
mathematically equivalent to the standard approach, but possesses features
which simplify the fitting of experimental data. In particular there are no
level shifts and no boundary-condition constants which allows the positions and
partial widths of an arbitrary number levels to be easily fixed in an analysis.
These alternative parameters can be converted to standard R-matrix parameters
by a straightforward matrix diagonalization procedure. In addition it is
possible to express the collision matrix directly in terms of the alternative
parameters.Comment: 8 pages; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C; expanded Sec. IV,
added Sec. VI, added Appendix, corrected typo
Avalanches at rough surfaces
We describe the surface properties of a simple lattice model of a sandpile
that includes evolving structural disorder. We present a dynamical scaling
hypothesis for generic sandpile automata, and additionally explore the kinetic
roughening of the sandpile surface, indicating its relationship with the
sandpile evolution. Finally, we comment on the surprisingly good agreement
found between this model, and a previous continuum model of sandpile dynamics,
from the viewpoint of critical phenomena.Comment: 8 Pages, 7 Figures (in 15 parts); accepted for publication in
Physical Review
New broad 8Be nuclear resonances
Energies, total and partial widths, and reduced width amplitudes of 8Be
resonances up to an excitation energy of 26 MeV are extracted from a coupled
channel analysis of experimental data. The presence of an extremely broad J^pi
= 2^+ ``intruder'' resonance is confirmed, while a new 1^+ and very broad 4^+
resonance are discovered. A previously known 22 MeV 2^+ resonance is likely
resolved into two resonances. The experimental J^pi T = 3^(+)? resonance at 22
MeV is determined to be 3^-0, and the experimental 1^-? (at 19 MeV) and 4^-?
resonances to be isospin 0.Comment: 16 pages, LaTe
Mutual help groups for mental health problems: A review of effectiveness studies
This paper reviews empirical studies on whether participating in mutual help groups for people with mental health problems leads to improved psychological and social functioning. To be included, studies had to satisfy four sets of criteria, covering: (1) characteristics of the group, (2) target problems, (3) outcome measures, and (4) research design. The 12 studies meeting these criteria provide limited but promising evidence that mutual help groups benefit people with three types of problems: chronic mental illness, depression/anxiety, and bereavement. Seven studies reported positive changes for those attending support groups. The strongest findings come from two randomized trials showing that the outcomes of mutual help groups were equivalent to those of substantially more costly professional interventions. Five of the 12 studies found no differences in mental health outcomes between mutual help group members and non-members; no studies showed evidence of negative effects. There was no indication that mutual help groups were differentially effective for certain types of problems. The studies varied in terms of design quality and reporting of results. More high-quality outcome research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of mutual help groups across the spectrum of mental health problems
Online peer support for students
While many UK higher education institutions have websites offering information and advice on common student problems, interactive online support is less common. This article describes a project developing internet-based mutual support for students experiencing psychological problems at University College London
Is There a Significant Difference Between the Results of the Coulomb Dissociation of 8B and the Direct Capture 7Be(p,g)8B Reaction?
Recent claims of the Seattle group of evidence of "slope difference between
CD [Coulomb Dissociation] and direct [capture] results" are based on wrong and
selective data. When the RIKEN2 data are included correctly, and previously
published Direct Capture (DC) data are also included, we observe only a 1.9
sigma difference in the extracted so called "scale independent slope (b)",
considerably smaller than claimed by the Seattle group. The very
parameterization used by the Seattle group to extract the so called b-slope
parameter has no physical foundation. Considering the physical slope (S' =
dS/dE), we observe a 1.0 sigma agreement between slopes (S') measured in CD and
DC, refuting the need for new theoretical investigation. The claim that S17(0)
values extracted from CD data are approximately 10% lower than DC results, is
based on misunderstanding of the CD method. Considering all of the published CD
S17(0) results, with adding back an unconfirmed E2 correction of the MSU data,
yields very consistent S17(0) results that agree with recent DC measurements of
the Seattle and Weizmann groups. The recent correction of the b-slope parameter
(0.25 1/MeV) suggested by Esbensen, Bertsch and Snover was applied to the wrong
b-slope parameter calculated by the Seattle group. When considering the correct
slope of the RIKEN2 data, this correction in fact leads to a very small b-slope
parameter (0.14 1/MeV), less than half the central value observed for DC data,
refuting the need to correct the RIKEN2 data. In particular it confirms that
the E2 contribution in the RIKEN2 data is negligible. The dispersion of
measured S17(0) is mostly due to disagreement among individual DC experiments
and not due to either experimental or theoretical aspects of CD.Comment: Reference 12 amended with an important communication from Dr. Bertsc
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