The Feelings Group: A Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of the Outcomes of a Smaller Anger Management Group for Clients who have a Learning Disability

Referrals concerning problems with anger for people with learning disability (LD) are relatively common as they are thought to be prone to difficulty in managing their anger (Willner, et al., 2002), a problem associated with aggressive behaviour (Novaco, 1994). Aggression is also prevalent in this population, with obvious inherent risks to themselves and others (Harris, 1993; Kiely & Pankhurst, 1998). Research on direct therapy in people with a learning disability (LD) indicates that there was a period of disdain for these types of approaches (Sinason, 1992). This was followed by a period marked by doubt around the value of using cognitive principles in particular (Willner, 2006), which was eventually overcome by a more positive and less discriminatory approach (Willner, 2005). This hesitancy has delayed the generation of robust empirical evaluation, which has yet to catch up (Willner, Jones, Tams & Green, 2002). The guidelines from the NHS are then activated whereby “in the absence of well designed randomised trials, clinicians may legitimately draw upon analysis of expert opinion and past experience” (Department of Health, 1996; p26). In some ways this offers freedom to adopt novel approaches or ones adapted from principle applied in other areas of clinical work, however, it also represents a difficulty in operating using evidence-based practice (Willner, 2005), which to some may represent a ‘professional minefield’ (Mead, 2000). In the emergent evidence-base for interventions for anger in this group, one important distinction has been made between ‘anger management’ and ‘anger treatment’ (Novaco et al., 2000), where the former is seen as a psycho educational approach whilst the latter explicitly combines assessment with treatment. Anger treatment also “centrally involves substantial cognitive restructuring and the acquisition of arousal reduction and behavioural coping skills” (Rose, et al., 2000, p172) This article presents the results from a small anger-management group for clients with a learning disability that was to be called “The Feelings Group”, which was based on the “Self awareness group” resource pack from Willner & Tomlinson (Psychology Department, Learning Disabilities Directorate, Bro Morgannwg NHS trust). This intervention boasted effectiveness in an RCT evaluation published in an article by Willner and colleagues (2002). The data was taken as part of service evaluation for the group. Informed consent was given by the clients involved to write about the group in an article

Row-strict quasisymmetric Schur functions

Haglund, Luoto, Mason, and van Willigenburg introduced a basis for quasisymmetric functions called the quasisymmetric Schur function basis, generated combinatorially through fillings of composition diagrams in much the same way as Schur functions are generated through reverse column-strict tableaux. We introduce a new basis for quasisymmetric functions called the row-strict quasisymmetric Schur function basis, generated combinatorially through fillings of composition diagrams in much the same way as Schur functions are generated through row-strict tableaux. We describe the relationship between this new basis and other known bases for quasisymmetric functions, as well as its relationship to Schur polynomials. We obtain a refinement of the omega transform operator as a result of these relationships.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure

Genetic, evolutionary and plant breeding insights from the domestication of maize.

The natural history of maize began nine thousand years ago when Mexican farmers started to collect the seeds of the wild grass, teosinte. Invaluable as a food source, maize permeated Mexican culture and religion. Its domestication eventually led to its adoption as a model organism, aided in large part by its large chromosomes, ease of pollination and growing agricultural importance. Genome comparisons between varieties of maize, teosinte and other grasses are beginning to identify the genes responsible for the domestication of modern maize and are also providing ideas for the breeding of more hardy varieties

Use of Procalcitonin to Guide Antibiotic Treatment of Bacterial Respiratory Infection in Elderly

The purpose of this critical appraisal is to determine if there is a significant difference between procalcitonin (PCT) guided treatment on antibiotic use and standard therapy in elderly patients (age 65 and older) with a suspected bacterial respiratory infection. The PICO question explored in this paper is: for elderly patients with a suspected bacterial infection, what effect does the result of a PCT test have on the determination of antibiotic use and outcome compared to patients treated empirically with antibiotics

Peer crowd-based targeting in E-cigarette advertisements: a qualitative study to inform counter-marketing.

BACKGROUND:Cigarette lifestyle marketing with psychographic targeting has been well documented, but few studies address non-cigarette tobacco products. This study examined how young adults respond to e-cigarette advertisements featuring diverse peer crowds - peer groups with shared identities and lifestyles - to inform tobacco counter-marketing design. METHODS:Fifty-nine young adult tobacco users in California participated in interviews and viewed four to five e-cigarette advertisements that featured characters from various peer crowd groups. For each participant, half of the advertisements they viewed showed characters from the same peer crowd as their own, and the other half of the advertisements featured characters from a different peer crowd. Advertisements were presented in random order. Questions probed what types of cues are noticed in the advertisements, and whether and how much participants liked or disliked the advertisements. RESULTS:Results suggest that participants liked and provided richer descriptions of characters and social situations in the advertisements featuring their own peer crowd more than the advertisements featuring a different peer crowd. Mismatching age or device type was also noted: participants reported advertisements showing older adults were not intended for them. Participants who used larger vaporizers tended to dislike cigalike advertisements even if they featured a matching peer crowd. CONCLUSION:Peer crowd and lifestyle cues, age and device type are all salient features of e-cigarette advertising for young adults. Similarly, educational campaigns about e-cigarettes should employ peer crowd-based targeting to engage young adults, though messages should be carefully tested to ensure authentic and realistic portrayals

Trade in University Training: Cross-State Variation in the Production and Use of College-Educated Labor

The main question addressed in this analysis is how the production of undergraduate and graduate education at the state level affects the local stock of university-educated workers. The potential mobility of highly skilled workers implies that the number of college students graduating in an area need not affect the number of college graduates living in the area. However, the production of relatively large numbers of college and university graduates in an area may lead to increases in the employment of university-trained manpower if local industries expand production of goods that use college-educated workers intensively. Using data from the U.S., we find a modest link between the production and use of BA degree recipients; states awarding relatively large numbers of BA degrees in each cohort also have somewhat higher concentrations of college-educated workers.