The adaptation of cognitive behavioural therapy for adult Maori clients with depression: A pilot study

A semistructured cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme for depression was adapted for use with Maori adult clients with depression. Adaptations were developed in consultation with an advisory group consisting of Maori clinical psychologists and kaumatua with experience working in mental health services. The programme was piloted with 2 participants who were clients of a Maori mental health service. The programme builds on a more traditional CBT treatment programme by integrating concepts such as whakatauki, whanaungatanga, whanau involvement, and whakapapa into the therapeutic context. Despite limitations the results demonstrate considerable promise. Depressive symptoms increased substantially in both cases and both clients reflected positively on the adaptations incorporated into therapy

Lovesong

poetr

Engaging the Religiously Committed Other: Anthropologists and Theologians in Dialogue

Anthropology has two tasks: the scientific task of studying human beings and the instrumental task of promoting human flourishing. To date, the scientific task has been constrained by secularism, and the instrumental task by the philosophy and values of liberalism. These constraints have caused religiously based scholarship to be excluded from anthropology’s discourse, to the detriment of both tasks. The call for papers for the 2009 meetings of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) recognized the need to “push the field’s epistemological and presentational conventions” in order to reach anthropology’s various publics. Religious thought has much to say about the human condition. It can expand the discourse in ways that provide explanatory value as well as moral purpose and hope.We propose an epistemology of witness for dialogue between anthropologists and theologians, and we demonstrate the value added with an example: the problem of violence

The Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS): Support for a Multi-Domain View of the Self-Compassion Construct and its Relevance to Anxiety

Self-compassion refers to the tendency to be kind and understanding towards oneself in times of failure rather than responding to such situations with harsh self-criticism. There is reason to believe on the basis of existing research that self-compassion is particularly relevant within the social domain. As such, this thesis is focused on describing and evaluating the Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS), which was developed for the purposes of this research and measures the degree to which individuals tend to be kind and understanding towards themselves when confronted with social adversity. This thesis begins by describing Studies 1 through 3, which were online self-report studies that tested the psychometric properties of the scale using large samples of at least 200 participants. The SSCS related to a variety of outcomes as expected, and was predictive of measures beyond the general self-compassion scale such as social anxiety, perceived social self-efficacy and mattering. To expand on this research, Study 4 further evaluated the reliability and validity of the SSCS and attempted to temporarily induce self-compassion in a social context as well as affect among participants (N = 91). This final study also examined levels of self-improvement motivation and implicit beliefs related to the capacity to improve upon and change past social mistakes. As anticipated, those in the social self-compassion condition in Study 4 reported significantly higher levels of positive affect, although no differences emerged with respect to negative affect or subjective distress. In addition, those in the social self-compassion condition reported a greater endorsement of incremental beliefs regarding the ability to change social qualities as compared to both the self-esteem and control conditions. Additionally, in partial support of the initial hypothesis, both those in the social self-compassion condition and the control condition reported higher self-improvement motivation regarding desire and willingness to change in the future. Implications of findings and suggestions for future research are discussed

Modelling and analysis of energy demand variation and uncertainty in small-scale domestic energy systems

A range of different scenarios have been predicted for future UK energy supply. While there is significant uncertainty, all expect an increase in small-scale distributed generation integrated in constrained or independent networks and with predominantly domestic consumers. This reduction in system scale has not, however, driven a significant change in design practices, with deterministic models and rules-of-thumb prevalent. Little consideration has been given to how the specific household characteristics and the size of system impact on demand level and timing, the degree of uncertainty in anydemand prediction, and how design practices should change to reflect this. The main contribution of the presented work has been to address this. To allow the variation and uncertainty to be quantified; a highly differentiated, probabilistic, bottom-up demand model has been developed for electrical and hot water use. The 1-minute resolution model incorporates an enhanced Markov chain occupancy model and is based on a newly developed discrete-event approach for occupant-initiated demands. Utilising realistic factoring for appliance ownership, income, occupancy, and random energy-use behaviours, the model has been shown to capture the range of potential household demands. Assessment that the developed model, and any existing model calibrated using group data, tended to rapidly converge to the group average basis, prompted further method development to improve the model's performance in capturing individual household demand behaviours. Analysis of both existing data and the demand model output has shown that energy system demand can vary significantly based on socio-economic characteristics and the types of households supplied. It also highlights that demand uncertainty for individual households can exceed an order of magnitude, even if household characteristics are known. As the system scale is increased, the level of overall demand uncertainty remains significant to at least 200 household systems. A method has therefore been developed that allows multiple runs of the probabilistic model to be reduced to a representative subset, which can be used to analyse potential energy system performance scenarios probabilistically using existing optimisation tools.A range of different scenarios have been predicted for future UK energy supply. While there is significant uncertainty, all expect an increase in small-scale distributed generation integrated in constrained or independent networks and with predominantly domestic consumers. This reduction in system scale has not, however, driven a significant change in design practices, with deterministic models and rules-of-thumb prevalent. Little consideration has been given to how the specific household characteristics and the size of system impact on demand level and timing, the degree of uncertainty in anydemand prediction, and how design practices should change to reflect this. The main contribution of the presented work has been to address this. To allow the variation and uncertainty to be quantified; a highly differentiated, probabilistic, bottom-up demand model has been developed for electrical and hot water use. The 1-minute resolution model incorporates an enhanced Markov chain occupancy model and is based on a newly developed discrete-event approach for occupant-initiated demands. Utilising realistic factoring for appliance ownership, income, occupancy, and random energy-use behaviours, the model has been shown to capture the range of potential household demands. Assessment that the developed model, and any existing model calibrated using group data, tended to rapidly converge to the group average basis, prompted further method development to improve the model's performance in capturing individual household demand behaviours. Analysis of both existing data and the demand model output has shown that energy system demand can vary significantly based on socio-economic characteristics and the types of households supplied. It also highlights that demand uncertainty for individual households can exceed an order of magnitude, even if household characteristics are known. As the system scale is increased, the level of overall demand uncertainty remains significant to at least 200 household systems. A method has therefore been developed that allows multiple runs of the probabilistic model to be reduced to a representative subset, which can be used to analyse potential energy system performance scenarios probabilistically using existing optimisation tools

From the Green Room to the Court Room (And Back): Judicial Clarification of Ambiguity in WTO Law and the Effects on Subsequent Negotiations

operation of a "hard law" adjudicative legal system, with legal subjects of greatly varying degrees of power, embedded within an intensely political environment. Between these parallel political and legal communities there are numerous points of contact. At each point of contact one finds played out (or to be played out) and resolved, re-iteratively, the basic drama between power-based and rules-based approaches to disputes. An examination of the Dispute Settlement Understanding and of subsequent developments - from the particular perspective of a participant within the WTO legal system - suggests that the rules-based approach was initiated in a somewhat low profile manner. Once the process had been quietly booted-up, ambiguity and discretion embedded in the rules has been systematically crystallizing, under the influence of lawyers and adjudicators acting both in and out of the court room, so as to substantially further develop and consolidate a more complete rules-based operating system. This is something to which the Members themselves do not appear to have objected. In the long term, the fundamental driving motor for this process, which ultimately outweighs all other considerations, is a necessity recognised by all participants and their constituents – that is, legal security and predictability for firms engaged in international trade. However, the legitimacy of particular outcomes will ultimately continue to rest upon the rationality, reasonableness and openness of adjudicators and their judgments. This repetitive process of shared experience and palliative outcome is progressively binding the political and legal communities together in a shared fate. The process is proving remarkably successful, and may both serve as a model for (and have spill-over effects in) other areas of international law. Ultimately, the system's continued success depends upon jealously guarding the independence of adjudicators, including the process by which they are selected, as well as ensuring the availability of effective remedies

The role of quality in the management of projects

Abstract Quality is often claimed as the 3rd dimension of any project: the success of a project depends on the management of time, cost and quality. However, quality is a much more elusive substance and its management can be problematic. This thesis examines some of the models proposed for managing quality in projects and considers their relevance via a number of case studies. The present study aims to provide a foundation from which a methodology for the management of quality in projects can be evolved. The general definition of “quality” is still discussed and its interpretation in the specific area of project management is open to debate. In this thesis it has been found useful to consider three levels of quality management in the project environment, broadly equivalent to those usually accepted in operations management: quality control, quality assurance and total quality management. Various methods of quality control have been employed in projects for many years. The emphasis of the present study is on the project management equivalents of quality assurance and total quality management and to examine whether they fulfil the true need. A major element of successful quality management is the establishing of constructive methods of feedback. Feedback is also often claimed to be a vital ingredient of successful project management: learning from past successes, and failures. A conduit to provide feedback is often problematic due to the very nature of projects and their finite lifespan. Mainstream thinking believes that standard quality systems employed in the production and operation environment can be incorporated effectively in project management thus increasing operational consistency and reducing the risk of activity or project failure. However, is the model of quality embedded in these systems relevant to projects with their characteristics of uniqueness and long time scales? Initial debate assumed that existing quality management systems would be of benefit in projects, which exhibited a lower level of uniqueness and were closer to an operations management perspective. A literature review followed to gauge the level of importance attached to quality systems and its role in the project process. This determined that there was a need to investigate what existing quality systems, contributed in a purely project environment and what impact they had on improving project success especially in regard to the uniqueness of the projects and to the size of the project organization involved. In addition, the impact an industry-standard quality system had on project organizations compared to project organizations that did not possesses any formal system. To compare and contrast the conventional approach to quality in projects, the complementary areas of systems thinking and system dynamics were explored. Examining an alternative field to quality management was beneficial in providing a different perspective on how systems can be modelled evaluated and applied to real-world applications. This part of the research contributed significantly to the formation of the ideas and opinions on the way in which the concept of quality should be promoted in project management. In particular, the identification of mental models and the use of graphical representations to describe, illustrate and model the tangible and intangible entities found in most types of system. The use of a case study methodology was seen as the most valid way of attaining a holistic view of the complete project process and exploring the salient issues surrounding quality and projects. The fieldwork carried out to facilitate this goal, comprised of a restricted number of in-depth case studies, which encapsulated complete projects. An essential part of this process was the use of participant observation and in part action research, as these approaches increased the access to the available qualitative data whilst being mutually beneficial to the research and to the organisations involved. The scope of the case studies carried out was governed by a number of constraints: • The availability of suitable projects. • The timespan of the available projects matching that of the research, consequently the projects studied are on a relatively small scale. • The organizations in which the action research process could be a valid exchange of services. • The reluctance of organizations in certain industries to allow access to data on projects in particular activities that had led to project failure. The alternative models and techniques offered by systems thinking and system dynamics were explored to see if they could deliver more insights into the diverse aspects of project quality and how feedback in systems can be effectively represented. From the four case studies carried out, it is evident that there is a need for a fundamental revision on how quality is both defined and measured in project management. There is a need for greater emphasis on the acquisition and retention of knowledge by project organizations including the ability to disperse that knowledge by a practical and useful medium. Existing quality management systems still exhibit their origins, which do not take into account the uniqueness and instability of the project environment. In practice, the demand for registration to an industry-recognised quality standard appears to discriminate against the smaller project organization. The impact on the larger organizations is no less significant due to the creation of ‘underground’ parallel working practices, which are a significant waste of resources. The veneer of compliance to a global standard does not help the project organization learn or accumulate knowledge. In conclusion, this thesis proposes that project management needs an alternative methodology to provide a more practical method of project feedback, to enhance the ability of future projects. This thesis puts forward a foundation for this methodology based upon the valuable attributes of the models identified during the research in addition to the value of the case studies compiled. The aim for the implementation of a practical quality system has to be based on a reappraisal of what its purpose is. Therefore, it is proposed that the objective of any system would be to capture knowledge, store and redistribute that knowledge in a manner that makes a positive contribution to future project success. Emphasis is placed on increasing success by the acquisition of knowledge, in contrast to the traditional quality concepts of decreasing risk by the control of activities. In essence a shift from existing mechanistic systems towards more neurocybernetic systems. The increasing capabilities of communication and information technologies make the practicalities of creating this type of system perfectly feasible

MetaLib/SFX at UCL

A description of the implementation of the MetaLib cross-search tool and SFX OpenURL link resolver at UCL. Particular focus on issues of marketing and use