Why the idea of framework propositions cannot contribute to an understanding of delusions

One of the tasks that recent philosophy of psychiatry has taken upon itself is to extend the range of understanding to some of those aspects of psychopathology that Jaspers deemed beyond its limits. Given the fundamental difficulties of offering a literal interpretation of the contents of primary delusions, a number of alternative strategies have been put forward including regarding them as abnormal versions of framework propositions described by Wittgenstein in On Certainty. But although framework propositions share some of the apparent epistemic features of primary delusions, their role in partially constituting the sense of inquiry rules out their role in helping to understand delusions

Being ethically minded: Practising the scholarship of teaching and learning in an ethical manner

This article was published as Being ethically minded: Practising the scholarship of teaching and learning in an ethical manner in Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 1(2), 2013, pp. 23-32. No part of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or distributed, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photographic, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Indiana University Press. For educational re-use, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center (508-744-3350). For all other permissions, please visit Indiana University Press' permissions page.The authors propose a working definition of ethical SoTL, an ethical framework for SoTL inquiry, and present a case study that illustrates the complexity of ethical issues in SoTL. The Ethical SoTL Matrix is a flexible framework designed to support SoTL practitioners, particularly in the formative stages of their inquiries. Three dominant ethical traditions form the basis of the matrix: teleological or pragmatic, external, and deontological. The key message of the paper is that SoTL practitioners should reflect on different perspectives in their efforts to do what is right in any given situation. The matrix introduces three dominant ethical traditions, but SoTL practitioners may ultimately move beyond these traditions to explore a range of ethical considerations appropriate to their projects and disciplines

Do residents’ perceptions of being well-placed and objective presence of local amenities match? A case study in West Central Scotland, UK

Background:<p></p> Recently there has been growing interest in how neighbourhood features, such as the provision of local facilities and amenities, influence residents’ health and well-being. Prior research has measured amenity provision through subjective measures (surveying residents’ perceptions) or objective (GIS mapping of distance) methods. The latter may provide a more accurate measure of physical access, but residents may not use local amenities if they do not perceive them as ‘local’. We believe both subjective and objective measures should be explored, and use West Central Scotland data to investigate correspondence between residents’ subjective assessments of how well-placed they are for everyday amenities (food stores, primary and secondary schools, libraries, pharmacies, public recreation), and objective GIS-modelled measures, and examine correspondence by various sub-groups.<p></p> Methods:<p></p> ArcMap was used to map the postal locations of ‘Transport, Health and Well-being 2010 Study’ respondents (n = 1760), and the six amenities, and the presence/absence of each of them within various straight-line and network buffers around respondents’ homes was recorded. SPSS was used to investigate whether objective presence of an amenity within a specified buffer was perceived by a respondent as being well-placed for that amenity. Kappa statistics were used to test agreement between measures for all respondents, and by sex, age, social class, area deprivation, car ownership, dog ownership, walking in the local area, and years lived in current home.<p></p> Results:<p></p> In general, there was poor agreement (Kappa <0.20) between perceptions of being well-placed for each facility and objective presence, within 800 m and 1000 m straight-line and network buffers, with the exception of pharmacies (at 1000 m straight-line) (Kappa: 0.21). Results varied between respondent sub-groups, with some showing better agreement than others. Amongst sub-groups, at 800 m straight-line buffers, the highest correspondence between subjective and objective measures was for pharmacies and primary schools, and at 1000 m, for pharmacies, primary schools and libraries. For road network buffers under 1000 m, agreement was generally poor.<p></p> Conclusion:<p></p> Respondents did not necessarily regard themselves as well-placed for specific amenities when these amenities were present within specified boundaries around their homes, with some exceptions; the picture is not clear-cut with varying findings between different amenities, buffers, and sub-groups

Assessment and treatment of distorted schemas in sexual offenders

The aim of this review is to examine the literature related to the assessment and treatment of sex offenders’ distorted schemas. Where appropriate, the review draws upon current insights from the field of social cognition to aid in the critical evaluation of the findings. First, the review considers the various different methodologies for assessing distorted schemas, discussing their strengths and limitations. Second, the review examines the work related to the treatment of sex offenders’ schemas. Suggestions for future research, and the implications for clinical practice, are highlighted in the article

Agonist Activation of ␦-Opioid Receptor but not -Opioid Receptor Potentiates Fetal Calf Serum or Tyrosine Kinase Receptor-Mediated Cell Proliferation in a Cell- Line-Specific Manner

SUMMARY -enkephalin. This ␦-opioid agonist effect was not observed at FCS concentrations Ͼ0.1% and could be blocked by pretreating cells with pertussis toxin, indicating that G i /G o were involved in this action. In addition, ␦-opioid agonists could potentiate CHO cell proliferation stimulated by those growth factors that are mediated by tyrosine kinase receptors (i.e., insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, and fibroblast-derived growth factor b). This ␦-opioid agonist potentiation of growth apparently was dependent on the level of ␦-opioid receptors that were expressed and had cell-line selectivity. Activation of ␦-opioid receptors expressed in Rat-1 or NIH3T3 fibroblast did not result in a modulation of the cell growth induced by FCS or by growth factors. Interestingly, in CHO cells transfected with -opioid receptor cDNA, activation with agonists did not produce a potentiation of FCS-stimulated proliferation. This lack of -opioid receptor effect was not due to the differences among CHO clones. In a CHO cell line transfected with both ␦-opioid receptor cDNA and -opioid receptor cDNA, activation of ␦-but not -opioid receptors resulted in a potentiation of growth. These data suggest that ␦-and -opioid receptors in CHO cells activate similar but divergent second messenger pathways, resulting in the differential regulation of cell growth. Numerous studies have indicated that endogenous opioid peptides, products of proenkephalin or pro-opiomelanocortin, inhibit DNA synthesis in in vitro neuronal or glial cultures or in neuroblastoma cells (1-4). These studies were supported by the observation that opioid antagonists could stimulate DNA synthesis and proliferation in some neuroblastoma cell lines. The opioid antagonist, naltrexone, stereoselectively stimulates cell proliferation in murine neuroblastoma NS20Y and N1E-115 cells, human neuroblastoma SK-N-MC cells, and human fibrosarcoma cells (5). This antagonistic effect on NS20Y cells was demonstrated further by the ability of in vivo administration of naltrexone to stimulate the growth of these cells when they were implanted in rodents (6). The suppression effects exhibited by opioid peptide agonists and the stimulatory effects exhibited by naltrexone on neuroblastoma proliferation were rather surprising. By contrast, a substantial volume of evidence suggests that activation of GPCRs could lead to the enhancement of cell proliferation, mitogenesis, and tumorigenicity. Activation of bombesin receptors in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts and small-cell lung carcinomas resulted in a stimulation of the mitogenic respons

Evaluation of Fresh and Frozen Beef Strip Loins of Equal Aging Periods for Palatability Traits

Although studies evaluating freezing are prevalent, most have used varied postmortem aging times to facilitate study design. The lack of a comprehensive study evaluating equally aged fresh and frozen steaks prevents a true under-standing of the impact of freezing. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the eating quality and consumer perception differences between fresh and frozen beef steaks of 3 equal aging periods. Beef carcasses were selected from a processing plant on 2 kill dates 1 wk apart to allow for a 1-wk freezing period, fabricated, and aged for 21, 28, or 35 d. On the same day, all samples of equal aging periods were fed to consumer and trained sensory panelists, sheared for shear force, and powdered for lab assays. For consumer panels, the first 4 steaks were given with no additional information, whereas the last 4 steaks were served with the labels “previously frozen” or “fresh, never frozen.” The consumer panelists rated the frozen samples as more tender (P<0.05) than the fresh samples but found no other differences (P>0.05). Even when given additional information, the perception of quality was not impacted (P>0.05). Similarly, the trained panelists rated the frozen samples higher (P<0.05) than the fresh counterparts for overall tenderness, but the fresh samples scored higher (P<0.05) for initial and sustained juiciness. Supporting the sensory data, the frozen steaks had lower (P<0.05) shear force values regardless of the aging period. However, the fresh samples resulted in lower (P<0.05) purge and cook loss. Although some meat quality factors were impacted by freezing, the overall eating quality and perception of quality were not negatively impacted. Therefore, frozen meat should not be discounted due to the eating quality or perception of the quality of beef steaks

Availability of recreational resources and physical activity in adults

OBJECTIVES: Using data from a large cohort of adults aged 45 to 84 years-old, we investigated whether availability of recreational resources is related to physical activity levels. METHODS: Data from a multiethnic sample of 2723 adult residents of New York City, NY; Baltimore, Md; and Forsyth County, NC, were linked to data on locations of recreational resources. We measured the availability (density) of resources within 0.5 (0.8 km), 1, 2, and 5 miles of each participant's residence and used binomial regression to investigate associations of density with physical activity. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounders, individuals in the tertile of participants residing in areas with the highest density of resources were more likely to report physical activity during a typical week than were individuals in the lowest tertile. Associations between availability of recreational resources and physical activity levels were not present for the smallest area assessed (0.5 miles) but were present for areas ranging from 1 to 5 miles. These associations were slightly stronger among minority and low-income residents. CONCLUSIONS: Availability of resources may be 1 of several environmental factors that influence individuals' physical activity behaviors.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78573/1/DiezRouxEvenson2007_AJPH.pd

“Good Mothers Work”: How Maternal Employment Shapes Women’s Expectation of Work and Family in Contemporary Urban China

Drawing on 70 in‐depth interviews, I investigated how maternal employment shapes urban young Chinese women’s work–family expectation in a context of rapid social change. These interviews indicated that respondents attached strong moral meaning to mothers’ wage work, regarding it as integral to a “good” mother and an “ideal” woman. This moralization of maternal employment, in turn, led contemporary young Chinese women to view wage work as a taken‐for‐granted choice. Yet different from their own mothers, these young women were confronted with profound transformation across various domains of the postreform Chinese society. The normative expectation of women’s wage work, coupled with slow‐to‐change expectations about women’s roles at home and in a changing labor market, intensified young women’s burden of “doing it all.” This research highlights the importance of bringing the macro‐level context back into the mother–daughter dyad to understand the intergenerational transmission of gender beliefs and behavior.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162814/2/josi12389_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162814/1/josi12389.pd