The Building of Epistemic Trust: An Adoptive Family’s Experience of Mentalization-Based Therapy

Recently, theorists have posited the development of epistemic trust – the trust in others as reliable sources of information – as an essential aspect of the therapeutic relationship and a mechanism of therapeutic change. Epistemic trust is likely to be disrupted in adoptive children and families and Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) aims to explicitly promote its development. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how epistemic mistrust is addressed and how epistemic trust is established within the MBT framework. This single-case, exploratory study reports data from in-depth interviews with one adoptive family, which were analyzed qualitatively using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Two superordinate themes are reported: pre-therapy factors contributing to epistemic mistrust and factors contributing to the development of epistemic trust. The findings highlight two critical elements in establishing epistemic trust: the use of certain clinical skills that help build a secure base within therapy and the possibility of trust being transferred from and to other professionals/systems beyond therapy. Hence, this study informs a deeper understanding of how epistemic trust may be built in therapeutic work with adopted children and identifies possible clinical approaches that may be used by clinicians working with this client group

Comparing Different Resonant Control Approaches for Torque Ripple Minimisation in Electric Machines

Electric machines are highly efficient and highly controllable actuators, but they do still suffer from a number of imperfections. One of them is torque ripple, which introduces high frequency harmonics into the motion. One (cost- and performance-neutral) countermeasure is to apply control that counters the torque ripple. This paper compares several single-input single-output (SISO) control approaches for feedback control of torque ripple of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine (PMSM). The baseline is PI (proportional-integral) control, which does not suppress torque ripple, and the most popular control approach is proportional-integral resonant (PIR) control. Both are compared to an advanced PIR controller (PIRA), frequency modulation, a mixed sensitivity design, and an iterative learning controller (ILC). The analysis demonstrates that PIR control, mixed sensitivity state feedback, and the modulating controller achieve identical behaviour. The choice between these three options is therefore dependent on preferences for the design methodology, or on implementation factors. The PIRA and the ILC on the other hand show more sophisticated behaviour that may be advantageous for certain applications, at the expense of higher complexity

Formative versus reflective measurement models: Two applications of formative measurement

This paper presents a framework that helps researchers to design and validate both formative and reflective measurement models. The framework draws from the existing literature and includes both theoretical and empirical considerations. Two important examples, one from international business and one from marketing, illustrate the use of the framework. Both examples concern constructs that are fundamental to theory-building in these disciplines, and constructs that most scholars measure reflectively. In contrast, applying the framework suggests that a formative measurement model may be more appropriate. These results reinforce the need for all researchers to justify, both theoretically and empirically, their choice of measurement model. Use of an incorrect measurement model undermines the content validity of constructs, misrepresents the structural relationships between them, and ultimately lowers the usefulness of management theories for business researchers and practitioners. The main contribution of this paper is to question the unthinking assumption of reflective measurement seen in much of the business literature

“I can’t escape my scars, even if I do get better”: A qualitative exploration of how adolescents talk about their self-harm and self-harm scars during cognitive behavioural therapy for depression

Emerging evidence indicates that perceptions of self-harm behaviours and self-harm scars may thwart recovery from depression, yet limited research has explored adolescent accounts of their self-harm and scars during therapy. This study sought to explore how adolescents describe their self-harm behaviours and scars during Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and explore the sociocultural discourses that may influence these descriptions. The participants were six female adolescents (aged 14-17 years old) with clinical depression, who were engaging in self-harm. All participants accessed CBT as part of clinical trial evaluating three psychological treatments for major depressive disorder in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Audio-taped CBT sessions were analyzed using discourse analysis. Within CBT sessions, adolescents drew upon stigma discourses in talking about their self-harm. Adolescent also described their self-harm scars as shameful and stigmatizing, and as "proof" of the legitimacy of their depression. It is important for CBT practitioners to understand the context of sociocultural discourses around self-harm behaviours and self-harm scars, which are reflected in how adolescents with depression describe these within therapy and may serve to maintain distress. The study indicates that awareness of use of language and intersecting sociocultural discourses can inform CBT practice

Open Space – a collaborative process for facilitating Tourism IT partnerships

The success of IT projects depends on the success of the partnerships on which they are based. However past research by the author has identified a significant rate of failure in these partnerships, predominantly due to an overly technical mindset, leading to the question: “how do we ensure that, as technological solutions are implemented within tourism, due consideration is given to human-centred issues?” The tourism partnership literature is explored for additional insights revealing that issues connected with power, participation and normative positions play a major role. The method, Open Space, is investigated for its ability to engage stakeholders in free and open debate. This paper reports on a one-day Open Space event sponsored by two major intermediaries in the UK travel industry who wanted to consult their business partners. Both the running of the event and its results reveal how Open Space has the potential to address some of the weaknesses associated with tourism partnerships

The Evidence-Base for Psychodynamic Interventions with Children Under 5 Years of Age and Their Caregivers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Experiences in the first years of life can shape a range of outcomes throughout the lifespan. Effective early interventions have the potential to offset negative outcomes associated with early adversity. A broad range of psychodynamic interventions are available to children under five and their caregivers but there is a lack of research synthesizing the current evidence for their effectiveness. This paper presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence for the effectiveness of psychodynamic interventions for children under 5 years of age and their caregivers. Following a systematic search of 10 databases and screening for eligibility, 77 papers were included in the review. Most studies reported positive outcomes on a range of parent and infant domains. The meta-analyses of controlled studies found significant effects of psychodynamic interventions compared to control conditions on parental reflective functioning, maternal depression, infant behavior, and infant attachment. No significant differences between psychodynamic and control interventions were found for parental stress, and parent-infant interactions. Very few studies were rated as good quality and further high-quality research is needed

Excitation dependent Fano-like interference effects in plasmonic silver nanorods

Surface plasmon resonances in metal nanoparticles are an emerging technology platform for nano-optics applications from sensing to solar energy conversion. The electromagnetic near field associated with these resonances arises from modes determined by the shape, size, and composition of the metal nanoparticle. When coupled in the near field, multiple resonant modes can interact to give rise to interference effects offering fine control of both the spectral response and spatial distribution of fields near the particle. Here, we present an examination of experimental electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) of silver nanorod monomer surface plasmon modes and present an explanation of observed spatial amplitude modulation of the Fabry-Pérot resonance modes of these silver nanorods using electrodynamics simulations. For these simulations, we identify differences in spectral peak symmetry in light scattering and electron spectroscopies (EELS and cathodoluminescence) and analyze the distinct near-field responses of silver nanorods to plane-wave light and electron beam excitation in terms of a coupled oscillator model. Effects of properties of the material and the incident field are evaluated, and the spatially resolved EELS signals are shown to provide a signature for assessing Fano-like interference effects in silver nanorods. These findings outline key considerations and challenges for interpreting electron microscopy data on plasmonic nanoparticles for understanding nanoscale optics and for characterization and design of photonic devices.S.M.C. acknowledges support of a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. D.R. acknowledges support from the Royal Society's Newton International Fellowship scheme. We acknowledge the use of computing facilities provided by CamGrid. Parts of this work were also performed using the Darwin Supercomputer of the University of Cambridge High Performance Computing Service (http://www.hpc.cam.ac.uk/), provided by Dell Inc. using Strategic Research Infrastructure Funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council. We thank F.J. de la Peña for helpful discussions on the use of hyperspy. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (Grant No. FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 291522-3DIMAGE. Data on rod “B” were acquired by one of us (D. Rossouw) with support of a NSERC Discovery Grant (G. A. Botton) at the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, a national facility supported by NSERC and McMaster University. We thank G. A. Botton for access to data on rod “B” and for helpful comments on this manuscript. P.A.M. also acknowledges funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program under a contract for an Integrated Infrastructure Initiative (Reference No. 312483-ESTEEM2)

A novel method for predicting the response variability of friction-damped gas turbine blades

Predicting the response of gas turbine blades with underplatform friction dampers is challenging due to the combination of frictional nonlinearity and system uncertainty: a traditional Monte Carlo approach to predicting response distributions requires a large number of nonlinear simulations which is computationally expensive. This paper presents a new approach based on the principle of Maximum Entropy that provides an estimate of the response distribution that is approximately two orders of magnitude faster than Monte Carlo Harmonic Balance Method simulations. The premise is to include the concept of `computational uncertainty': incorporating lack of knowledge of the solution as part of the uncertainty, on the basis that there are diminishing returns in computing precise solutions to an uncertain system. To achieve this, the method uses a describing function approximation of the friction-damped part of the system; chooses an ignorance prior probability density function for the complex value of the describing function based on Coulombs friction law; updates the distribution using an estimate of the mean solution, the admissible domain of solutions, and the principle of Maximum Entropy; then carries out a linear Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the response distribution. The approach is validated by comparison with HBM simulations and experimental tests, using an idealised academic system consisting of a periodic array of beams (with controllable uncertainty) coupled by single-point friction dampers. Comparisons with two- and eight-blade systems show generally good agreement. Predicting the response statistics of the maximum blade amplitude reveals specific well-understood circumstances when the method is less effective. Predictions of the overall blade response statistics agree with Monte Carlo HBM extremely well across a wide range of excitation amplitudes and uncertainty levels. Critically, experimental comparisons reveal the care that is needed in accurately characterising uncertainty in order to obtain agreement of response percentiles. The new method allowed fast iteration of uncertainty parameters and correlations to achieve good agreement, which would not have been possible using traditional methods.Mitsubishi Heavy Industrie

Introduction to Mentalization-Based Approaches for Parents, Children, Youths, and Families

Family members mentalize when they try to understand each other's behavior on the basis of intentional mental states. This article aims to introduce and briefly describe how the concept of mentalization can provide a useful framework for clinicians to understand psychopathology of children, youths, and families. The authors further outline how mentalization-based techniques and interventions can be applied to build epistemic trust and to reestablish mentalizing in families by presenting clinical vignettes of initial sessions from various clinical settings in the United Kingdom and Germany. The article concludes with a brief summary about the current evidence for mentalization-based interventions with children, adolescents, and families and provides an outlook for future clinical and research work