Gender identity construction with transsexuals experiencing liminality: A case study and considerations for counselors

This paper presents a case study of Bethany, a Male to Female (MtF) transsexual, and her experience of gender reconstruction following sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) in 2003. A series of interviews and observations occurred with Bethany in 2004 and the concept of liminality is discussed in relation to various themes gathered from the interviews and observations such as rigidity versus openness of gender roles and sexuality, traditional versus progressive relationships, control versus submissiveness of gender construction and sexuality, fantasy versus reality in sexuality and transition, and passing. Considerations for counselors working with the transsexual and transgender populations are also discussed emphasizing person centered approaches and advocacy

Using stepped-care approaches within internet-based interventions for youth anxiety: Three case studies.

Background There are a lack of clear guidelines for the dissemination of Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) for childhood and adolescent anxiety in routine care. While self-guided ICBT has greater reach than therapist-guided ICBT, it is plagued by problems of low program adherence and many young people are not successfully treated. It is important that we identify models of ICBT that are accessible, but provide the right support, at the right time to those who need it. Stepped-care models of ICBT offer one potential solution. Objective This case study examined the application of stepped-care within an ICBT intervention for childhood and adolescent anxiety, in which young people were stepped up from self-guided to therapist-guided ICBT. Methods Three case studies are presented and include young males (aged 11–12 years) who participated in BRAVE Stepped-Care, a new ICBT program incorporating two treatment steps: Step 1 – five sessions of self-guided ICBT and Step 2 – five sessions of therapist-guided ICBT. Participants completed diagnostic assessments at pre- and post-treatment, along with a battery of self-report questionnaires. Step-up requirements were determined at a mid-treatment assessment. Treatment response was determined by change on diagnostic severity and presence of diagnosis and changes in self-reported anxiety symptoms (through T-scores and Reliable Change Indices). Results In-depth examination of the three case studies showed that decisions to step-up from Step 1 to Step 2 were complex and required consideration of program engagement and adherence, as well as changes on self-reported anxiety, behavioural indicators of anxiety and parent perspectives. Results showed that non-responders at mid-treatment who were stepped-up to therapist-guided ICBT after Step 1 were able to increase engagement and response to treatment in Step 2, such that they were free of their primary anxiety diagnosis at post-treatment. Conclusions The findings highlight the importance of early assessment of engagement and non-response within self-guided ICBT programs for youth anxiety and the positive changes that can subsequently occur when therapist-guidance is introduced mid-treatment for non-responders. The efficacy of stepped-care ICBT models needs to be confirmed in larger randomised controlled trials

Labeling matched sums with a condition at distance two

AbstractAn L(2,1)-labeling of a graph G is a function f:V(G)→{0,1,…,k} such that |f(x)−f(y)|≥2 if x and y are adjacent vertices, and |f(x)−f(y)|≥1 if x and y are at distance 2. Such labelings were introduced as a way of modeling the assignment of frequencies to transmitters operating in close proximity within a communications network. The lambda number of G is the minimum k over all L(2,1)-labelings of G. This paper considers the lambda number of the matched sum of two same-order disjoint graphs, wherein the graphs have been connected by a perfect matching between the two vertex sets. Matched sums have been studied in this context to model possible connections between two different networks with the same number of transmitters. We completely determine the lambda number of matched sums where one of the graphs is a complete graph or a complete graph minus an edge. We conclude by discussing some difficulties that are encountered when trying to generalize this problem by removing more edges from a complete graph

Secure Trapdoor Hash Functions Based on Public-Key Cryptosystems

In this paper we systematically consider examples representative of the various families of public-key cryptosystems to see if it would be possible to incorporate them into trapdoor hash functions, and we attempt to evaluate the resulting strengths and weaknesses of the functions we are able to construct. We are motivated by the following question: Question 1.2 How likely is it that the discoverer of a heretofore unknown public-key cryptosystem could subvert it for use in a plausible secure trapdoor hash algorithm? In subsequent sections, our investigations will lead to a variety of constructions and bring to light the non-adaptability of public-key cryptosystems that are of a \low density. More importantly, we will be led to consider from a new point of view the effects of the unsigned addition, shift, exclusive-or and other logical bit string operators that are presently used in constructing secure hash algorithms: We will show how the use of publickey cryptosystems leads to \fragile secure hash algorithms, and we will argue that circular shift operators are largely responsible for the security of modern high-speed secure hash algorithms

P1_6 Implanting a Sixth Sense

The following article investigates a body modification technique which purports to give users the ability to sense magnetic fields. Some calculations of this are made and it is found that an implanted magnet in a finger tip may be able to detect fields as small as something (something in context)