France and the Bretton Woods International Monetary System: 1960-1968

We reinterpret the commonly held view in the U.S. that France, by following a policy from 1965 to 1968 of deliberately converting their dollar holdings into gold helped perpetuate the collapse of the Bretton Woods International Monetary System. We argue that French international monetary policy under Charles de Gaulle was consistent with strategies developed in the interwar period and the French Plan of 1943. France used proposals to return to an orthodox gold standard as well as conversions of its dollar reserves into gold as tactical threats to induce the United States to initiate the reform of the international monetary system towards a more symmetrical and cooperative gold-exchange standard regime.

Essential components of early intevention programs for psychosis: a qualitative study of available services in the United States

Programs providing interventions for early psychosis are becoming commonplace in the United States (US); however the terrain of existing services within programs remains undocumented. Unlike other countries, the US does not have a systematic approach to defining and treating this population. We examined program characteristics, clinical services, and treatment population parameters for early intervention programs across the US. A semi-structured telephone interview was conducted with program directors between July 2013 and April 2014. Content analysis was used to identify the presence or absence of 32 evidenced based practices recently recommended for early intervention programs (Addington, et al., 2013). Frequent client requests were identified and functional definitions of the population served were assessed. A total of 34 eligible programs were identified; 31 (91.2%) program representatives agreed to be interviewed. Of the 32 essential components, the most prevalent were individual psychoeducation and outcomes tracking; the least prevalent were outreach services and communication with inpatient units. The population was most frequently defined by age restrictions, and restrictions on the duration of psychosis. Emergent themes of client requests included functional and social recovery as well as help meeting practical needs. Findings have the ability to assist researchers and policy-makers in determining best practice models and creating measures of fidelity. This study provides critical feedback on services for the early psychosis population and identifies research to practice gaps and areas for improvement moving forward

Real-time dynamics in spin-1/2 chains with adaptive time-dependent DMRG

We investigate the influence of different interaction strengths and dimerizations on the magnetization transport in antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 XXZ-chains. We focus on the real-time evolution of the inhomogeneous initial state with all spins pointing up along the z axis in the left half and down in the right half of the chain, using the adaptive time-dependent density-matrix renormalization group (adaptive t-DMRG). We find on time-scales accessible to us ballistic magnetization transport for small Sz-Sz-interaction and arbitrary dimerization, but almost no transport for stronger Sz-Sz-interaction, with a sharp crossover at Jz=1. At Jz=1 results indicate superdiffusive transport. Additionally, we perform a detailed analysis of the error made by the adaptive time-dependent DMRG using the fact that the evolution in the XX-model is known exactly. We find that the error at small times is dominated by the error made by the Trotter decomposition, whereas for longer times the DMRG truncation error becomes the most important, with a very sharp crossover at some "runaway" time.Comment: 13 pages, 20 figure

An Overplayed Hand: France and the Bretton Woods International Monetary System

We reinterpret the commonly held view in the U.S. that France, by following a policy from 1965 to 1968 of deliberately converting their dollar holdings into gold helped perpetuate the collapse of the Bretton Woods International Monetary System. We argue that French international monetary policy under Charles de Gaulle was consistent with strategies developed in the interwar period and the French Plan of 1943. France used proposals to return to an orthodox gold standard as well as conversions of its dollar reserves into gold as tactical threats to induce the United States to initiate the reform of the international monetary system towards a more symmetrical and co-operative gold-exchange standard regime

Facilitators and Barriers to Illness Management and Recovery Implementation

poster abstractIllness Management and Recovery (IMR) is an evidence-based program designed to help people with severe mental illness better manage their illness and achieve personally meaningful goals. IMR has shown improved outcomes including better coping and reduced psychiatric symptoms. There have been some difficulties implementing IMR, even within programs that have received IMR training. The purpose of the current study was to examine the differences between facilitators and barriers for implementing IMR as perceived by providers of IMR and non-providers of IMR in order to identify potential targets for implementation strategies. A national online survey was conducted with VA Medical Centers (VAMCs), resulting in 151 responses representing 107 VAMCs nationwide. Survey respondents included local recovery coordinators (LRCs) and staff referred by the LRC for being knowledgeable regarding IMR. The current analyses focused on two open-ended questions pertaining to facilitators and barriers to implementation. The authors independently developed codes through an iterative process to categorize responses. We then established overall consensus on codes and applied those codes to each open-ended response. Chi-square tests were performed on each category to determine differences between provider and non-provider perceived facilitators and barriers. Differences in identified facilitators and barriers were discovered between the providers and non-providers respondents. Overall barriers and facilitators to implementation are described. Identifying facilitators and barriers that differ between providers and non-providers can provide insight into areas that may impact implementation. By understanding these differences we can provide carefully targeted interventions to increase implementation, for example, gaining support from individuals who do not directly provide IMR, could reinforce the experiences of direct service providers

A Pilot Study to Examine the Disparities in Water Quality between Predominantly Haitian Neighborhoods and Dominican Neighborhoods in Two Cities in the Dominican Republic

Abstract: Worldwide, diarrheal disease is a leading cause of death affecting over 1.7 million individuals annually. Much of this can be attributed to lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Nearly all of these deaths occur in countries with developing economies. This public health problem is apparent in the island of Hispaniola; the island that is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Significant gaps in income between the countries have resulted in Haitians migrating into the Dominican Republic. While there has been increased migration into the Dominican Republic, many of the neighborhoods remain segregated. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted at 49 sites in the Dominican Republic. Samples were classified as being from a Haitian neighborhood or Dominican neighborhood and analyzed for microbial contamination. Overall, Haitian neighborhoods were found to have statistically significantly higher levels of contamination of both coliform and E. coli. The odds of having E. coli contaminated water in Haitian neighborhoods are 4.25 times as high as Dominican neighborhoods. The odds of having coliform contaminated water in Haitian neighborhoods are 4.78 times as high as Dominican neighborhoods. This study provides evidence of the disparity in access to clean drinking water for Haitian immigrants and highlights the need for further investigation

Veterans with early psychosis: a comparison of veterans and non-veterans

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Aim: Early psychosis has been identified as period during which rapid identification and treatment can lead to significant improvement in clinical and functional outcomes. Despite increased research, no studies have examined early psychosis in Veteran populations. It is unknown whether Veterans differ from non-Veterans at this stage of the disorder, and if the treatments offered to non-Veterans are appropriate to implement in Veteran Affairs Medical Centers. Given differences that appear between Veterans and non-Veterans in chronic psychosis, additional work is necessary to determine the best way to approach specialized treatment for Veterans experiencing early psychosis. Methods: The current study is a secondary analysis of assessment batteries collected at a community-based early intervention program and at a local Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Assessment results were compared for Veterans’ and non-Veterans’ background characteristics, symptoms, and neurocognitive deficits. Results: Significant differences were found between the two samples on age of illness onset, marital status, education level, positive symptoms of psychosis, and neurocognitive functioning. Logistic regression analyses identified age of onset as a potential underlying factor. Conclusions: While some aspects of illness presentation appear similar between Veterans and non-Veterans, there are important differences between these populations. Pre-existing treatment interventions, such as Social Skills Training, cognitive remediation approaches and cognitive behavior therapy for psychosis may be appropriate to implement with Veterans. Others– such as family based interventions or supported employment services – may need to be tailored to maximize the benefit for Veterans

The “Critical” Elements of Illness Management and Recovery: Comparing Methodological Approaches

This study examined three methodological approaches to defining the critical elements of Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), a curriculum-based approach to recovery. Sixty-seven IMR experts rated the criticality of 16 IMR elements on three dimensions: defining, essential, and impactful. Three elements (Recovery Orientation, Goal Setting and Follow-up, and IMR Curriculum) met all criteria for essential and defining and all but the most stringent criteria for impactful. Practitioners should consider competence in these areas as preeminent. The remaining 13 elements met varying criteria for essential and impactful. Findings suggest that criticality is a multifaceted construct, necessitating judgments about model elements across different criticality dimensions

Essential Components of Early Intervention Programs for Psychosis: Available Intervention Services in the United States

Programs providing interventions for early psychosis are becoming commonplace in the United States (U.S.); however, the characteristics of existing services remain undocumented. We examined program characteristics, clinical services, and program eligibility criteria for outpatient early intervention programs across the U.S. using a semi-structured telephone interview. Content analysis was used to identify the presence or absence of program components, based in part on a recent list of essential evidence-based components recommended for early intervention programs (Addington, MacKenzie, Norman, Wang and Bond, 2013) as well as program characteristics, including eligibility criteria. A total of 34 eligible programs were identified; 31 (91.2%) program representatives agreed to be interviewed. Of the examined components, the most prevalent were individual psychoeducation and outcomes tracking; the least prevalent were outreach services and communication with inpatient units. The populations served by US programs were most frequently defined by restrictions on the duration of psychosis and age. This study provides critical feedback on services for the early psychosis population and identifies research to practice gaps and areas for future improvement