Art therapy-based groups for work-related stress with staff in health and social care: an exploratory study

Numerous approaches have been developed to address work-related stress (work-stress) but evidence of their efficacy is sparse. This is also the case for art therapy-based approaches, whose processes are also poorly explicated and understood. This study therefore attempted an initial exploration of the potential therapeutic mechanisms within art therapy-based groups for work-stress with staff in health and social care. Data were gathered from staff at four health and social care sites (N = 20) in an exploratory embedded multiple case study design. The process involved art-viewing and art-making in small groups. Art-viewing supported relational processes, expression of emotionality and playfulness, in turn facilitating therapeutic engagement. Art-making, often initially experienced as intimidating, was reported as revealing true emotions linked to work-stress issues, which for some participants led to action to alleviate their impact. This study suggests that art-viewing, hitherto a neglected component of art therapy, may be important for that practice or practices based on it. The study also suggests a greater potential for art therapy-based to be used as an approach to address work-stress in health and social care

New relations between spinor and scalar one-loop effective Lagrangians in constant background fields

Simple new relations are presented between the one-loop effective Lagrangians of spinor and scalar particles in constant curvature background fields, both electromagentic and gravitational. These relations go beyond the well-known cases for self-dual background fields

Reaching a UK consensus on art therapy for people with a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder using the Delphi method

Some authors have suggested there is low consensus about art therapy practice for people with a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder. This study used the Delphi survey method to seek consensus among UK art therapists. In the Round 1 online survey, 24 UK art therapists working with the client group provided statements describing their practice. These were analysed using content analysis along with statements from relevant art therapy literature and from 32 service users. The resulting list of 713 statements grouped into 13 themes were then sorted by a core group of five art therapists with extensive experience with the client group, producing 111 statements that were then rated by an augmented national UK panel of 30 art therapists in the Round 2 Delphi survey. Rating was according to perceived importance of each element of practice, and 80 items each reached 80% consensus as highly important. In Round 3, 11 items that reached high but not 80% consensus were re-rated by 26 of the panel of 30, and all but 2 reached 80% consensus. The final list of 89 statements is the first UK national consensus on art therapy practice with people with a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder

The Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian beyond one loop

We review what is presently known about higher loop corrections to the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian and its Scalar QED analogue. The use of those corrections as a tool for the study of the properties of the QED perturbation series is outlined. As a further step in a long-term effort to prove or disprove the convergence of the N photon amplitudes in the quenched approximation, we present a parameter integral representation of the three-loop Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian in 1+1 dimensional QED, obtained in the worldline formalism.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, talk given by Christian Schubert at QFEXT11, Benasque, Spain, Sept. 18-24, 2011, to appear in the conference proceeding

Art therapists with experience of mental distress: implications for art therapy training and practice

As part of its ongoing work to support and value the contributions to art therapy from service users, the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) conducted a survey of art therapists with dual experience as professionals and mental health service users. The survey aimed to establish if art therapists disclosed their experiences as service users when applying to train, during their art therapy training and/or when qualified. Participants (N = 20) were also surveyed on their motivation for disclosure or non-disclosure, their experiences of the process and the quality of responses they met. They were additionally asked whether their experiences of mental health services had impacted on the quality of their art therapy practice and if so, how. The findings from this small sample suggest that disclosure was not easy. Reported responses to participants’ disclosures were mixed, with many experiencing both helpful and unhelpful responses. Emotional support appeared to be important for helping people both to normalise and to contain current distress. Another finding concerns self-reported increased empathy for service users. Awareness and management of one’s own limitations was another reported gain, since reflecting on oneself and one’s life was usually enforced through the ‘breakdown’, hospitalisation or disruption of career path

French consumer preferences reveal a potential for segmentation in carrot

Gustatory differentiation is one possible means of segmentation. Consumer preferences of carrot were studied within the framework of the CosiVeg project. The characteristics of batches offered for consumer assessment enables their preferences to be evaluated. In preparation for a hedonic test of raw grated carrots that was carried out in autumn 2011, the carrot sensory space was studied in 2010 using 48 batches that were evaluated using quantative descriptive sensory analysis. The cultivars were representative of different types, Nantais, Imperator, Flakkee, coloured carrots and genetic resources. . Significant differences were observed for all criteria, allowing varieties to be grouped based on their sensory characteristics. Texture, flavor and aroma contribute to the “identity” of carrots. Overall aroma is correlated with perceptions of bitterness, sharpness and chemical aroma. Fourteen orange carrot varieties were selected for sowing in 2011. In 2010, although maximum scores were obtained for pungent and bitter attributes, this was not the case in 2011. In spite of this, the selected batches allowed the different profiles of the sensory characteristics of the carrots to be determined. Ten batches of carrot that represented a wide range of variability were tasted by a trained panel as well as a consumer panel; the product was presented as raw grated carrot. The sensory measurements obtained were used to map preferences, underlining preferences for a carrot that is juicy, aromatic and sweet. However bitter and chemical flavour carrots were not appreciated. Three types of consumer exist each having different expectations in terms of quality. Almost 20 % of people questioned are looking for a high quality product, for 33 % of consumers carrots are a staple food and they have no specific expectations and 48 % are satisfied with the current product but are potentially interested by a product that would distinguish itself as regards to quality. It means that segmentation with a high gustatory quality will be of interest for one consumer for 5

Assessing the genetic diversity and the temporal evolution of plant populations for an optimized conservation: the example of the tuberous-rooted chervil.

International audienc

Photon Filamentation in Resonant Media with High Fresnel Numbers

The phenomenon of turbulent photon filamentation occurs in lasers and other active optical media at high Fresnel numbers. A description of this phenomenon is suggested. The solutions to evolution equations are presented in the form of a bunch of filaments chaotically distributed in space and having different radii. The probability distribution of patterns is defined characterizing the probabilistic weight of different filaments. The most probable filament radius and filament number are found, being in good agreement with experiment.Comment: Revtex file, 5 pages. Reference to the English edition of the journal is give