Controversies in Psychiatry and DSM-5: The Relevance for Social Work (Occasional Essay)

This essay addresses recent controversies surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5—the first major revision of the DSM since 1994), as well as questions regarding the safety and efficacy of psychotropic medications discussed in the public domain. Mental health professionals across a wide range of professions have signed a petition to the DSM-5 Task Force protesting changes in the new edition, and critiques of psychiatric medications are increasingly disseminated in the media. These issues have particular relevance for children in foster care, who receive diagnoses and medication at high rates. The general public is increasingly exposed to information on these topics through the media; as advocates and clinicians, it is important that social work practitioners be informed regarding these issues

Quantum Gravity - Testing Time for Theories

The extreme smallness of both the Planck length, on the one side, and the ratio of the gravitational to the electrical forces between, say, two electrons, on the other side has led to a widespread belief that the realm of quantum gravity is beyond terrestrial experiments. A series of classical and quantum arguments are put forward to dispel this view. It is concluded that whereas the smallness of the Planck length and the ratio of gravitational to electrical forces, does play its own essential role in nature, it does not make quantum gravity a science where humans cannot venture to probe her secrets. In particular attention is drawn to the latest neutron and atomic interferometry experiments, and to gravity wave interferometers. The latter, as Giovanni Amelino-Camelia argues [Nature 398, 216 (1999)], can be treated as probes of space-time fuzziness down to Planck length for certain quantum-gravity models

Entrepreneurial orientation among migrants and small and medium enterprises

This qualitative study seeks to enrich the understanding of migrants’ perceived experience in running small businesses in Auckland, New Zealand. The study will also examine what motivated migrants into business, their experiences in labour market as well as the challenges they faced in running a business. The study focuses on African migrant small business owners excluding South Africans as this population has been extensively researched and documented (Meares et al., 2011; Warren, 2003). The theoretical foundation of the study rests on labour disadvantage and cultural theories. In-depth open ended face-to face interviews between 11-20 participants selected through purposive sampling will be used to collect data. Thematic analysis will be used to analyse data collected

Branding in China: global product strategy alternatives

This article reviews and discusses issues in the translation of international brand names to Chinese, and provides a framework for international brand managers who want to expand into China. Linguistic differences between Chinese and English are wide and deep, making translation of brand names difficult. Cultural context, pronunciation, written vs. oral language, and the meaning of characters are just a few examples of such difficulties. We discuss four global product-naming strategic alternatives available to country/brand managers, along with their usage. The four approaches include (1) dual extension, (2) brand meaning extension, (3) brand feeling extension, and (4) dual adaptation. We also provide examples of brands utilizing the different approaches

Water exercise effects on bone density and fall risk in postmenopausal women

Exercise may be the most effective strategy to reduce osteoporotic fractures in older adults because of its potential to reduce both bone loss and fall risk. It is unclear whether water exercise is an effective strategy to reduce fracture risk in postmenopausal women. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of a 12-month shallow water exercise program on bone mineral density (BMD) and physical function in postmenopausal women. METHODS: We recruited 59 women (5 years past menopause; 27 exercisers and 32 controls) and evaluated subject characteristics (weight and age), BMID (spine, total hip, femoral neck) by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, and physical function (leg power, arm endurance, cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility) at baseline and 12 months. The exercise group participated in a 45-minute shallow water exercise class 3 times per week for 12 months, while the control group was asked to maintain initial activity levels. RESULTS: Using ANCOVA (covariates: initial BMID and weight) BMD difference scores at the spine, total hip, and femoral neck were similar between exercisers and controls after the 12-month intervention (p=O. 14-0.31). However, one-sample t-tests revealed that over the 12 months, femoral neck BMD decreased 1.7% in controls (p<O.Ol) but did not change in exercisers (p=O.98). Using ANCOVA to evaluate difference scores in physical function (covariates: initial weight and age), exercisers exhibited greater cardiorespiratory fitness after 12 months of water exercise than controls (pO.O3), but leg power, arm endurance, and flexibility were not different between groups. One-sample t-tests revealed that exercisers increased leg power (+14. l%,p=O.Ol), flexibility (+11 .4%,p<O.Ol), and mobility (+13.4% to l7.4%,p<O.Ol), while values for controls did not change (i.e. were not different from zero). One-sample t-tests also demonstrated that balance decreased 16.1% in controls (pO.O3), but did not change in exercisers (-4.0%, p=O47). CONCLUSION: Our results provide preliminary evidence that shallow water exercise maintains femoral neck BMD in postmenopausal women. Furthermore, we conclude that shallow water exercise is an effective means of maintaining and improving physical function as women age

Field Dependence of the Superconducting Basal Plane Anisotropy of TmNi2B2C

The superconductor TmNi2B2C possesses a significant four-fold basal plane anisotropy, leading to a square Vortex Lattice (VL) at intermediate fields. However, unlike other members of the borocarbide superconductors, the anisotropy in TmNi2B2C appears to decrease with increasing field, evident by a reentrance of the square VL phase. We have used Small Angle Neutron Scattering measurements of the VL to study the field dependence of the anisotropy. Our results provide a direct, quantitative measurement of the decreasing anisotropy. We attribute this reduction of the basal plane anisotropy to the strong Pauli paramagnetic effects observed in TmNi2B2C and the resulting expansion of vortex cores near Hc2.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Kondo behavior, ferromagnetic correlations, and crystal fields in the heavy Fermion compounds Ce3X (X=In, Sn)

We report measurements of inelastic neutron scattering, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and the magnetic field dependence of the specific heat for the heavy Fermion compounds Ce$_3$In and Ce$_3$Sn. The neutron scattering results show that the excited crystal field levels have energies $E_1$ = 13.2 meV, $E_2$ = 44.8 meV for Ce$_3$In and $E_1$ = 18.5 meV, $E_2$ = 36.1 meV for Ce$_3$Sn. The Kondo temperature deduced from the quasielastic linewidth is 17 K for Ce$_3$In and 40 K for Ce$_3$Sn. The low temperature behavior of the specific heat, magnetization, and susceptibility can not be well-described by J=1/2 Kondo physics alone, but require calculations that include contributions from the Kondo effect, broadened crystal fields, and ferromagnetic correlations, all of which are known to be important in these compounds. We find that in Ce$_3$In the ferromagnetic fluctuation makes a 10-15 % contribution to the ground state doublet entropy and magnetization. The large specific heat coefficient $\gamma$ in this heavy fermion system thus arises more from the ferromagnetic correlations than from the Kondo behavior.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Effect of microstructure on the internal hydriding behavior of uranium

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