From hero of the counterculture to risk assessment : a consideration of two portrayals of the “psychiatric patient”

This article is based on a comparative thematic analysis of two novels that explore the experiences of institutional psychiatric care. Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a classic of modern U.S. literature. It is argued here that Kesey’s representation of the “psychiatric patient” as rebel was not only a reflection of some the changing societal attitudes in postwar America, but it also helped to shape them. The challenge to the asylum system was thus cast in terms of questions of the civil rights of a marginalized group. The main themes of the novel reflect those of protesters against the abuses of the asylum system—the poor physical conditions, the social isolation of the patients, poor physical care and abuse, and the use of ECT and psychosurgery. The rebellious spirit of Kesey’s work is contrasted with a recent novel—Nathan Filer’s 2012 award-winning The Shock of the Fall. In Filer’s work, the optimism and challenge to authority has dissipated to be replaced by a resigned fatalism reflecting the current crisis in mental health services

Almost Common Value Auctions: The "Wallet Game" and its Applications to Takeover Battles and Airwaves Auctions.

We use a classroom game, the "wallet Game", to show that in standard ascending, i.e. English, auctions of close-to-common-values objects, even slight asymmetries between bidders can have very large effects on prices. Examples of small asymmetries are a small value advantage for one bidder or a small ownership of the object by one bidder; the effects of these asymmetries are greatly exarcabated by entry costs or bidding costs. We discuss applications to Airwaves Auctions and Takeover Battles including the Glaxo-Wellcome Merger

ECT: Misconceptions and attitudes

One hundred and seventy-eight subjects completed a questionnaire regarding ECT. The sample comprised three groups of approximately equal size: a group of patients who had received ECT, a group of visitors to ECT-treated psychiatric patients, and a group of visitors to non-ECT-treated psychiatric patients. Misconceptions about ECT were common throughout, particularly in the young, those giving films and television as a source of information and those visiting patients not receiving ECT. Fewer misconceptions occurred among those who were more highly educated or had experience of ECT either personally or via a visited friend or relative. Less fear of the procedure was expressed by those given the treatment and those who had the treatment explained to them by a doctor. Over half of the patient group denied having ECT explained to them

Experiences of a postgraduate nursing student on an acute psychiatric ward

Nursing students are a rich source of fresh perspectives on mental healthcare. While their clinical placement experiences are mostly positive, they sometimes find a lack of therapeutic engagement with patients on acute psychiatric wards. In this article, selections from a student's diary are presente

Psychoanalysis and bioethics: a Lacanian approach to bioethical discourse

Contains fulltext : 161419.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access