Measuring facets of Worry: A LISREL analysis of the Worry Domains Questionnaire

In the development of the Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ) for the measurement of nonpathological worry, (Tallis, Eysenck & Mathews, 1992. A questionnaire for the measurement of nonpathological worry. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 161–168) Tallis et al. had used cluster analytical procedures to establish the number of worry domains. The resulting structure of the WDQ, however, was never adequately tested. This study therefore examined the WDQ's structure by use of confirmatory factor analysis comparing models of different factor structures. In the first sample of 466 participants, a five-factor model yielded the best fit to the data, characterized by highly correlated yet distinct domains of everyday worrying as they were originally proposed. This model was cross-validated with a second sample of 503 participants, showing stable factor loadings across samples. Whereas these analyses displayed a good fit of the five-factor representation for the item-based models, overall fit of all models was more prominent when items were aggregated (subscale models). Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed

Somatic symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder from the DSM-IV: Associations with pathological worry and depression symptoms in a nonclinical sample

The present study investigates specificity of the six somatic symptoms that are associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A nonclinical sample of 183 students provided severity ratings for (a) restlessness, (b) easily fatigued, (c) difficulty concentrating, (d) irritability, (e) muscle tension, and (f) sleep disturbance. In addition, they responded to questionnaires assessing pathological worry and depression symptoms. Partial correlations and multiple regression analyses indicated that only muscle tension showed a unique relation to pathological worry. In contrast, difficulty concentrating was exclusively related to depression symptoms. Present findings corroborate psychophysiological findings that elevated muscle tension is a specific characteristic of pathological worriers. Moreover, they suggest that the problem of unclear boundaries between GAD and major depression may be reduced if future revisions of the somatic symptom list for GAD emphasize muscle tension while de-emphasizing difficulty concentrating

Transformation of the state? Reactions to the privatization of security in Great Britain

Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) have increasingly received attention from International Relations scholars. While most of the research has thus far been conducted with the aim to define the actor, assess the consequences of the services they perform for states' monopoly over the use of force, or to evaluate the options for regulation, societal responses to these companies have been largely ignored. Focusing on Great Britain and the consultative processes that have been initiated by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with different stakeholders on the options for regulating PMSCs since 2001, this paper constitutes a first step in filling this void in the literature. The analysis of the positions of non-governmental organizations, parlamentarians, the government, and PMSCs is insightful in two respects: First, it sheds light on why the British government has thus far refrained from adopting authoritative controls for PMSCs despite the widely shared assumption that some form of regulation is needed. Second, the findings suggest that a transformation of the state is underway at the intersubjective level. PMSCs and privatization processes in the realm of security are increasingly seen as normal and their legitimacy is no longer questioned

Livelihood assessment: A participatory tool for natural resource dependent communities

[Foreword] Globally, around 15 million hectares of forests - mainly tropical forests - are converted to other uses or lost through natural causes each year. Without forests mankind has no chance to survive. However, the poorest of the poor are directly dependent on forests as a resource of food, medicine, construction material and energy. Management, conservation, and sustainable development of forests are key issues of the international environmental and forest policy since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in the year 1992 to counteract the destruction of forests. In order to maintain tropical forests and to conserve their functions, structure and biodiversity as a collective good of humankind, forests need to be managed in a sustainable way. Conservation efforts are faced with the threefold task of incorporating ecological, economic and social sustainability aspects equally into development approaches. The relevance of livelihood issues to sustainable development has its basis in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development 1992 and is at present an essential element in development approaches (e.g. MDGMillenium Development Goals). In line with Campbell the understanding of rural livelihoods is one of the keys to putting an end to global poverty. Though environmental resources can make up a considerable proportion of rural livelihoods it is necessary to evaluate this environmental dependency. This field manual introduces a participatory tool for the assessment of local livelihood situations of rural forest dependent communities. The assessment tool was initially implemented in a case study in Northern Vietnam. Vietnam, representative for many other tropical countries considered a developing country, where over 60 % of the population's livelihood strategy is based on agricultural and forest activities

Of 'true professionals' and 'ethical hero warriors': A gender-discourse analysis of private military and security companies

Private military and security companies (PMSCs) have gained increasingly in importance over the course of the past two decades. Yet, given the intransparency of the industry and the heterogeneity of the companies that comprise it, we thus far know little about the actors involved. In this article, we offer preliminary insights into the self-representation of PMSCs, based on a gender-discourse analysis of the homepages of select companies and their main professional associations. We argue that survival in an increasingly competitive industry not only hinges on size, market share or effectiveness, but is also inherently gendered. PMSCs and their associations draw on the one hand on civilized and accepted forms of masculinity and femininity, presenting themselves as 'highly skilled professional' military strategists and ordinary businesses akin to banks or insurance companies. At the same time, however, PMSCs also engage in strategies of (hyper)masculinization and pathologization to set themselves apart from mercenaries, their private competitors and state security forces. In this respect, companies appear to view themselves as 'ethical hero warriors'. Whether intended or not, their strategies have political consequences. Within the security industry, they contribute to the creation and maintenance of a norm regarding what constitutes a legitimate PMSC, to which more or less all companies strive to adhere. Vis-à-vis other security actors, these strategies seek to establish PMSCs as being superior because, unlike these actors, such companies are super-masculine and able to live up to the growing and sometimes contradictory demands of changing security contexts. © The Author(s) 2012

Meeting review : ESF workshop on "Impact of nucleic acid chemistry on gene function analysis: antisense, aptamers, ribozymes and RNAi"

The shortage of functional information compared to the abundance of sequence information characterizes today’s situation in functional genomics. For many years the knock-down of a gene’s product has been the most powerful way of analysing its function. In addition to the complete knock-out by homologous recombination, several different techniques have been developed to temporarily knock down gene expression through methods based on specific sequence recognition, such as knockdown by antisense oligonucleotides, ribozymes, aptamers or RNAi. The ESF workshop on ‘Impact of Nucleic Acid Chemistry on Gene Function Analysis’ brought together researchers who use techniques that are different but highly related. It offered an opportunity for an in-depth discussion of recent progress and common problems. Antisense oligonucleotides aptamers and ribozymes are techniques that have been used successfully for many years to validate targets. However, recent developments, such as increased tightness of binding (e.g. locked nucleic acids) or the combination of different methods (e.g. using aptamers to design ribozymes), have continued to improve the existing techniques. RNA interference (RNAi) is a defence mechanism of the cell against viruses. Since the exact mechanism of action within the cell is still unclear, RNAi was a particularly exciting topic at the workshop and was addressed in the largest number of presentations. Predictability of positional effects (accessibility of RNA) is a problem shared by all techniques using sequence-specific recognition and was the subject of quite controversial debates. The meeting comprised over 50 people from 14 countries (13 European countries and the USA)

“Gendering” European Security:Policy Changes, Reform Coalitions and Opposition in the OSCE

The OSCE has rarely been considered in scholarship on gender and security, even though it was one of the regional security organisations whose gender policy predated the United Nations Security Council’s call for more international attention to issues related to women, peace and security in October 2000. Based on an analysis of official OSCE documents and on semi-structured interviews, we trace the integration of gender issues in the OSCE and explore the rationale behind and the challenges associated with it. We identify two phases of gender policy change in the OSCE and show how the integration of UNSCR 1325 brought about an expansion of OSCE gender policy from an exclusive focus on “soft” security issues towards increased inclusion of gender in the area of “hard” security. Drawing on historical and feminist institutionalism, we argue that reform coalitions were crucial for the policy changes in the OSCE but that they encountered institutional and ideational barriers, which hampered implementation of the gender policy. In light of rising opposition, our analysis warns of a backlash that might jeopardise current achievements

External networks and institutional idiosyncrasies:the Common Security and Defence Policy and UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security

In 2008, the Council of the European Union (EU) adopted a ‘Comprehensive Approach’ that outlines a strategy for securing gender mainstreaming; two years later, the Council introduced a set of indicators to assess its implementation. The EU was responding to the United Nations Security Council’s call for regional institutions to assist in implementing Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, adopted on 31 October 2000, concerning ‘women, peace and security’. This resolution sought to meet the ‘urgent need to mainstream a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations’. Considering that prior exposure to gender issues, resources and well-established relations with civil society and gender advocates are lacking, the adoption of both the Comprehensive Approach and the indicators, as well as the structures and procedures established since then as part of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, requires some explanation. This article draws on feminist institutionalist approaches to argue that the impetus for change came from individuals and groups within the EU who were involved in external networks, both above and below the supranational level, who seized on institutional idiosyncrasies that also shaped the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in important ways

Katalog der in den Sammlungen des ehemaligen Deutschen Entomologischen Institutes aufbewahrten Typen - X (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae).

Von den Autoren wird ein erster Typenkatalog der Ordnung Hymenoptera, Familie Sphecidae, vorgelegt. Alle Exemplare von typoidem Wert die sich in der Sammlung des ehemaligen Deutschen Entomologischen Institutes befinden, werden darin erfasst. Als Anhang werden nomenklatorische Veränderungen, die diese Typen betreffen, tabellarisch dargestellt. Nomenklatorische Handlungenmetamelanica Strand, 1923 (Bembex), Lectotypeformosicola Strand, 1913 (Cerceris), Lectotypestrandi Giner, 1943 (Cerceris), Lectotypesuperflua Strand, 1913 (Cerceris), Lectotypeabbreviatus Strand, 1913 (Dolichurus), Lectotypebicolorisquama Strand, 1923 (Oxybelus), Lectotypeformosicola Strand, 1915 (Psenulus), Lectotypekigonserana Strand, 1915 (Sphex), Lectotypepachyderma Strand, 1915 (Sphex), Lectotypecalcaralis Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypeformosicola Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypepetioloides Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypeputtalamum Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypesubpileatum Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypetainanense Strand, 1923 (Trypoxylon), LectotypeThe authors present a first catalogue of types of the order Hymenoptera, family Sphecidae. It covers all specimens of typoid value in the collection of the former Deutsches Entomologisches Institut. The appendix tabulates the changes in nomenclature that concern these types.Nomenclatural Actsmetamelanica Strand, 1923 (Bembex), Lectotypeformosicola Strand, 1913 (Cerceris), Lectotypestrandi Giner, 1943 (Cerceris), Lectotypesuperflua Strand, 1913 (Cerceris), Lectotypeabbreviatus Strand, 1913 (Dolichurus), Lectotypebicolorisquama Strand, 1923 (Oxybelus), Lectotypeformosicola Strand, 1915 (Psenulus), Lectotypekigonserana Strand, 1915 (Sphex), Lectotypepachyderma Strand, 1915 (Sphex), Lectotypecalcaralis Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypeformosicola Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypepetioloides Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypeputtalamum Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypesubpileatum Strand, 1922 (Trypoxylon), Lectotypetainanense Strand, 1923 (Trypoxylon), Lectotyp