Resilience, Engagement, and Connection: Positive Psychology Tools for Hot Bread Kitchen

Hot Bread Kitchen (HBK), a not-for-profit in Brooklyn, New York City, provides culinary training to women living below the poverty line as a pathway to jobs in the food services industry. HBK provides wraparound support services, ranging from help with childcare and English language skills through to training in professional readiness skills. HBK’s members are carefully screened, yet some still struggle with the stressful, fast-paced, and multicultural kitchen environment. Based on a review of the literature, we propose a positive psychology plan to strengthen individual and team thriving in the kitchen by developing resilience, engagement, and social connection, using specific activities relating to cognitive-behavioral skills, character strengths, team-building, and meaning and purpose. We provide a library of activities that HBK staff—as experts on their population—can adapt and fit into their evolving curriculum, and a short training for staff, to unite them around goals and approaches

Technology, Autonomy, and Well-Being: A Conceptual Framework

The explosion of information and communication technology (tech) has raised concerns about potential erosions of autonomy. To analyze these concerns, this paper builds a new conceptual framework linking external forces, autonomy of choice, and well-being. While psychology has typically focused on the phenomenological experience of autonomy, this paper proceeds from the philosophical account of autonomy, and considers not only whether choices feel autonomous, but also whether the chooser is exercising the needed competencies to make autonomous choices. In the tech domain, the paper uses this framework to explore how both the overall environment and individual human-tech interactions can undermine autonomy of choice and thereby well-being. It identifies a set of detrimental effects and classifies these according to whether they are best seen as targets for education, targets for public policy, or areas subject to special risks of moral panic. Many of these effects would benefit from further research, including on the individual traits that may moderate them

Technology, Autonomy, and Well-Being: A Conceptual Framework

The explosion of information and communication technology (tech) has raised concerns about potential erosions of autonomy. To analyze these concerns, this paper builds a new conceptual framework linking external forces, autonomy of choice, and well-being. While psychology has typically focused on the phenomenological experience of autonomy, this paper proceeds from the philosophical account of autonomy, and considers not only whether choices feel autonomous, but also whether the chooser is exercising the needed competencies to make autonomous choices. In the tech domain, the paper uses this framework to explore how both the overall environment and individual human-tech interactions can undermine autonomy of choice and thereby well-being. It identifies a set of detrimental effects and classifies these according to whether they are best seen as targets for education, targets for public policy, or areas subject to special risks of moral panic. Many of these effects would benefit from further research, including on the individual traits that may moderate them

Stabilization and Structural Reform in the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic

On January 1, 1991, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic launched a comprehensive reform program designed to establish a market economy. This paper charts the progress of the reform program in the context of Czechoslovakia's prewar history as a major industrial power, its subsequent slow economic decline under Communism, and its recent integration into the world economy following the collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.

Stabilization and Structural Reform in Czechoslovakia

This paper analyzes the Czechoslovak reform program which was launched on January 1, 1991. Under this program, Czechoslovakia has taken decisive steps to establish a market economy, while achieving price stability and a viable external position through restrictive financial policies. But there has been a sharp decline in output. The eventual output recovery is predicated on completing structural market reforms, such as the development of financial markets and the safeguard of their stability, privatization of large enterprises, minimizing government interference with economic signals, and the imposition of the “hard” budget constraint.Czechoslovakia;Price decontrols;Incomes policy;Privatization;balance of payments, price liberalization, trade liberalization, foreign trade, world prices, terms of trade, domestic demand, aggregate demand, voucher privatization, liberalization of prices, trade shock, exchange rate policy, national property, international trade, exchange rate regime, domestic prices, privatization program, proceeds from privatization, external trade, neighboring countries, mass privatization, world economy, domestic price, oil prices, enterprise sector, central planning system, privatization process, world market, oil imports, trade arrangements, domestic industries, mutual funds, export markets, balance of payments crisis, methods of privatization, large scale privatizations, foreign ownership, bilateral agreements, privatization schemes, tariff structure, bankruptcy law, export prices, unemployment rate, trade barriers, partner countries, subsidized imports, privatizations, privatization scheme, privatization funds, investment privatization funds, import-competing sectors, import quotas, privatization effort, monopolistic structure, bargaining power, privatization privatization, competitive position, tradable goods, trade reform, trading arrangements, external finance, external position, process of privatization, economic cooperation, successful privatization, domestic savings, intermediate goods, exchange rate policies, consumer subsidies, market liberalization, agricultural subsidies, mass privatization program, privatization ? program, economic reform program, competitive advantage, investment privatization, trade patterns, export volumes, export sector, import sector, political acceptability, large-scale privatization, imported goods, price stability, trading system, private sector participation, domestic market, private control

United Germany

This papers reviews economic and financial developments in Germany since its reunification nearly five years ago; and analyzes some critical issues that have featured prominently in the policy debate over this period and are likely to continue attracting attention in the years ahead.

Improving Health Care Transition and Longitudinal Care for Adolescents and Young Adults with Hydrocephalus: Report from the Hydrocephalus Association Transition Summit

The health care needs of children with hydrocephalus continue beyond childhood and adolescence; however, pediatric hospitals and pediatric neurosurgeons are often unable to provide them care after they become adults. Each year in the US, an estimated 5000–6000 adolescents and young adults (collectively, youth) with hydrocephalus must move to the adult health care system, a process known as health care transition (HCT), for which many are not prepared. Many discover that they cannot find neurosurgeons to care for them. A significant gap in health care services exists for young adults with hydrocephalus. To address these issues, the Hydrocephalus Association convened a Transition Summit in Seattle, Washington, February 17–18, 2017. The Hydrocephalus Association surveyed youth and families in focus groups to identify common concerns with HCT that were used to identify topics for the summit. Seven plenary sessions consisted of formal presentations. Four breakout groups identified key priorities and recommended actions regarding HCT models and practices, to prepare and engage patients, educate health care professionals, and address payment issues. The breakout group results were discussed by all participants to generate consensus recommendations. Barriers to effective HCT included difficulty finding adult neurosurgeons to accept young adults with hydrocephalus into their practices; unfamiliarity of neurologists, primary care providers, and other health care professionals with the principles of care for patients with hydrocephalus; insufficient infrastructure and processes to provide effective HCT for youth, and longitudinal care for adults with hydrocephalus; and inadequate compensation for health care services. Best practices were identified, including the National Center for Health Care Transition Improvement’s “Six Core Elements of Health Care Transition 2.0”; development of hydrocephalus-specific transition programs or incorporation of hydrocephalus into existing general HCT programs; and development of specialty centers for longitudinal care of adults with hydrocephalus. The lack of formal HCT and longitudinal care for young adults with hydrocephalus is a significant health care services problem in the US and Canada that professional societies in neurosurgery and neurology must address. Consensus recommendations of the Hydrocephalus Association Transition Summit address 1) actions by hospitals, health systems, and practices to meet local community needs to improve processes and infrastructure for HCT services and longitudinal care; and 2) actions by professional societies in adult and pediatric neurosurgery and neurology to meet national needs to improve processes and infrastructure for HCT services; to improve training in medical and surgical management of hydrocephalus and in HCT and longitudinal care; and to demonstrate the outcomes and effectiveness of HCT and longitudinal care by promoting research funding