The Signal of Regard: William Godwin’s Correspondence Networks

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The letter is a gift of attention, in which the writer seeks to communicate regard by means of a signal crafted uniquely for the recipient. The concept of regard, as developed by the economic historian Avner Offer, indicates both attention and approbation. Adam Smith took it to be the driver of human exchange in emotions as much as in commerce. The exchange of regard captures the logic of a prodigious correspondent like William Godwin. The personalization of the gift signal is an attempt to convey an obligation to reciprocate. Godwin was attuned to this obligation and worked hard to fulfil it—with varying degrees of success. His correspondents encompassed almost every significant literary and political figure on the political left from the era of the French Revolution to the 1832 Reform Act. The children of the Godwin household were nourished by bonds of reciprocity, which they developed and extended when, in adulthood, they dispersed across Europe. The letters of Godwin and his correspondents embody a larger conversation, allowing intimacy to be preserved at a distance. The signals they once created for each other may now be received by us

Prevalence of Depression in Survivors of Acute Myocardial Infarction: Review of the Evidence

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence and persistence of depression in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and the relationship between assessment modality and prevalence. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE(®), Cochrane, CINAHL(®), PsycINFO(®), and EMBASE(®). REVIEW METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in March 2004 to identify original research studies published since 1980 that used a standardized interview or validated questionnaire to assess depression. The search was augmented by hand searching of selected journals from October 2003 through April 2004 and references of identified articles and reviews. Studies were excluded if only an abstract was provided, if not in English, or if depression was not measured by a validated method. RESULTS: Major depression was identified in 19.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 19.1% to 20.6%) of patients using structured interviews (N=10,785, 8 studies). The prevalence of significant depressive symptoms based on a Beck Depression Inventory score ≥10 was 31.1% (CI 29.2% to 33.0%; N=2,273, 6 studies), using a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score ≥8%, 15.5% (CI 13.2% to 18.0%; N=863, 4 studies), and with a HADS score ≥11%, 7.3% (CI 5.5% to 9.3%; N=830, 4 studies). Although a significant proportion of patients continued to be depressed in the year after discharge, the limited number of studies and variable follow-up times precluded specification of prevalence rates at given time points. CONCLUSIONS: Depression is common and persistent in AMI survivors. Prevalence varies depending on assessment method, likely reflecting treatment of somatic symptoms