429 research outputs found
A discursive psychology analysis of emotional support for men with colorectal cancer
Recent research into both masculinity and health, and the provision of social support for people with cancer has focussed upon the variations that may underlie broad assumptions about masculine health behaviour. The research reported here pursues this interest in variation by addressing the discursive properties of talk about emotional support, by men with colorectal cancer - an understudied group in the social support and cancer literature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight men with colorectal cancer, and the transcripts analysed using an intensive discursive psychology approach. From this analysis two contrasting approaches to this group of menâs framing of emotional support in the context of cancer are described. First, talk about cancer was positioned as incompatible with preferred masculine identities. Second, social contact that affirms personal relationships was given value, subject to constraints arising from discourses concerning appropriate emotional expression. These results are discussed with reference to both the extant research literature on masculinity and health, and their clinical implications, particularly the advice on social support given to older male cancer patients, their families and friends
Depression, Rational Identity and the Educational Imperative: Concordance-Finding in Tricky Diagnostic Moments
It is well-documented, within most medical and much health psychology, that many individuals find diagnoses of depression confusing or even objectionable. Within a corpus of research and practical clinical guidance dominated by the social-cognitive paradigm, the explanation for resistance to a depression diagnosis (or advice pertaining to it) within specific interactions is bordering on the canonical; patients misunderstand depression itself, often as an output of an associated social stigma that distorts public knowledge. The best way to overcome corollary resistance in situ is, logically thus, taken to be a clarification of the true (clinical) nature of depression. In this paper, exploring the diagnosis of depression in UK primary care contexts, the social-cognitive position embedded in contemporary medical reasoning around this matter is critically addressed. It is firstly highlighted how, even in a great deal of extant public health research, the link between an individual holding âcorrectâ medical knowledge and being actively compliant with it is far from inevitable. Secondly, and with respect to concerns around direct communication in clinical contexts, a body of research emergent of Discursive Psychology and Conversation Analysis is explored so as to shed light on how non-cognitive concerns (not least those around the local interactional management of a patientâs social identity) that can inform the manner in which ostensibly âtrickyâ medical talk plays-out in practice, especially in cases where a mental illness is at stake. Finally, observations are drawn together in a formal Discursive Psychological analysis of a small but highly illustrative sample of three cases where a depression diagnosis is initially questioned or disputed by a patient in primary care but, following further in-consultation activity, concordance with the diagnosis is ultimately reachedâa specific issue hitherto unaddressed in either DP or CA fields. These cases specifically reveal the coordinative attention of interlocutors to immediate concerns regarding how the patient might maintain a sense of being an everyday and rational witness to their own lives; indeed, the very act of challenging the diagnosis emerges as a means by which a patient can open up conversational space within the consultation to address such issues. While the veracity of the social-cognitive model is not deemed to be without foundation herein, it is concluded that attention to local interactional concerns might firstly be accorded, such that the practical social concerns and skills of practitioners and patients alike might not be overlooked in the endeavour to produce generally applicable theories
Nonstationary heat conduction in one-dimensional models with substrate potential
The paper investigates non-stationary heat conduction in one-dimensional
models with substrate potential. In order to establish universal characteristic
properties of the process, we explore three different models ---
Frenkel-Kontorova (FK), phi4+ (+) and phi4- (). Direct numeric
simulations reveal in all these models a crossover from oscillatory decay of
short-wave perturbations of the temperature field to smooth diffusive decay of
the long-wave perturbations. Such behavior is inconsistent with parabolic
Fourier equation of the heat conduction and clearly demonstrates the necessity
of hyperbolic models. The crossover wavelength decreases with increase of
average temperature. The decay patterns of the temperature field almost do not
depend on the amplitude of the perturbations, so the use of linear evolution
equations for temperature field is justified. In all model investigated, the
relaxation of thermal perturbations is exponential -- contrary to linear chain,
where it follows a power law. However, the most popular lowest-order hyperbolic
generalization of the Fourier law, known as Cattaneo-Vernotte (CV) or telegraph
equation (TE) is not valid for description of the observed behavior of the
models with on-site potential. In part of the models a characteristic
relaxation times exhibit peculiar scaling with respect to the temperature
perturbation wavelength. Quite surprisingly, such behavior is similar to that
of well-known model with divergent heat conduction (Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain) and
rather different from the model with normal heat conduction (chain of
rotators). Thus, the data on the non-stationary heat conduction in the systems
with on-site potential do not fit commonly accepted concept of universality
classes for heat conduction in one-dimensional models.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, corrected versio
The investigation of dangerous geological processes resulting in land subsidence while designing the main gas pipeline in South Yakutia
The number of gas main accidents has increased recently due to dangerous geological processes in underdeveloped areas located in difficult geological conditions. The paper analyses land subsidence caused by karst and thermokarst processes in the right of way, reveals the assessment criteria for geological hazards and creates zoning schemes considering the levels of karst and thermorkarst hazards
Analysis of and workarounds for element reversal for a finite element-based algorithm for warping triangular and tetrahedral meshes
We consider an algorithm called FEMWARP for warping triangular and
tetrahedral finite element meshes that computes the warping using the finite
element method itself. The algorithm takes as input a two- or three-dimensional
domain defined by a boundary mesh (segments in one dimension or triangles in
two dimensions) that has a volume mesh (triangles in two dimensions or
tetrahedra in three dimensions) in its interior. It also takes as input a
prescribed movement of the boundary mesh. It computes as output updated
positions of the vertices of the volume mesh. The first step of the algorithm
is to determine from the initial mesh a set of local weights for each interior
vertex that describes each interior vertex in terms of the positions of its
neighbors. These weights are computed using a finite element stiffness matrix.
After a boundary transformation is applied, a linear system of equations based
upon the weights is solved to determine the final positions of the interior
vertices. The FEMWARP algorithm has been considered in the previous literature
(e.g., in a 2001 paper by Baker). FEMWARP has been succesful in computing
deformed meshes for certain applications. However, sometimes FEMWARP reverses
elements; this is our main concern in this paper. We analyze the causes for
this undesirable behavior and propose several techniques to make the method
more robust against reversals. The most successful of the proposed methods
includes combining FEMWARP with an optimization-based untangler.Comment: Revision of earlier version of paper. Submitted for publication in
BIT Numerical Mathematics on 27 April 2010. Accepted for publication on 7
September 2010. Published online on 9 October 2010. The final publication is
available at http://www.springerlink.co
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